The law and standards on child restraints
The law states that children under one year must be carried in an approved child restraint. Child restraints must be suitable for the child's size and weight and properly fitted and adjusted. Approved restraints carry the Australian Standards AS/NZ1754 sticker.
what does the law say?
It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that passengers under 16 years of age are properly restrained in a seat belt or approved child restraint.
Penalties for drivers not ensuring their passengers, under the age of 16, are properly restrained involve a fine of $165 and three demerit points or, if convicted in court, a fine of up to $500 and three demerit points. Possible suspension or cancellation of licence may also apply.
Exemptions apply as follows:
- If a child under one is travelling in a taxi and a suitable restraint is not available, provided the child does not travel in the front seat.
- If a child is travelling in a police or emergency vehicle.
- If a child has a medical condition or physical disability that makes it impractical to use a child restraint, and the driver has a certificate from a doctor indicating this is the case.
what are the standards for child restraints?
By law every child restraint sold in Australia must meet strict requirements, which are set out in Australian Standard AS/NZ1754. This covers materials, design, construction, performance, testing and labelling of child restraints. All restraints must carry the Australian Standard AS/NZ1754 sticker.
Most overseas child restraints, including restraints from countries such as the UK and USA, do not comply with these Standards and cannot legally be used in Australia.
Australian Standard AS/NZ1754 states that purchasers should destroy the entire restraint if it is in a severe crash, even if no damage is obvious.
background on the australian standard for child restraints
Australian Standard for child restraints was first introduced in 1973. This standard is one of the toughest in the world, and demands an extremely high degree of protection for a child. The ztandard requires dynamic (crash) testing of restraints and features that significantly improve performance in a crash. One of the main features of the standard is the use of a top tether strap to an anchor point for infant restraints, child car seats, child harnesses and some booster seats.
Ongoing development of the Australian Standard will see better side impact testing to further improve the performance of child restraints. There has also been consideration of a new attachment system allowing a child restraint to be installed in the vehicle without the need for the use of the seat belt. Known as ISOFIX or LATCH systems, these have been developed under the International Standards Organisation (ISO) that has established an International Standard for child restraints. At this stage the decision has been made to continue with more rigorous testing of this new system, including the improvements to side impact tests, before changes to the Australian Standard are made.
