Daylight savings: When does it end and when do you change your clocks?

Daylight savings time is coming to an end this weekend. Here’s all you need to know about the time to turn back time.

It’s the time of year where we put summer, beach days and endless nights to bed and embrace the long, cold days, more time spent indoors and extra layers on our bodies and beds.

While the thought of that may be nightmarish to some, others may take comfort in that brief extra hour the end of daylight savings presents as a sympathy gift to hold us through the dreary months ahead.

This weekend, Victoria, NSW, ACT, South Australia and Tasmania residents will set their clocks back an hour, rejoining other states that opt to keep standard time over the summer period.

When does Daylight Savings Time end in 2021?

Daylight Savings ends this Sunday, April 4. Clocks will turn back one hour at 3am, meaning you’ll see 2am twice if you’re awake. It also means you gain an extra hour over your long Easter weekend.

Daylight savings time ends early Sunday morning with clocks turned back one hour. Picture: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

What does the change mean for me?

Make sure you turn your clock back an hour at 3am if you live in Victoria, NSW, ACT, SA and Tasmania.

Smartphones and digital devices synched with time zones will adjust automatically, but old-school gadgets or those without smart technology will need to be changed manually.

And enjoy your extra hour of sleep.

The end of daylight savings signals an end to the warmer months and embracing winter. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP

When will Daylight Savings Time start again?

The states mentioned above will have six months until the extra sunlight during the day returns in spring. This year daylight saving will start on Sunday, October 3. Clocks will move forward one hour, bringing in the warmth of summer.

What about other states?

Daylight savings has been a feature of Australian life since at least 1971, with all states and territories but Queensland, Western Australian and Northern Territory adopting the scheme.

During daylights saving, Australia is split into five time zones.

WA has trialled daylight savings numerous times and held four referendums on the issue, the most recent in 2009 when voters rejected the concept.

Queensland trialled daylight savings again in the 1970s and then for three years from 1989, ending with a referendum in 1992 when the proposal was again rejected.

The Northern Territory hasn’t trialled daylight savings since the Second World War, and the prospect doesn’t seem to have generated much interest there.