What Wetsuit Do You Need in Australia? A State-by-State, Month-by-Month Guide

Water temperatures and exposure-suit recommendations for every Australian state and season, from 3 mm shorties on the Great Barrier Reef to drysuits in Tasmania.

Australia spans 30 degrees of latitude, and the water temperature across its dive sites ranges from 32 °C in Darwin Harbour in the wet season to 11 °C at Port Phillip Heads in August. There is no single answer to what suit to bring. The table below is built from the water-temperature and exposure-suit fields across the sites in this directory, checked against the operators' own recommendations, and it errs on the warm side: a diver who is comfortable stays down longer and dives better.

Typical water temperature and suit by state
Region	Summer (Dec–Mar)	Winter (Jun–Sep)	Suit most divers use
Far North Queensland (Cairns, Ribbons, Coral Sea)	28–30 °C	23–25 °C	3 mm full or shorty in summer, 3–5 mm in winter, lycra stinger suit Nov–May
Southern Great Barrier Reef (Heron, Lady Elliot)	26–28 °C	21–23 °C	3 mm in summer, 5 mm in winter
South-East Queensland (Brisbane, Sunshine & Gold coasts)	24–27 °C	19–22 °C	3–5 mm in summer, 5–7 mm in winter
Northern NSW (Byron, Coffs, South West Rocks)	23–26 °C	18–21 °C	5 mm in summer, 7 mm or semi-dry in winter
Sydney and the Central Coast	21–24 °C	16–19 °C	5–7 mm in summer, 7 mm semi-dry with hood in winter
NSW South Coast (Jervis Bay to Eden)	19–22 °C	14–17 °C	7 mm semi-dry year-round, hood and gloves in winter, drysuit optional
Victoria (Port Phillip, Mornington, Prom)	17–20 °C	11–14 °C	7 mm semi-dry with hood and gloves Feb–Apr; drysuit May–Nov
Tasmania	15–18 °C	11–13 °C	Drysuit year-round for most; 7 mm semi-dry workable Feb–Apr
South Australia gulfs and Fleurieu	19–23 °C	12–14 °C	7 mm with hood in summer; semi-dry or drysuit in winter
Mount Gambier sinkholes	14–16 °C constant	14–16 °C constant	Drysuit
Perth and the South-West	21–23 °C	17–19 °C	5 mm in autumn, 7 mm with hood in winter
WA South Coast (Albany, Esperance)	18–20 °C	15–17 °C	7 mm semi-dry; drysuit in winter
Ningaloo (Exmouth, Coral Bay)	27–29 °C	22–24 °C	3 mm in summer, 5 mm in winter
Northern Territory	29–32 °C	24–26 °C	3 mm or skin in the dry; full-length stinger suit Oct–May

Why Australians dive thicker than the temperature suggests

Visitors from the northern hemisphere are often surprised that Sydney divers wear 7 mm in 21 °C water. Three things explain it. Australian dives are long: 50–70 minutes is normal on a shore dive with a big tank, and the second half of a long dive is where the cold catches up. Upwellings are common: on the east coast south of Port Stephens the temperature can drop five degrees overnight when a north-easterly pushes surface water offshore and cold water rises, and it can happen in the middle of summer. And there is usually a second dive: surface intervals in wind on a boat deck lose more heat than the dive itself.

Semi-dry versus drysuit in the south

In Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia's winter the choice is between a 7 mm semi-dry (sealed wrists, ankles and neck, so it floods once and stays flooded) and a drysuit. A good semi-dry with a hooded vest is workable to about 13 °C for 40–50 minutes. Below that, or for repeated dives, a drysuit is the difference between enjoying Port Phillip Heads in August and enduring it. Drysuit hire is common in Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide, and a one-day drysuit course is the sensible way to start. Most cold-water operators will tell you their regular divers dive dry from May to November.

Stinger suits in the tropics

From November to May, the marine stinger season, Queensland, Northern Territory and northern WA operators recommend, and often require, full-body coverage on inshore and island sites: a lycra stinger suit, or a full 3 mm wetsuit with a hood, so that only the face and hands are exposed. The risk is box jellyfish (Chironex) and Irukandji, which are more common close to the coast than on the outer reef. Most boats supply lycra suits free. On the outer Great Barrier Reef and at Ningaloo the risk is low but not zero; the suit is also the best sun protection you will find.

Hoods, gloves and boots

Below about 18 °C a hood is worth more than an extra millimetre of suit, because the head loses heat fastest and a cold head ends dives. Gloves are legal and normal everywhere except on some Queensland reef sites where operators ask divers not to wear them to discourage touching coral. Boots and open-heel fins are standard for shore diving, which in Australia often means a walk over rocks or a long beach.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dive Sydney in a 5 mm wetsuit?

From January to April, yes, comfortably, especially north of the Harbour. In winter most divers wear 7 mm with a hood; a 5 mm is tolerable for short dives if you are used to cold water.

Do I need a drysuit for Melbourne?

Not from February to April, when a 7 mm semi-dry with a hood and gloves is standard. From May to November most locals dive dry. Hire drysuits are widely available.

What do I wear on the Great Barrier Reef?

A 3 mm full suit or shorty in summer and a 3–5 mm in winter. In stinger season (November–May) wear a full-length lycra suit, which most boats provide.

Last reviewed September 2026. Rules and seasons change; confirm current requirements with operators and authorities before travelling.

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