Australian Capital Territory - Bicycles and Helmets

  • Many Australian states have provided for an exemption from the bicycle helmet requirement for Sikhs that wear a Dastaar. This includes the Australian Capital Territory. 

  • ACT’s law provides a general exemption for Sikhs wishing to ride a bicycle without a helmet.

  • You can ride a bicycle in ACT without a helmet if you:

    • are a Sikh

    • are wearing a turban, and

    • that turban makes it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet.

  • To ride a bike without a helmet, Sikhs need to be wearing a turban that makes it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet. A chotti dastaar or small turban may not make it impractical to wear a bicycle helmet.

  • An extract of the applicable law regarding helmets and bicycles in the ACT is contained below (emphasis added). 

Road Transport (Road Rules) Regulation 2017 (ACT)

Section 256 Bicycle helmet

(1) The rider of a bicycle must wear an approved bicycle helmet securely fitted and fastened on the rider’s head.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(2) A passenger on a bicycle that is moving, or is stationary but not parked, must wear an approved bicycle helmet securely fitted and fastened on the passenger’s head, unless the passenger is a paying passenger on a three-wheeled or four-wheeled bicycle.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(3) The rider of a bicycle must not ride with a passenger on the bicycle unless the passenger complies with subsection (2).

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(4) This section does not apply if—

(a) the person required to wear the helmet is a member of a religious group; and

(b) the person is wearing a type of headdress customarily worn by members of the group; and

(c) the wearing of the headdress makes it impractical for the person to wear an approved bicycle helmet.

Note The defendant has an evidential burden in relation to the matters mentioned in s (4) (see Criminal Code, s 58).

State specific Sikh bicycle helmet laws: