Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, November 8 in Singapore, matching India’s date directly. Australia sits far enough ahead of India in time zone that some panchang calculations shift the local observance to a different calendar date, since the Amavasya tithi can already be prevailing there earlier by the clock.
Why Australia can differ
Australia is roughly 4.5 to 6.5 hours ahead of India depending on the state and season. Because tithi boundaries occur at a fixed instant worldwide, being far ahead of India means the relevant tithi can begin or end on what is, locally, an earlier calendar date than in India, the same underlying reason festival dates can shift by a day.
Check which date your community follows
Local temples and Indian associations in Australia typically publish their own confirmed date; check with your local temple or community calendar rather than assuming India’s date applies unchanged.
Getting the puja timing right
Once the date is confirmed, treat the period around your local sunset as Pradosh Kaal for Lakshmi Puja, computed for your own city rather than converted from an Indian clock time.
A worked example for Sydney
Say the Amavasya tithi begins at 6:15 AM IST on November 8. Sydney runs AEDT in November, which is 5.5 hours ahead of IST. Converting that start time gives 11:45 AM on November 8 in Sydney, still the same calendar date, so in this particular case the date doesn’t actually shift.
But the shift risk is real in years where the tithi begins very late in the IST day. If a tithi begins at 9:30 PM IST, that’s 3:00 AM the next day in Sydney, meaning the tithi is already active from the very start of that Sydney calendar day rather than partway through it, which changes how the local Pradosh Kaal (sunset) window on that day lines up against it. This is exactly the kind of case where a temple in Sydney or Melbourne might land on a different date than one in Singapore, even though both are technically converting from the same IST source, because the size of the gap to IST varies by 4.5 to 6.5 hours depending on the Australian state and time of year, and that variance is enough to occasionally straddle a date line.
Fireworks and diyas: what’s actually allowed
This trips up first-generation families more than the date does. Private fireworks are heavily restricted in both Australia and Singapore, in ways that don’t match what’s normal in most Indian cities.
In Australia, private possession and use of fireworks is illegal in every state except the Northern Territory, where it’s allowed only around specific dates (Territory Day in July). New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland all restrict fireworks to licensed public displays. If a Diwali celebration in Sydney or Melbourne is going to include fireworks, it’s almost always through an organized community event with a council permit, not something a family sets off at home.
Singapore is even stricter: fireworks and firecrackers are banned for private use entirely under the Dangerous Fireworks Act, with real fines attached.
What most diaspora families do instead: diyas (oil lamps) and candles are unrestricted and remain the centerpiece of home celebrations, rangoli at the entrance is common in apartment complexes with South Asian residents, and the loud, communal firecracker tradition shifts to a public event, a local temple’s organized celebration, or gets skipped in favor of a quieter home puja followed by a Diwali mela if the local Indian association runs one that weekend.
Check your city’s timing
Use the muhurat page with your Australian or Singapore city selected to see that day’s sunset, Rahu Kaal and Abhijit Muhurat.