Daylight Saving time starts this Sunday

22 September 2023

Aotearoa New Zealand springs forward this weekend, as Daylight Saving time begins.
Clocks will go forward by one hour at 2am Sunday 24 September 2023. Daylight Saving time will continue until 3am Sunday 7 April 2024, when clocks will go back by one hour to NZ Standard Time (NZST).

During the Daylight Saving months we are on ‘New Zealand daylight time’, which is one hour ahead of New Zealand standard time. Most New Zealanders should experience a seamless transition, with modern electronic devices adjusting automatically. However, older devices may need to be adjusted manually. While adjusting clocks and devices, it is a good time to check emergency plans, survival kits and smoke alarms.

Background History

New Zealand officially set a national standard time — called New Zealand Mean Time — at 11hours and 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Daylight Saving was introduced in 1927, however the dates and times were changed several times over the following years.

During the mid-1940s, Daylight Saving Time was discontinued and New Zealand Standard Time was imposed year-round. This lasted until 1974 when Daylight Saving was trialled again, and then officially introduced in 1975.

In 2007, Parliament officially extended Daylight Saving by three weeks from the last Sunday of September to the first Sunday of April.
Further information on Daylight Saving time see the New Zealand Government website.

Fun facts about Daylight Saving:

· Many publications credit the Daylight Saving Time proposal to English builder and outdoorsman William Willett, who proposed DST in 1905. However, modern Daylight Saving Time was first proposed in 1895 by New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, who valued daylight hours as he enjoyed collecting insects after work. In 1895, Hudson proposed the idea of changing clocks by two hours every spring to the Wellington Philosophical Society, who ridiculed his idea.
· If you are working when Daylight Saving begins and the clocks go forward, you actually work an hour less, but you are entitled to payment for your normal hours. For example, if you were meant to work from midnight to 8am you will only work 7 hours, but you are entitled to be paid for 8 hours of work. If you are working when Daylight Saving ends and clocks go back an hour, you are entitled to any extra hours that you work. For example, if you were meant to be working from midnight to 8am, you actually work 9 hours and you are entitled to be paid for 9 hours of work.