Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere, comprising the world's smallest continent and a number of islands in the Southern, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The country is divided into six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania and two territories: Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Even though these states and territories are federated, the country shares different time zones that can vary throughout the year.

There are three time zones in Australia:

• Eastern-Standard Time (EST) - New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland.
• Central-Standard Time (CST) - South Australia and Northern Territory.
• Western-Standard Time (WST) - Western Australia.

These time zones vary between 1 -2 hours, with EST the latest time at all times.

All Australian states, except Queensland and Northern Territory, have daylight saving during the summer months. During this time, these states are one hour ahead of the normal time. This allows for an extra hour of sunlight, which is preferably spent at the beach during summer.

Australian time also varies from the rest of the world. Because of our unique position, we are one of the first countries in the world to see the sun rise each day. For example, when it is 9.30am in Australia, it is 6.30pm the previous night in New York. Beijing is 2 hours behind Australia and Rome is 9 hours behind. New Zealand sees the sun 3 hours before us, a rarity that is held solely by that country.

Australia is a unique country that enjoys around 12 hours of sunshine a day. The time differences can take a while to get used to, but once you do you will discover that our hours and times are the best to live by.