What is the time difference between Sydney and Johannesburg?

Johannesburg is 8 hours behind Sydney. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Johannesburg from Sydney?

Between 17:00–18:00 in Sydney, which is 09:00–10:00 in Johannesburg. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Sydney observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Sydney runs on UTC+10 in winter and UTC+11 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-04, when clocks go forward by 60 minutes.

Does Johannesburg observe daylight saving time?

No. Johannesburg stays on UTC+2 all year, so its clocks never move.

If it is midday in Sydney, what time is it in Johannesburg?

It is 04:00 in Johannesburg, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Sydney and Johannesburg use?

Sydney uses Australia/Sydney, currently UTC+10 (AEST), and Johannesburg uses Africa/Johannesburg, currently UTC+2. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Sydney time to Johannesburg time

Right now Johannesburg runs 8 hours behind Sydney. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

Convert a time

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Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Sydney, and what the clock reads in Johannesburg at that same moment.

Sydney	Johannesburg
00:00	16:00previous day
01:00	17:00previous day
02:00	18:00previous day
03:00	19:00previous day
04:00	20:00previous day
05:00	21:00previous day
06:00	22:00previous day
07:00	23:00previous day
08:00	00:00
09:00	01:00
10:00	02:00
11:00	03:00
12:00	04:00
13:00	05:00
14:00	06:00
15:00	07:00
16:00	08:00
17:00	09:00
18:00	10:00
19:00	11:00
20:00	12:00
21:00	13:00
22:00	14:00
23:00	15:00

Daylight saving time

Johannesburg keeps one offset all year while Sydney moves twice. That is the whole reason this difference is seasonal.

Sydney

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+10
Daylight: UTC+11
Next change: 2026-10-04 +60m

Johannesburg

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+2

When you can actually talk

The window is 1 hour wide — 17:00–18:00 in Sydney, 09:00–10:00 in Johannesburg.

Sydney 17:00–18:00Johannesburg 09:00–10:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Sydney	Johannesburg
IANA zone	Australia/Sydney	Africa/Johannesburg
Abbreviation	AEST	UTC+2
Standard offset	UTC+10	UTC+2
Daylight offset	UTC+11	—
Clock changes this year	2	0
Country	Australia	South Africa

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Sydney and Johannesburg?: Johannesburg is 8 hours behind Sydney. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Johannesburg from Sydney?: Between 17:00–18:00 in Sydney, which is 09:00–10:00 in Johannesburg. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Sydney observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Sydney runs on UTC+10 in winter and UTC+11 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-04, when clocks go forward by 60 minutes.
Does Johannesburg observe daylight saving time?: No. Johannesburg stays on UTC+2 all year, so its clocks never move.
If it is midday in Sydney, what time is it in Johannesburg?: It is 04:00 in Johannesburg, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Sydney and Johannesburg use?: Sydney uses Australia/Sydney, currently UTC+10 (AEST), and Johannesburg uses Africa/Johannesburg, currently UTC+2. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.