Child Car Seats

[Guest threejays]

Just wondered what the rules are regarding car seats? My youngest is 6 and at 130cm still requires a booster seat (for a little while longer) - what happens in Oz?

[Guest sundropstar]

Hi My daughter is 6 also, she just uses a regular booster seat , not the one with the back attached. I brought it here but it is exactly the same as the one we used in the UK. The car seats and booster seats semms more expensive here but I'm not sure of the legal requirements, you will probably find them on the transport department website. There was this seatbeld adjuster thing we brought as well, it clips to a hook on the floor of the boot and passes over the seat head. You thread the seatbelt through it and it holds the child's shoulders back to the chair and more securely. Trying to get it on my monkey was another thing entirely though.........! I've given up now and it's in the garage.

[jomark]

What will the new laws mean?

 

The new laws will require children to be appropriately restrained in a motor vehicle in a suitable approved child restraint from birth up to the age of seven.

Specifically, the new laws will require children:

• up to the age of six months to be restrained in a rearward facing child restraint (e.g. infant capsule)
  
• from six months until the age of four to be restrained in either a rearward or forward facing child restraint (e.g. child safety seat)
  
• from four years until the age of seven to be restrained in either a forward facing child restraint or booster seat restrained by a correctly adjusted and fastened seatbelt or child safety harness.
  

The new laws also deal with the issue of children sitting in the front seat of a vehicle.

• Children up to four years of age must be restrained in the rear of the vehicle (where the vehicle has two or more rows of seats)
  
• Children aged between four and seven years will not be permitted to sit in the front seat unless all other seating positions are already occupied by children under seven.
  

By specifying the type of restraint to be used at different ages and where children must be seated in a vehicle, the new laws will reduce the risk of injury caused by the use of unsuitable restraints for a child’s size.

It will also provide parents and carers with the advice and clarification they need about what type of restraint provides the best safety benefit for their children.

Nothing else offers the same level of crash protection for babies and young children as a properly fitted child restraint – it is one investment that parents and carers alike can’t afford not to make.

 

Hope that helps

 

 

Jo

[Guest MarkIngram]

Hi My daughter is 6 also, she just uses a regular booster seat , not the one with the back attached. I brought it here but it is exactly the same as the one we used in the UK. The car seats and booster seats semms more expensive here but I'm not sure of the legal requirements, you will probably find them on the transport department website. There was this seatbeld adjuster thing we brought as well, it clips to a hook on the floor of the boot and passes over the seat head. You thread the seatbelt through it and it holds the child's shoulders back to the chair and more securely. Trying to get it on my monkey was another thing entirely though.........! I've given up now and it's in the garage.

 

Regarding the laws with child seats...it has to carry the Australian Approved Sticker for it to be legal. I use the label legal in loose terms though as we checked this with numerous people and government departments and it seems that although you won't get knicked by the police for having seats from the UK, if you had a crash and the seat were not Australian Approved then your insurance is null and void.

 

I think the seats here personally are not quite to the same standard as those in the UK, certainly the ones we had were excellent...but I'd rather know that I am driving around and my kids are safe and my insurance is valid....so it's Aussie car seats for us.