Time Difference: New York and Sydney
Sydney is 14, 15 or 16 hours ahead of New York, depending on the date. 9:00 AM in New York is 1:00 AM the next day in Sydney at 16 hours and 12:00 AM the next day at 15 hours. At 14 hours it's 11:00 PM the same evening.
The Four Dates the Gap Changes
Both cities change their clocks, in opposite halves of the year, so the gap moves four times a year:
- Second Sunday in March: New York moves forward, and the gap goes from 16 hours to 15.
- First Sunday in April: Sydney moves back, and the gap goes from 15 hours to 14.
- First Sunday in October: Sydney moves forward, and the gap goes from 14 hours to 15.
- First Sunday in November: New York moves back, and the gap goes from 15 hours to 16.
The two 15-hour stretches, when both cities are on summer time, last three to five weeks each.
New York to Sydney Time Chart
Each column is one real season of the New York-Sydney gap. Pick the column that matches your date.
| 🇺🇸 New York (ET) | 🇦🇺 Sydney (EST → AEDT) | 🇦🇺 Sydney (EDT → AEST) | 🇦🇺 Sydney (EDT → AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 16:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 |
| 03:00 | 19:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 |
| 06:00 | 22:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 |
| 09:00 | 01:00(next day) | 23:00 | 00:00(next day) |
| 12:00 | 04:00(next day) | 02:00(next day) | 03:00(next day) |
| 15:00 | 07:00(next day) | 05:00(next day) | 06:00(next day) |
| 18:00 | 10:00(next day) | 08:00(next day) | 09:00(next day) |
| 21:00 | 13:00(next day) | 11:00(next day) | 12:00(next day) |
- EST → AEDT: first Sunday in November to second Sunday in March, while New York is on EST and Sydney on AEDT
- EDT → AEST: first Sunday in April to first Sunday in October, while New York is on EDT and Sydney on AEST
- EDT → AEDT: the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in April, and the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November, when both are on summer time
* "next day" / "prev day" = the converted time falls on a different calendar date.
Why Not Just Remember One Number
New York is UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer. Sydney is UTC+11 in its summer, which runs from October to April, and UTC+10 in its winter. "Sydney is 15 hours ahead" is true for a few weeks and wrong for the rest of the year.
A shortcut that works: Sydney is "tomorrow, minus a few hours". At 16 hours it's tomorrow minus 8, so 3:00 PM in New York is 7:00 AM the next day. At 14 hours it's tomorrow minus 10, so the same 3:00 PM is 5:00 AM the next day.
Going the other way, Sydney's 9:00 AM is 5:00 PM the previous day in New York at 16 hours and 7:00 PM the previous day at 14 hours, so a Sydney morning is always the New York evening before. Write Sydney's date in the invite.
Where the Two Workdays Meet
There's no shared 9-to-5, so someone has to bend. The easy way is to use New York's evening, which is Sydney's next morning. At 16 hours, 5:00 to 7:00 PM in New York is 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM the next day in Sydney. At 15 hours, use 6:00 to 8:00 PM (9:00 AM to 11:00 AM the next day). At 14 hours, use 7:00 to 9:00 PM (9:00 AM to 11:00 AM the next day).
If New York hosts early instead, 7:00 AM is already 9:00 PM in Sydney at 14 hours, which is evening there.
A Fortnightly Call at 7 PM New York Time
Take a New York team that wants a fortnightly call at 7:00 PM their time. In the northern summer that's 9:00 AM the next day in Sydney, and in the northern winter it's 11:00 AM the next day. A call fixed on New York's clock slides by two hours on Sydney's clock between July and January.
In the 15-hour stretches around the clock changes, the same 7:00 PM start is 10:00 AM the next day in Sydney. Because both cities change, a series fixed in New York time moves on Sydney's clock four times a year.
If Sydney hosts instead, 9:30 AM there is 5:30 PM the previous day in New York at 16 hours and 7:30 PM the previous day at 14 hours. Either way the Sydney morning is the New York evening before, so the invite needs the date as well as the time.