History of daylight saving in NSW

Daylight saving operated nationally during World War I from 1 January 1917 to 25 March 1917 and during World War II for three summers, beginning on 1 January 1942.

Daylight saving was introduced again in NSW on 31 October 1971 after the Standard Time Act 1971 was passed by the NSW Parliament.

A referendum held on 1 May 1976 submitted a proposal that daylight saving be adopted on a permanent basis. The ballot paper stated:

At present there is a period commonly called 'daylight saving' by which time is advanced by one hour for the period commencing on the last Sunday in October in each year and ending on the first Sunday in March in the following year. 

Electors were then asked to answer 'yes' or 'no' to the question: Are you in favour of daylight saving? 1,882,770 electors were in favour; 868,900 were against and 35,507 votes were informal.

Find out the dates daylight saving has been observed in NSW since World War I.

Debate in the NSW Parliament

The rationale for daylight saving and for changes to the period of daylight saving has been debated on a number of occasions in the NSW Parliament, as a result of the introduction of proposed legislation.