Sydney Cyclists Get 53 New Independent Helmet Safety Ratings

Sydney cyclists can compare 53 newly rated bicycle helmets after Transport for NSW and Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission expanded the Helmet STAR program, with prices ranging from $25 to $595. The highest reported adult score belongs to the Trek Starvos WaveCel, which received five stars with a score of 94.5.

The new results take Helmet STAR’s published database beyond 160 helmets. The program previously rated 61 models in 2024 and 54 in 2025, giving commuters, parents and recreational riders a larger evidence base than a simple legal pass-or-fail label.

That matters as cycling becomes more common across the city. City of Sydney research published on 18 November 2024 found that 19 per cent of surveyed residents rode more than once a month, compared with 7 per cent in 2017, while 60 per cent of regular riders said they felt safe.

The ratings were designed to show how helmets perform above the minimum required standard. Transport for NSW Director Melvin Eveleigh said properly fitted helmets remained one of the simplest ways for riders to reduce the consequences of a crash.

“Wearing a properly fitted helmet is one of the simplest and most effective ways riders can protect themselves on our roads and shared paths,” Mr Eveleigh said. He cited research indicating helmets can reduce head injuries by about 70 per cent and fatal injuries by 65 per cent.

Testing takes place at Transport for NSW’s Crashlab in Western Sydney. Technicians assess coverage, retention strength, dynamic stability, energy attenuation at different impact levels, load distribution and oblique impacts, which examine how a helmet responds when a rider’s head strikes at an angle.

The rating is a comparison tool. A one-star helmet meets recognised legal safety standards and remains legal to use, while higher ratings indicate stronger performance above that baseline in Helmet STAR’s testing.

The latest list includes the Trek Tyro as the highest-rated child helmet, while the Fluid Vector and Lazer Lupo Kineticore are among the five-star models listed by the program. Transport for NSW said the $79 Trek Tyro and $40 Fluid Vector showed that riders do not need to spend hundreds of dollars to find a highly rated helmet.

Price is a poor shortcut. In the 2024 results, a $22 Bluey toddler helmet received five stars, while several helmets priced between $45 and $350 received one-star ratings, according to the Helmet STAR program.

Parents should check the child category and also note that correct size is very important here. The child’s helmet must sit level, cover the forehead and stay securely fastened under the chin. A high score cannot compensate for an incorrect size or a loose fit.

Adult riders should compare helmets within the category that matches their use. A sealed-cycleway commuter, a food-delivery rider working near traffic and a mountain biker on technical terrain may reasonably prioritise different combinations of coverage, ventilation, stability and weight.

Helmet STAR advises treating the published list as a shortlist rather than an instruction to buy one particular model. Retail prices and availability can change, and specialised full-face helmets or children’s sizes may be harder to find in some shops.

Ratings from different years should be read carefully. Testing methods and standards can change, so a score from one release should not be treated as perfectly interchangeable with a score from another year.

Helmet STAR also covers more ground than a basic compliance label because its one-to-five-star scale compares performance across several crash and stability measures. The Australian government-backed program differs from Virginia Tech’s ratings through its testing at Crashlab and its use of coverage, retention, stability, multiple energy levels, load distribution and oblique-impact assessments.

NSW law still requires bicycle riders to wear an approved helmet that is securely fitted and fastened. The requirement applies to ordinary bicycles, children riding with training wheels and children carried as passengers, with no general exemptions stated by Transport for NSW.

The program’s origins are local. It followed the coronial inquest into the death of Sydney man James Roberts, who suffered fatal head injuries in a bicycle crash on 11 February 2019 while wearing a helmet that met the Australian Standard.

The NSW Coroner found that compliance represented a minimum performance threshold and recommended clearer information so consumers could distinguish between helmets that technically met the law. Transport for NSW launched Helmet STAR in July 2024, with the initiative later expanding through its partnership with the Victorian Transport Accident Commission.

Independent safety observers have supported the additional information. The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute described the NSW testing as covering relevant performance factors and going further than other helmet-rating systems it had seen, while Bicycle NSW welcomed clearer consumer guidance when the program launched.

Professor Jake Olivier of the UNSW School of Mathematics and Statistics and Transport and Road Safety Research Centre provides a separate perspective on the protection question. His research reported an immediate 46 per cent reduction in cycling fatalities per 100,000 people after mandatory helmet legislation was introduced in Australia.

The broader helmet-law debate remains unsettled. Some Sydney cycling forum contributors argue compulsory helmets make bike-share, tourism and short utility trips less convenient, while other riders say the larger barriers are traffic danger, gaps in separated infrastructure and poor path connections.

Those arguments concern cycling participation rather than the value of the ratings themselves. Helmet STAR can help riders choose between products, while protected routes, safer intersections, better bike parking and affordable equipment remain separate policy issues.

For a Sydney shopper, the practical sequence is straightforward: choose the right riding category, filter for four- or five-star protection, confirm the model and price are still available, then prioritise a secure and comfortable fit. A label such as MIPS or WaveCel is only one feature, not a substitute for the overall Helmet STAR result.

The 2026 results are available through the Helmet STAR website, alongside test results, images and explanatory material. Riders should check the published rating, current availability and fit before making a purchase.