Child car seats
By law, children aged up to 7 years must use a child car seat when travelling in motor vehicles in Australia.
The right type of car seat for your child depends on their age and size, as well as any additional needs. It’s always safest to keep your child in the car seat that’s most appropriate for your child’s size, regardless of age.
For more information about child car seat standards, laws and exemptions, see our articles on choosing and installing child car seats and safe car travel for children with disability, medical conditions or other needs.
Types of child car seats
Rear-facing child car seat or infant capsule
This:
- faces towards the back of the car
- has an inbuilt harness.
An ‘extended rear-facing seat’ is one that children can use until they’re 2-3 years old.
Forward-facing child car seat
This:
- faces towards the front of the car
- has an inbuilt harness.
An ‘extended harnessed seat’ is one that has an inbuilt harness that fits most children until they’re 7-8 years old.
Booster seat
This:
- faces towards the front of the car
- is usually used with an adult lap-sash seatbelt.
If the booster seat doesn’t have an inbuilt harness, it’s safest to put it where there’s a lap-sash adult seatbelt. If you can’t do this, you must use a child safety harness as well as the lap-only seatbelt.
If you need to use a child safety harness with your booster seat, make sure the shoulder straps aren’t too tight. Also make sure that the lap-only part of the seatbelt is secured across your child’s thighs, below their hips.
Only some booster seats accommodate a child safety harness. These booster seats are designed to make sure that the harness can’t slip up into your child’s tummy in a crash. Check the booster seat instructions.
Convertible child car seat
This means the car seat can be configured as a rear-facing car seat or a forward-facing seat with an inbuilt harness.
Combination child car seat
This means the car seat can be configured as a forward-facing car seat with inbuilt harness or a booster seat with a lap-sash adult seatbelt.
What child car seat should your baby use from birth to 6 months?
Your baby must use a rear-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness for at least the first 6 months of life. This is the minimum legal requirement.
You can use one of the following:
- a car seat designed specifically for the first 6 months, like an infant capsule
- a convertible car seat, which must be configured as rear facing.
Babies outgrow infant capsules quickly, so you could look into hiring one, rather than buying it. It’s a good idea to do this well before your baby is born.
What child car seat should your child use from 6 months to 4 years?
If your child is aged 6 months up to 4 years, they must use one of the following as a minimum legal requirement:
- a rear-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness
- a forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness.
When can your child face forwards?
It’s recommended that children use rear-facing car seats until their shoulders reach the maximum shoulder height markers on those seats. Rear-facing car seats give children the head and neck support that they need to stay safe.
Some rear-facing car seats have one shoulder height marker. Others have 2 markers that show the minimum and maximum shoulder height for moving to a forward-facing seat. If your child has a car seat with 2 markers, keep your child in this car seat until they reach the maximum shoulder height marker.
What child car seat should your child use from 4 to 7 years?
If your child is aged 4 years up to 7 years, they must use one of the following as a minimum legal requirement:
- a forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness
- a booster seat with a lap-sash adult seatbelt or child safety harness.
When can your child move to a booster seat?
If your child outgrows a forward-facing car seat, they can move to a booster seat. Your child has outgrown the car seat when they reach the maximum shoulder height marker.
What child car seat should your child use at 7 years and older?
If your child is aged 7 years or older, they must use one of the following as a minimum legal requirement:
- a booster seat with a lap-sash adult seatbelt or child safety harness
- a vehicle seat with a properly adjusted and fastened lap-sash adult seatbelt.
Some children at this age might still fit into forward-facing car seats with inbuilt harnesses.
If your child has reached the top shoulder height markers on a booster seat, try the 5-step seatbelt test. This will tell you whether your child can use a lap-sash adult seatbelt correctly and safely. If your child has outgrown their current booster seat but doesn’t fit the seatbelt correctly, you’ll need to get a taller booster seat.
When can your child start using a lap-sash adult seatbelt?
Most 7-year-olds are too small for lap-sash adult seatbelts, even though Australian law says that they can use them.
The 5-step test for using an adult seatbelt
Your child can start using a lap-sash adult seatbelt only when they pass the 5-step test.
To pass the 5-step test, your child must be able to do all the following:
- Sit with their back firmly against the seat back.
- Bend their knees comfortably over the front of the seat cushion.
- Sit with the sash belt across their mid-shoulder, not across their face or neck.
- Sit with the lap belt across the top of their thighs, not across their abdomen.
- Stay in this position for the whole car trip.
Things to think about with adult seatbelts
A lap-sash adult seatbelt might fit your child correctly only in certain vehicles or vehicle seats. For example, the seatbelt might fit your child better when they’re sitting in the middle vehicle seat rather than the outer seat.
If a police officer thinks that a child aged over 7 years isn’t wearing a lap-sash adult seatbelt correctly, the officer can give you a fine and penalty points recorded against your driver licence.
For advice about moving your child into a different car seat, it’s a good idea to ask your child and family health nurse or other health professional, your local fitting service, or your state or territory Kidsafe or road safety authority.
Size and safety considerations when changing child car seats
It’s always safest to keep your child in the child car seat that’s most appropriate for your child’s size, regardless of age. Therefore, Australian law allows for the following:
- Children who are too small for the type of car seat specified for their age can stay in their current car seat until they grow into the seat for the next age group.
- Children who are too big for the type of car seat specified for their age can move to the seat specified for the next age group.
If your child moves to the next type of car seat or starts using a lap-sash adult seat belt before they’re big enough, they might not be protected properly in a crash.