Seatbelts

Each year, around 29 people are killed and 76 are seriously injured on NSW roads because they were not wearing a seatbelt. These deaths and injuries can be prevented by wearing a seatbelt properly.

The rules

Drivers must wear a seatbelt properly while driving. Drivers must not have any part of their body outside the vehicle.

Drivers are also responsible for making sure:

• each passenger is sitting in their own seat that’s fitted with a seatbelt (they must not share the seat or seatbelt with another passenger)
• each passenger is wearing a properly secured and adjusted seatbelt or is in an approved child car seat suitable for their age and size
• there are not more passengers in the vehicle than it’s designed to carry
• no-one travels in an area of the vehicle not designed for passengers, for example, in the boot, on the floor, in the tray of a ute, or in a trailer or caravan
• passengers do not travel with any part of their body outside the vehicle.

It’s also the responsibility of passengers aged over 16 to:

• sit in their own seat and wear a properly secured and adjusted seatbelt
• not travel in an area of the vehicle not designed for passengers
• not have any part of their body outside the vehicle.

Children and seatbelts

You must not put a seatbelt around both yourself and a child on your lap. The child can be easily crushed.

You must not carry a child in your arms in a vehicle. In a crash the child can be crushed, thrown around in the vehicle, or thrown out of the vehicle.

For information on suitable approved child restraints, see Child car seats.

How to wear your seatbelt properly

During a crash, wearing a seatbelt is the most effective way to prevent the driver and passengers from being thrown around in the vehicle, being thrown out of the vehicle, or hitting each other. To maximise safety effectiveness, a seatbelt must be worn correctly as incorrectly worn seatbelts can cause internal injuries in a crash.

For a seatbelt to work, you should adjust it 'low, flat and firm':

• low – placed on your hips to fully secure your body weight
• flat – no twists, turns or folds
• firm – regularly pull the belt firm to remove any slack.

The lap portion of a seatbelt should lie across the bony section of your hips and the sash should fall across your chest and mid shoulder.

If you drive while not wearing a seatbelt, or fail to make sure that your passengers are properly wearing a seatbelt, you will get a fine and demerit points. Under the NSW Road Rules a seatbelt must be worn properly fastened and adjusted. Double demerit points also apply.

In addition to the driver, passengers aged over 16 will get a fine for not wearing a seatbelt. They can also get a fine for travelling with any part of their body outside the vehicle.

Visit Seatbelt-related penalties for the list of fines and demerit points.

From 1 July 2024 phone and seatbelt detection cameras will detect drivers and passengers who are not wearing a seatbelt correctly. 

It’s been a requirement to wear a seatbelt in NSW for over 50 years, yet sadly we continue to see lives being lost when someone has decided not to wear their seatbelt or wear their seatbelt incorrectly.

The cameras will detect incorrectly worn seatbelts as well as seatbelts not being worn by drivers and passengers.

If you receive a fine, but don't believe you have committed an offence you can ask Revenue NSW for a review. If you were not driving the vehicle at the time of the offence you can nominate the person responsible for the offence. If Revenue NsW decides the fine should stand, you can apply to have the matter determined by a magistrate in the NSW Local Court. You can request a review on the NSW Government website: Request a Review.

NSW Police will continue to enforce seatbelt compliance.

Exemptions to wearing a seatbelt properly adjusted and fastened are very limited.

Where possible, passengers who are exempt from wearing a seatbelt, or who are in a vehicle that does not have seatbelts fitted, should sit in the back seat.

Drivers with a full (unrestricted) licence do not have to wear a seatbelt when they are:

• reversing their vehicle
• driving a garbage or delivery vehicle travelling below 25km/h and need to get out regularly.

Passengers travelling with a driver with a full licence do not have to wear a seatbelt if they are:

• getting or giving urgent and necessary medical treatment
• in a garbage or delivery vehicle travelling below 25km/h and need to get out regularly.

All drivers, including learner, provisional P1 and P2 drivers, and their passengers may be exempt from wearing a seatbelt if they have a medical condition and are carrying an appropriate medical certificate.

The granting of an exemption from the use of seatbelts places a person's safety at considerable risk. Medical practitioners (doctors) should comply with the Austroads Assessing Fitness to Drive Appendix 7 guidelines when considering whether to provide a seatbelt exemption medical certificate, noting the guidelines outline very limited circumstances when an exemption medial certificate is appropriate.

Seatbelt exemption medical certificates

If you have a seatbelt exemption medical certificate,  you must carry it when you are in a vehicle and show it to a police officer, if requested.

If you receive a penalty notice from Revenue NSW for a camera detected seatbelt offence and you (or your passenger, in the case of a passenger offence) had a valid medical exemption from wearing a seatbelt at the time, you can request a review of the fine with Revenue NSW. If the review finds that the medical exemption is valid, the fine will be cancelled and the record of the offence will be removed from your licence. You can find more information about requesting a review of a fine on the NSW Government Website Request a Review.

A valid seatbelt exemption medical certificate must:

• state that a medical practitioner (doctor) believes the person should not wear a seatbelt because of a medical condition or disability the person has
• be signed by a doctor who is licenced or registered as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory. For more information see the Australian Health Practitioner Agency
• state the date of issue
• state an expiry date that is not more than 1 year after the date of issue
• not be expired.
• If you have a seatbelt medical exemption certificate, you must comply with any conditions stated in the medical certificate.

Register your seatbelt exemption medical certificate with Transport for NSW

Registration of a medical certificate avoids multiple individual applications to Revenue NSW to waive each individual camera detected seatbelt fine. To apply to register a seatbelt exemption medical certificate with Transport for NSW you can complete a Registration of Medical Certificate form. A seatbelt exemption medical certificate is only valid for up to one year. If after a certificate expires, another seatbelt exemption medical certificate is obtained, then a new application to register the current medical certificate needs to be made for that certificate and for each new valid seatbelt exemption medical certificate.