Melbourne is 30 minutes to 1.5 hours ahead of Darwin. Darwin uses Australian Central Standard Time (ACST, UTC+9:30) year-round, while Melbourne uses Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight Time (AEST/AEDT, UTC+10/+11). During standard time, Melbourne is 30 minutes ahead; during daylight saving time, it's 1.5 hours ahead.
Darwin does not observe daylight saving time, but Melbourne does.
Best calling time: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM Darwin time. This generally covers 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM or later in Melbourne, depending on the season.
Darwin and Melbourne are both major Australian cities but with very different climates. Darwin is tropical with wet and dry seasons, while Melbourne has four distinct seasons. The flight between them takes about 4 hours.