The trade winds are the east to southeasterly winds (in the Southern Hemisphere) which affect tropical and subtropical regions, including the northern areas of Australia. During the monsoon season in northern Australia, the easterly trade winds are replaced by moist northwesterly (monsoonal) winds from the Indian Ocean and southern Asian ocean waters.

As mentioned above, the trade winds in the Southern Hemisphere are east to southeasterly in direction. In the Northern Hemisphere however, the trade winds are east to northeasterly in direction. It means that in both hemispheres, they tend to blow from the east to the west and towards the equator. Sometimes the trade winds will just be called "easterly" to avoid having to specify the hemisphere.