Safety Ratings Explained — Crash Tests and Stars in Australia

Five stars look great on a windscreen sticker. But what does a Euro NCAP and ANCAP rating actually involve, and how are the stars earned? Here's the crash test system, decoded.

When you're shopping for an electric car in Australia, the star rating is one of the first things you'll see. It's also one of the least understood. In Australia, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rates cars using protocols closely aligned with Euro NCAP, Europe's long-running crash test program.

So what does it take to earn those stars? And what do the tests actually measure?

Note: Euro NCAP's rating methodology has evolved. The classic scoring structure below shows how the core crash tests themselves are assessed. Current overall star ratings are based on a weighted percentage framework across four protection areas — for the latest official results, see euroNCAP.org and ancap.com.au.

What is Euro NCAP?

Euro NCAP (the European New Car Assessment Programme) has been rating cars since 1997, making it one of the world's most established safety programs. It's an independent industry organisation, made up of European governments, motoring bodies, consumer organisations and car clubs. No car manufacturer is a member.

Its purpose is straightforward: to provide a fair, meaningful and objective assessment of how cars perform in a crash. The testing informs consumers, encourages manufacturers, and gives credit to those who genuinely excel at protecting occupants and pedestrians.

Cars are assessed in three ways:

• occupant protection (the star rating you see on the sticker)

• child restraint assessment

• pedestrian protection

The tests themselves are based on protocols developed for legislation by the European Enhanced Vehicle Safety Committee (EEVC), covering frontal and side impact protection for occupants, and protection for pedestrians struck by the front of a car.

What is ANCAP?

ANCAP, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, has been rating cars for Australia and New Zealand since 1993. In ANCAP's case, that includes Australian and New Zealand members, such as the state motoring clubs.

Since 2018, ANCAP has adopted Euro NCAP's testing protocols, with scoring adjusted for local conditions. That means a car tested by Euro NCAP is assessed under the same crash tests and injury criteria when it's rated for Australia.

• Adult Occupant Protection

• Child Occupant Protection

• Vulnerable Road User Protection

• Safety Assist

Each pillar earns a percentage score, and the overall result is delivered as a star rating from zero to five.

The crash tests

Both ANCAP and Euro NCAP's core crash tests include:

• Frontal offset impact at 64 km/h — the car hits a deformable barrier with 40 per cent of its front width. This is a demanding test: the offset layout means only part of the car's structure absorbs the energy, putting real stress on the passenger cell.

• Side impact at 60 km/h — a mobile deformable barrier strikes the side of the car, where there's less structure between the occupant and the impact.

• Side pole impact at 32 km/h (optional) — the car is pushed sideways into a rigid pole, simulating a tree, lamppost or power pole.

How the stars are scored

Under the classic scoring structure for these core crash tests, occupant protection is scored out of 37 points:

• Frontal impact: up to 16 points

• Side impact: up to 16 points

• Side pole test: up to 2 points (where the car is fitted with a head-protecting side airbag)

• Seatbelt reminder: up to 3 points

Note that the side pole test is optional — 37 points is the maximum available when it's included, and most cars won't score the full total.

The points translate into stars:

• 33–37 points: 5 stars

• 25–32 points: 4 stars

• 17–24 points: 3 stars

• 9–16 points: 2 stars

• 1–8 points: 1 star

Today, Euro NCAP publishes overall star ratings based on weighted percentage scores across adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road user protection and safety assist. The point structure above shows how the core crash tests themselves are scored.

Why the star count isn't the whole story

Here's the part most buyers miss: a 5-star rating doesn't mean every area scored perfectly. Euro NCAP also sets a minimum score for each individual test. A car can't earn a star rating on a strong overall total alone — each area has to reach a baseline.

And the rating can be harsh when it needs to be. If any body region records an unacceptably high risk of life-threatening injury, the final star is struck through. In frontal impacts, those regions are the head, neck and chest. In side impacts, they're the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis.

In practice, this means the rating rewards balanced engineering. A car can't trade a weak side structure for a strong frontal score and still look good. Every area of protection has to meet the standard.

Why this matters in Australia

Australian cars are rated by ANCAP, which shares its testing protocols with Euro NCAP. That means the five stars on a local car's sticker come from a system designed to be fair, objective and consistent. It rewards manufacturers who genuinely engineer for safety, rather than just scoring well in one area.

The next time you see a five-star result, you'll know what went into earning it: three core crash tests and a 37-point scoring system. Minimum per-area requirements mean the rating can be struck through entirely if any single area presents a life-threatening risk. That's what a safety rating really represents — and why it's worth taking seriously.