What Time Is It in New Zealand Right Now?
Live New Zealand time — NZST (UTC+12) in winter, NZDT (UTC+13) in the southern summer.
Current Time Across New Zealand
Mainland New Zealand keeps a single clock, so Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown always show the same time. The only exception is the Chatham Islands, 800 km east of the South Island, which run 45 minutes ahead of everyone else.
| Place | Island / region | Time zone | Current local time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | North Island | NZST / NZDT | — |
| Wellington | North Island | NZST / NZDT | — |
| Christchurch | South Island | NZST / NZDT | — |
| Queenstown | South Island | NZST / NZDT | — |
| Waitangi | Chatham Islands | CHAST / CHADT (+45 min) | — |
New Zealand also administers Tokelau (UTC+13), the Cook Islands (UTC−10) and Niue (UTC−11), which keep their own clocks and are not shown above.
New Zealand Time Zones and UTC Offsets
| Zone | Standard offset | Daylight-saving offset | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Standard Time (NZST / NZDT) | UTC+12 | UTC+13 | The North and South Islands — the whole mainland |
| Chatham Standard Time (CHAST / CHADT) | UTC+12:45 | UTC+13:45 | The Chatham Islands only |
At UTC+13 in the southern summer, New Zealand holds one of the earliest clocks on Earth. That is why Auckland and the Chathams routinely appear in the news as the first populated places to greet each New Year.
Daylight Saving in New Zealand
New Zealand daylight saving runs through the southern summer, the opposite half of the year to the northern hemisphere:
- Clocks go forward one hour at 2:00 am on the last Sunday in September, moving the country from NZST (UTC+12) to NZDT (UTC+13).
- Clocks go back at 3:00 am on the first Sunday in April, returning to UTC+12.
Because New Zealand and the northern hemisphere shift in opposite directions, the gap between Auckland and New York or London swings by two hours over the year — and for a few weeks in late March and early April the two hemispheres are both mid-transition, which is when scheduling mistakes happen most often.
How Far Ahead of You Is New Zealand?
New Zealand sits just west of the International Date Line, so from almost anywhere in Europe or the Americas it is already tomorrow there.
| Your city | Auckland is ahead by (Apr–Sep) | Auckland is ahead by (Oct–Mar) |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 19 hours | 21 hours |
| New York | 16 hours | 18 hours |
| London | 11 hours | 13 hours |
| Berlin / Paris | 10 hours | 12 hours |
| Delhi | 6 hours 30 minutes | 7 hours 30 minutes |
| Tokyo | 3 hours | 4 hours |
| Sydney | 2 hours | 2 hours |
Sydney and Auckland stay two hours apart for most of the year because both hemispheres’ clocks move roughly together, but the gap briefly narrows to one hour between the start of October and the start of April, when New Zealand’s daylight saving begins earlier and ends later than Australia’s.
Looking for the date instead of the clock? See what day it is in New Zealand right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is it in New Zealand right now?
Mainland New Zealand runs on New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12) from April to September and New Zealand Daylight Time (UTC+13) from late September to early April. The live clock at the top of this page shows the current Auckland time, which is the same across the North and South Islands.
How many time zones does New Zealand have?
Two. The mainland uses New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12, or UTC+13 in summer), and the Chatham Islands use Chatham Time, which is exactly 45 minutes ahead (UTC+12:45, or UTC+13:45 in summer). New Zealand's Pacific dependencies keep separate clocks of their own.
When does New Zealand change its clocks?
Clocks go forward one hour at 2:00 am on the last Sunday in September and back at 3:00 am on the first Sunday in April. That gives New Zealand roughly six months of daylight saving each year, covering the southern summer.
Is New Zealand ahead of Australia?
Yes, by two hours for most of the year. Auckland is two hours ahead of Sydney, narrowing to one hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn because New Zealand starts daylight saving earlier and ends it later than the Australian states that observe it.
Is New Zealand the first country to see the new day?
Almost. The Chatham Islands and the eastern North Island are among the first inhabited places to enter each new day, but the Line Islands of Kiribati (UTC+14) and Samoa and Tonga (UTC+13, UTC+14 in summer) are technically ahead of them.
How far ahead of the UK is New Zealand?
Eleven hours from April to September, when the UK is on British Summer Time and New Zealand is on NZST, and thirteen hours from October to March, when the UK returns to GMT and New Zealand moves to NZDT.
Current Time and Day Elsewhere
Keep exploring: days of the week in 18 languages · which day starts the week where you live · day-of-the-week calculator