Tasmania’s failure to enact new national bike helmet standards was in the news recently but hopefully we’ll see a solution before the end of the year.
If you already have a helmet you won’t be affected, but if you are looking to buy a new helmet you’ll need to be aware that you may be buying a helmet not recognised under Tasmanian legislation.
The Australian Government introduced a new safety standard for helmets in March 2024 that included the European Standard for bike helmets and three US standards, as well as the previous Australian and New Zealand standard.
This means bike helmet makers don’t have to pay multiple times to get their helmets tested against various standards, which will hopefully reduce prices for consumers.
Separate to the new safety standard, state and territory laws govern which helmets can be legally used on public roads.
Since the new standard was introduced last year every state and territory has changed its laws except for Tasmania, which still only allows helmets that meet the Australian and New Zealand Standard.
The transitional period for the new standard finished last month, from now on under federal law, shops must only sell helmets that meet the Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard) (Bicycle Helmets) Regulations 2001.
However, under Tasmanian law some of the helmets that are now allowed to be sold under the federal law cannot be used on Tasmanian roads which effectively prevents local suppliers from selling them.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission explains the conundrum on its website:
“Under the Australian Consumer Law, suppliers must ensure that goods are safe, of acceptable quality and fit for any disclosed purpose. If a consumer tells a business they are buying a bicycle helmet to ride on a public road, the business must sell them a bicycle helmet that is fit for that purpose.”
The Tasmanian Parliament is due to sit again in November for two weeks and December for one week, so we’re expecting the government to introduce the law change in one of these sittings.
More information about the new helmet standard can be found at https://www.productsafety.gov.au/business/search-mandatory-standards/bicycle-helmets-mandatory-standard
Main image: NYDOT on Flickr
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