266 Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 16 years old
(1) The driver of a motor vehicle (except a bus or motor bike) that is
moving, or is stationary but not parked, must ensure that this rule is
complied with for each passenger in or on the vehicle who is under
16 years old.
Note
Bus, motor bike, motor vehicle and park are defined in the dictionary.
(2) If the passenger is less than 6 months old, he or she must be
restrained in a suitable and properly fastened and adjusted
rearward facing approved child restraint.
1 Approved child restraint is defined in subrule (7) and rearward facing is
defined in subrule (6A).
2 See subrule (4B) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
(2A) If the passenger is 6 months old or older, but is less than 4 years
old, he or she must be restrained in a suitable and properly
fastened and adjusted:
(a) rearward facing approved child restraint; or
(b) forward facing approved child restraint that has an inbuilt
harness.
1 Approved child restraint is defined in subrule (7) and forward facing and
rearward facing are defined in subrule (6A).
2 See subrule (4C) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
(2B) If the passenger is 4 years old or older, but is less than 7 years old,
the passenger must:
(a) be restrained in a suitable and properly fastened and adjusted
forward facing approved child restraint that has an inbuilt
harness; or
(b) be placed on a properly positioned approved booster seat and
be restrained by either a suitable lap and sash type approved
seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened, or by a
suitable approved child safety harness that is properly
adjusted and fastened; or
Traffic Regulations – Australian Road Rules 264
(c) if the passenger is seated in a seating position in a part of the
vehicle that is designed primarily for the carriage of goods:
(i) be restrained by a suitable lap and sash type seatbelt
that is properly adjusted and fastened; or
(ii) have the midsection of the passenger's body restrained
by a suitable lap type seatbelt that is properly adjusted
and fastened, and have the passenger's upper body
restrained by an approved child safety harness that is
properly adjusted and fastened.
1 Approved booster seat, approved child restraint and approved child
safety harness are defined in subrule (7), approved seatbelt is defined in
the dictionary and forward facing is defined in subrule (6A).
2 See subrule (4D) if a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
3 In relation to paragraph (b), subrule (4E) permits an approved child safety
harness to be worn instead of the sash part of a lap and sash seatbelt.
4 In relation to paragraph (c), under rule 268(2), a person may only occupy a
seating position in a part of a vehicle that is designed primarily for the
carriage of goods if that position is suitable for the size and weight of the
(2C) The driver does not have to ensure subrule (2), (2A) or (2B) is
complied with for a passenger if:
(a) the driver is carrying a medical certificate that states a medical
practitioner believes the passenger should not be restrained in
any of the ways described in those subrules because of a
medical condition or disability that the passenger has; and
(b) the passenger is properly restrained in a child restraint that
has been designed for, and is suitable for use by, the
passenger or a person with the same medical condition or
disability as the passenger; and
(c) the driver is complying with any conditions stated in the
(d) no other law of this jurisdiction states that this subrule does
Note
Section 266 - TRAFFIC REGULATIONS, SCHEDULE 3 - AUSTRALIAN ROAD RULES 1999 - Wearing of seatbelts by passengers under 16 years old | Zoe
Traffic Regulations – Australian Road Rules 265
(2D) However, the driver is exempt under subrule (2C) only if the driver
immediately produces the medical certificate when an authorised
person or police officer asks to see the certificate.
Note
(3) A passenger who is under 4 years old must not be in the front row
of a motor vehicle that has 2 or more rows of seats.
(3A) A passenger who is 4 years old or older, but is less than 7 years
old, must not be in the front row of a motor vehicle that has 2 or
more rows of seats unless in the row or rows behind the front row:
(a) all of the other seats are occupied by passengers who are
also less than 7 years old; or
(b) there is no empty seating position in which the passenger can
sit in accordance with this rule.
This subrule would permit a 6 year old to sit in the front row of a vehicle that has
2 rows of seats if 2 occupied approved child restraints in the back row
encroached on an empty seating position between them in a way that made it
impossible for another approved child restraint or booster seat to be placed in
that position.
(3B) The driver does not have to comply with subrule (3) or (3A) if:
(a) the driver is carrying a medical certificate that states a medical
practitioner believes the passenger should be in the front row
of the vehicle because of a medical condition or disability that
the passenger has; and
(b) the driver is complying with any conditions stated in the
Note
(3C) However, the driver is exempt under subrule (3B) only if the driver
immediately produces the medical certificate when an authorised
person or police officer asks to see the certificate.
Note
Traffic Regulations – Australian Road Rules 266
(4) If the passenger is 7 years old or older but under 16 years old:
(a) he or she must be restrained in a suitable approved child
restraint that is properly adjusted and fastened; or
(b) he or she:
(i) must occupy a seating position that is fitted with a
suitable seatbelt; and
(ii) must not occupy the same seating position as another
passenger (whether or not the other passenger is
exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267); and
(iii) must wear the seatbelt properly adjusted and fastened.
Note
In relation to paragraph (b)(iii), subrule (4E) permits an approved child safety
harness to be worn instead of the sash part of a lap and sash seatbelt.
(4A) Subrules (2), (2A), (2B) and (4) do not apply if the passenger is
exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267.
(4B) If a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
subrule (2) because of his or her height or weight, he or she must
be restrained as if subrule (2A) applied to him or her.
(4C) If a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
subrule (2A) or (4B) because of his or her height or weight, he or
she must be restrained as if subrule (2B) applied to him or her.
(4D) If a passenger cannot safely be restrained as required by
subrule (2B) or (4C) because of his or her height or weight, he or
she must be restrained as if subrule (4) applied to him or her.
(4E) In the case of a passenger sitting in a seating position that is fitted
with a lap and sash type seatbelt, it is sufficient compliance with
subrule (2B)(b) or (4)(b)(iii), as the case may be, if, instead of using
the sash part of the seatbelt, an approved child safety harness that
is properly adjusted and fastened is used to restrain the upper body
of the passenger.
Note
Approved child safety harness is defined in subrule (7).
(5) The driver of a public minibus or taxi is exempt from subrules (2),
(2A) and (2B) in relation to a passenger if:
(a) there is no suitable approved child restraint available in the
minibus or taxi for the passenger; and
Traffic Regulations – Australian Road Rules 267
(b) if the minibus or taxi has 2 or more rows of seats – the
passenger is not in the front row of seats; and
(c) there is not another law of this jurisdiction requiring all
passengers in a minibus or taxi who are the same age as the
passenger to be restrained in an approved child restraint.
1 Public minibus and taxi are defined in the dictionary.
2 Despite the exemption provided by this subrule, in order to comply with
subrule (5A) the driver of a taxi or public minibus must ensure that
passengers who are 1 year old or older, but less than 7 years old, wear an
approved seatbelt.
(5A) If the exemption set out in subrule (5) applies to a driver in relation
to a passenger who is 1 year old or older, but less than 7 years old,
and who is not exempt from wearing a seatbelt under rule 267, the
passenger must wear an approved seatbelt that is properly
adjusted and fastened to the best extent that is possible given the
height and weight of the passenger.
(5B) The driver of a public minibus, taxi or tow truck is exempt from
subrules (2) and (2A) in relation to a passenger who is under 1 year
old if no suitable approved child restraint is fitted and available for
use and the public minibus, taxi or tow truck has 2 or more rows of
seats and the passenger is not in the front row of seats and:
(a) the passenger under 1 year old is seated in the lap of a
passenger who is 16 years old or older; and
(b) in the case of a tow truck, the passenger under 1 year old is
being transported from a location where the vehicle that the
passenger was travelling in is being towed by the tow truck if it
is necessary to tow the vehicle because the vehicle has
broken down or has been involved in a crash.
(5C) This rule does not apply to the driver of a correctional vehicle,
juvenile justice vehicle or sheriff's vehicle.
Note
Correctional vehicle, juvenile justice vehicle and sheriff's vehicle are defined
(6) For this rule:
(a) an approved child restraint is available in the motor vehicle for
a passenger if an approved child restraint is fitted in the
vehicle and is not occupied by someone else under 16 years
old; and
Traffic Regulations – Australian Road Rules 268
(b) an approved child restraint or seatbelt is suitable for a
passenger if it is suitable for restraining, or to be worn by the
passenger.
(6A) For this rule, a child restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted:
(a) is forward facing if, once it restrains a passenger, his or her
head is closer to the rear of the vehicle than his or her feet;
(b) is rearward facing if, once it restrains a passenger, his or her
feet are closer to the rear of the vehicle than his or her head.
approved booster seat means a booster seat approved, for the
Australian Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction.
approved child restraint means a child restraint approved, for the
Australian Road Rules, under another law of this jurisdiction.
approved child safety harness means a child safety harness
approved, for the Australian Road Rules, under another law of this
Note
The application of this rule is modified by regulation 86A of the Traffic