Sydney & Seattle Time Difference
🕐 Live Timezone Overlap: Sydney & Seattle
Sydney and Seattle sit too far apart in time for a comfortable shared working day. With Seattle 17 hours behind Sydney, an in-hours overlap doesn't exist under a standard 9am–6pm schedule on either side. Most teams that bridge these cities lean async-first: shared docs, recorded video, and a single brief live call when a decision genuinely needs both rooms. The widget below shows the time-of-day in both cities so you can find the least painful slot.
Time Difference: Sydney and Seattle
Seattle is currently 17 hours behind Sydney. The live offsets are Sydney UTC+10 and Seattle UTC-7. Sydney observes daylight saving and Seattle also observes daylight saving, so the offset shifts twice a year if both sides aren't already aligned.
Sydney observes daylight saving time, and Seattle also observes DST. When either side switches, the offset shifts by an hour. The US and Europe also change clocks on different weekends, so for one week in spring and one in autumn the usual offset between US and European cities is off by an hour. Always confirm with the live tool above when you're scheduling a recurring meeting that spans a DST changeover.
Best Times to Meet
Without an in-hours overlap, the practical options are a 7am call from Sydney or an 8pm call from Seattle, depending on which side is willing to flex. Many distributed teams rotate the inconvenience so the same person isn't always taking the early or late call. For one-off conversations, a recorded async message via Loom or a written brief is usually faster than negotiating a calendar slot.
Working Hours Overlap Explained
Sydney operates on Australia/Sydney (currently UTC+10). Seattle operates on America/Los_Angeles (currently UTC-7). The table below maps a standard 9:00 AM–6:00 PM day in Sydney to Seattle's local time.
| Sydney time | Seattle time | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM | Seattle in business hours |
| 10:00 AM | 5:00 PM | Seattle in business hours |
| 11:00 AM | 6:00 PM | Seattle wrapping up |
| 12:00 PM | 7:00 PM | Seattle outside hours |
| 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM | Seattle outside hours |
| 2:00 PM | 9:00 PM | Seattle outside hours |
| 3:00 PM | 10:00 PM | Seattle outside hours |
| 4:00 PM | 11:00 PM | Seattle outside hours |
| 5:00 PM | 12:00 AM | Seattle outside hours |
| 6:00 PM | 1:00 AM | Seattle outside hours |
Tips for Scheduling Across Sydney and Seattle
- There is no in-hours overlap, so rotate between an early start in Sydney and a late finish in Seattle on alternating weeks.
- Both cities observe DST, but the changeover dates may differ. Check the offset around late March and late October each year.
- Check USA's public holiday calendar in advance: a few national holidays shift entire working weeks.
- Australian DST runs from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.
- With a 17-hour gap, default to async updates: a recorded video the night before is usually faster than a 30-minute call at 6am or 10pm.
Public Holidays and Working Weeks
Australia runs a Monday–Friday working week with Australia Day (01-26) and ANZAC Day (04-25) among the key closures. USA's major holidays include a standard public holiday set. Cross-check both calendars when scheduling recurring meetings: a 30-minute call in one city's holiday week typically gets a much lower attendance rate than the same slot a week later.