In NSW it is considered an offence to leave a child unsupervised in a car and can carry a fine of up to $22,000, but if you read the legislation it does leave some room for running quickly into the petrol station and back out again, you just need to judge the situation for yourself at the time to make sure your child won't over heat, be exposed to any danger or become distressed that you aren't there:
Me personally, i have never/will never leave my kids in the car unsupervised, i just don't think its worth the risk and have always taken the time to get both kids out and put them back in again.
We had a thread on this a while back and someone actually checked with the police who said it is not considered abandonment or being left unsupervised in this situation. Probably because it's only a couple of minutes and bub is within sight - otherwise we'd all be getting fined for carrying one sleeping child into the house and leaving the other one in the car for a minute till we came back for them ay. Unless you're incredibly fortunate and always have someone else with you.
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