Five stars in 2019 isn't five stars today: what ANCAP's date stamp tells you

Two used SUVs sit side by side on a dealer's lot. Both wear a five-star ANCAP sticker. One was tested in 2019, the other in 2025. On the forecourt they look equal. On paper, they were graded against different exams.

That's the detail most buyers skip. Every ANCAP vehicle safety rating carries a 'TESTED' date stamp showing the year and the criteria the car was assessed against, and ANCAP says those criteria are updated every three years, becoming progressively harder. A 2019 result and a 2025 result are not the same achievement. ANCAP's own advice is to choose a vehicle with the highest safety rating possible, 'with a datestamp of no older than six years'.

What the stars measure

ANCAP builds each rating from destructive physical crash tests, an assessment of the safety features and equipment fitted, and performance tests of active collision avoidance technology. Its current assessment is organised into four stages of safety: Safe Driving, Crash Avoidance, Crash Protection and Post Crash, each scored as a percentage.

The important rule is the weakest link. ANCAP says the overall rating 'is limited by its lowest performing assessment stage'. A car that protects its occupants superbly but scores poorly in one other stage can't hide that behind a strong average. When you compare two cars with the same number of stars, open the full report on the ANCAP website and look at the individual stage scores too.

The stars tell you how a car performed. The date stamp tells you what test it sat.

Why the date stamp matters so much

Because the criteria tighten every three years, an older rating was earned against an easier set of tests. ANCAP's rating protocol says a rating stays valid for a maximum of 6 years after the result is released, because the scheme is expected to change so much in that time that relying on an older result would mislead buyers.

The validity period is about how long a manufacturer can use the rating to promote newly built cars. It doesn't take anything away from the car in your driveway. ANCAP is clear that the rating held by your car never expires: a vehicle keeps the rating it was built under for life.

When a new car becomes 'unrated'

This is worth understanding if you're buying new. If a model stays in production beyond its rating validity period and isn't re-assessed to ANCAP's latest criteria, newly built cars of that model become 'unrated'. Cars built during the validity period keep their rating.

So two cars of the same model, sold new from the same showroom, can have different safety rating status depending on when each was built. If you're looking at a demonstrator or a run-out model, your dealer can give you the specific car's build date, and you can check it against the rating's validity on the ANCAP website.

A rating can also lose validity earlier. ANCAP's protocol says that if the specification of a rated vehicle changes, for instance because standard safety equipment is deleted or made optional, the rating may become invalid sooner. ANCAP reviews ratings annually. It generally doesn't re-test a facelifted model within the same series unless significant structural or specification changes are introduced.

Summary of ANCAP and Used Car Safety Ratings information, checked 29 September 2026. Sources below.

Buying used: a second set of stars

For older cars there's another tool. Used Car Safety Ratings, published at howsafeisyourcar.com.au, are developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre from real-world crash statistics: police-reported crashes where someone was killed or injured. They look at how well a vehicle protects its own driver, how well it protects other road users, and what crash avoidance technology it has. ANCAP notes these are generally models at least six years old.

The two systems measure different things. ANCAP is a controlled test of a car when new; a Used Car Safety Rating reflects how that model has fared on real roads. For a used car, check both where they exist.

Using ratings at the dealership

Start by asking which rating applies to the exact car on the lot, not the model in the brochure. Then read the date stamp. A rating older than six years doesn't rule a car out on its own, especially a budget used car, and your dealer can show you newer alternatives in the same price range to compare.

Check open safety recalls against the vehicle on the Australian Government's vehicle recalls website as well. A rating describes how the car was designed and built; a recall tells you about a problem that has been found since.

For work vehicles, ANCAP recommends that company-owned or private cars used for work purposes have a five-star ANCAP result with a date stamp no more than six years old. That's a useful benchmark for anyone putting family or staff in a car every day.

The bottom line

Stars without a year are only half the story. Read the date stamp, check the stage scores, confirm the build date of the car you're buying and, for used cars, look up the real-world rating too. Those five minutes on two free websites tell you more about how a car will look after you than anything on the window sticker.