{"id":"summer-time-act-1972","name":"Summer Time Act 1972","slug":"summer-time-act-1972","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":176208,"registerId":"vic-summer-time-act-1972-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Summer Time Act 1972","content":"Version No. 014\n\n**Summer Time Act 1972**\n\n**No. 8297 of 1972**\n\nVersion incorporating amendments as at  \n31 May 2012\n\n**table of provisions**\n\n*Section Page*\n\n1 Short title 1\n\n2 Definitions 1\n\n3 Advance of time 2\n\n4 Constitution of expressions of time in Acts 2\n\n5 Savings 3\n\n6 Repeal of **Daylight Saving Act 1971** 3\n\nENDNOTES 4\n\n1. General Information 4\n\n2. Table of Amendments 5\n\n3. Explanatory Details 6\n\n**Version No.** **014**\n\n**Summer Time Act 1972**\n\n**No. 8297 of 1972**\n\nVersion incorporating amendments as at  \n31 May 2012\n\nAn Act to promote the greater Use of Daylight in certain Months of the Year and to provide for Matters incidental thereto.\n\n**BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows (that is to say):**\n\n\t1 Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the **Summer Time Act 1972**.\n\n\t2 Definitions\n\nIn this Act unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter—\n\nS. 2 def. of *standard time* substituted by No. 17/2005 s. 6.\n\n***standard time*** means the time that is 10 hours in advance of Co-ordinated Universal Time;\n\n**Note**\n\nUnder section 8AA of the National Measurement Act 1960 of the Commonwealth the Chief Metrologist is required to maintain Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) as determined by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.\n\nS. 2 def. of *summer time* amended by No. 9962  \ns. 3(a).\n\n***summer time*** means the time to be observed throughout the State as fixed under this Act.\n\n\t3 Advance of time\n\ns. 3\n\nS. 3(1) amended by No. 9962  \ns. 2(1).\n\n(1) During the period commencing in any year on the day and at the time fixed for the purposes of this section by proclamation of the Governor in Council published in the Government Gazette and ending in the following year on the day and at the time fixed in the proclamation, summer time shall, throughout the State, be one hour in advance of standard time and shall be observed accordingly.\n\nS. 3(2) substituted by No. 9962  \ns. 2(2).\n\n(2) A proclamation under subsection subsection (1) may by a like proclamation be revoked or varied or be substituted by a further proclamation and whilst a proclamation remains in force it shall have effect from year to year in respect of the summer period fixed in the proclamation or as varied.\n\nS. 4  \namended by No. 9962  \ns. 3(b).\n\n\t4 Constitution of expressions of time in Acts\n\nNotwithstanding anything in any enactment, regulation, by-law, rule, proclamation, Order in Council, order or notice, or in any contract or agreement (whether made orally or in writing), or in any deed or other instrument, where any time or period of time is prescribed, specified or stipulated as the time at which, or the period of time for which or during which, or any part of which, the doing of any act matter or thing is required, permitted or forbidden, that time, period of time, or part of a period of time, as the case may be, shall, with respect to any period during which summer time is fixed under this Act to be in advance of standard time, be held to be, and shall be determined by reference to, summer time unless the contrary is expressed, provided, or stipulated in that enactment, regulation, by-law, rule, proclamation, Order in Council, order, notice, contract, agreement, deed or instrument.\n\n\t5 Savings\n\ns. 5\n\nS. 5(1) amended by No. 57/1989  \ns. 3(Sch. item 191(a)(b)).\n\n(1) Except as expressly provided in this Act the provisions of section 43 of the **Supreme Court Act 1986** are not affected by this Act.\n\n(2) Nothing in this Act affects the use of standard time for the purposes of astronomy, meteorology or navigation, or the construction of any document mentioning or referring to a point of time in connexion with any of those purposes.\n\n\t6 Repeal of Daylight Saving Act 1971\n\nThe **Daylight Saving Act 1971** is hereby **repealed**.\n\n\n\nENDNOTES\n\n1. General Information\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nThe **Summer Time Act 1972** was assented to on 3 October 1972 and came into operation 3 October 1972.\n\n1. Table of Amendments\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nThis Version incorporates amendments made to the **Summer Time Act 1972** by Acts and subordinate instruments.\n\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\n\n**Summer Time (Amendment) Act 1983, No. 9962/1983**\n\n| Assent Date: | 22.11.83 |\n| --- | --- |\n| Commencement Date: | 1.5.84: Government Gazette 18.4.84 p. 1187 |\n| Current State: | All of Act in operation |\n\n\n**Magistrates' Court (Consequential Amendments) Act 1989, No. 57/1989**\n\n| Assent Date: | 14.6.89 |\n| --- | --- |\n| Commencement Date: | S. 3(Sch. item 191) on 1.9.90: Government Gazette 25.7.90 p. 2217 |\n| Current State: | This information relates only to the provisions amending the **Summer Time Act 1972** |\n\n\n**Justice Legislation (Amendment) Act 2005, No. 17/2005**\n\n| Assent Date: | 24.5.05 |\n| --- | --- |\n| Commencement Date: | S. 6 on 1.9.05: s. 2(2) |\n| Current State: | This information relates only to the provision/s amending the **Summer Time Act 1972** |\n\n\n–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\n\n1. Explanatory Details\n\n\nEndnotes\n\nNo entries at date of publication.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to have remained focused on its original purpose of legislating daylight saving time in Victoria. The consolidated version reflects minor technical updates rather than any substantive expansion or contraction of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow and specific subject matter — limited to timekeeping rules","Short Act with minimal provisions","No complex legal definitions or exceptions to navigate","Primarily administrative/technical in nature rather than rights-based or regulatory","Limited interaction with other legislation beyond basic time definitions"],"plain_english_summary":"The Summer Time Act 1972 gives legal effect to daylight saving in Victoria, authorising clocks to be set forward in warmer months. It affects all residents, businesses and government functions by fixing the official time used for work hours, timetables, contracts and legal obligations. Without it there’d be no consistent, legally recognised summer time."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act's operational mechanics have been altered since 1972. Notably, substitutions and amendments made in 1983 and later permit the Governor in Council to fix, vary or revoke summer periods by proclamation and make proclamations operate year-to-year (s.3, s.3(2)). The definition of standard time was updated to UTC+10 (s.2). A 1989 amendment affected savings regarding court provisions (s.5(1)). These edits changed how summer time is set and its interaction with other laws."},"complexity_factors":["Governor in Council discretion to fix, vary or revoke summer periods by proclamation (s.3) — creates executive choice about timing and duration.","Proclamation effect carries forward year-to-year while in force (s.3(2)) — creates recurring legal effect without new legislation each year.","Broad override rule that time expressions in statutes, instruments and contracts are to be read as summer time during the period unless contrary intent appears (s.4) — wide cross-cutting legal impact across many instruments.","Explicit exceptions and retained uses of standard time for astronomy, meteorology and navigation (s.5(2)) — limits the override in technical fields.","Savings preserving section 43 of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (s.5(1)) — judicial timing rules partially insulated from this Act.","Clear definition of standard time as UTC+10 (s.2) — anchors the temporal baseline to an international standard.","Repeal of the earlier Daylight Saving Act 1971 (s.6) — legal continuity/change in the governing instrument.","Amendment history (1983, 1989, 2005) altered key mechanics and definitions — scope and operation have evolved since 1972."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act allows the Governor in Council to declare each year a period of \"summer time\" during which clocks in Victoria are set one hour ahead of standard time (UTC+10). While a proclamation is in force, legal deadlines, contracts and statutory time references are read as summer time unless they expressly say otherwise. It affects businesses, courts, governments and anyone who relies on prescribed times or deadlines."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing daylight saving time for Victoria. The amendments over 40 years have been minor technical updates (updating the definition of standard time to reference UTC, updating court references, and refining the proclamation mechanism) without expanding the scope beyond time observance rules."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 operative sections","Minimal defined terms (just 2: 'standard time' and 'summer time')","Single cross-reference to National Measurement Act 1960 (informational note only)","One savings provision referencing Supreme Court Act 1986","No nested exceptions or conditional logic beyond the standard 'unless expressed otherwise' formulation in section 4","Straightforward proclamation mechanism for setting dates"],"plain_english_summary":"This is the Victorian law that establishes daylight saving time (called 'summer time' in the Act). Here's what it does:\n\n**The basics**\n- **Standard time** for Victoria is defined as 10 hours ahead of Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) — this is essentially Australian Eastern Standard Time.\n- **Summer time** is standard time plus one hour — this is what most people call daylight saving time.\n\n**When does it apply?**\n- The exact start and end dates aren't fixed in the Act itself. Instead, the Governor in Council (the Governor acting on ministerial advice) issues a proclamation in the Government Gazette each year setting when summer time begins and ends.\n- Once proclaimed, these dates automatically apply year after year unless changed.\n\n**What changes during summer time?**\n- Unless a document specifically says otherwise, any time mentioned in Victorian laws, regulations, contracts, or legal documents is interpreted as summer time during the summer time period.\n- **Exceptions**: Standard time still applies for astronomy, meteorology, and navigation.\n\n**Why it matters**\nThis law ensures everyone in Victoria moves their clocks forward together during warmer months, and it makes sure legal deadlines, business hours, and contract times are interpreted consistently — no one can claim they missed a deadline because they were using 'the wrong time'.\n\nThe Act also repealed an earlier 1971 daylight saving law."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972","history":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972/history","analysis":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/summer-time-act-1972/documents"}}