Never leave children unattended in cars
Never leave your child unattended in the car, even for a moment. If you have to leave your car for any reason, always take your child with you.
Leaving children unattended in cars is dangerous and can be life-threatening.
Australian state and territory laws about leaving children unattended in cars
Laws about leaving children unattended in cars vary across Australian states and territories. In most states, you can be charged with an offence if your child is left in a dangerous situation.
Australian Capital Territory
It’s illegal to leave a child alone in a car if they could be injured, become unwell or be in danger while they’re in the car.
New South Wales
It’s illegal to leave a child alone in a car if it puts their health in danger or causes them distress.
Northern Territory
It isn’t illegal to leave a child alone in a car in the Northern Territory.
Queensland
It’s illegal to leave a child alone in a car for an unreasonable amount of time. Whether the amount of time is unreasonable depends on the circumstances.
South Australia
It isn’t illegal to leave a child alone in a car in South Australia. But it is illegal to leave the ignition key in the car if there’s a child under 16 years in the car and the driver is more than 3 metres away.
Tasmania
It isn’t illegal to leave a child alone in a car in Tasmania.
Victoria
It’s illegal to leave a child alone in a car in Victoria.
Western Australia
It’s illegal to leave a child alone in a car if it puts their health in danger or causes them distress.
Is there an age when it’s OK to leave a child in a car? It’s never OK to leave a child in a dangerous situation. But in most states and territories, ‘child’ means ‘under 12 years’.
How to prevent accidentally leaving children in cars
Sometimes children are accidentally left in cars when parents or carers forget that their child is in the back seat. This can happen to anyone, especially if you’re tired, stressed, distracted or out of routine.
The best way to reduce this risk is by making a safe routine for car trips.
You can read more about accidental leaving in cars and how to prevent it.
How to prevent accidentally locking children in cars
Sometimes children are left in cars because they’ve been accidentally locked in. Here are ways to prevent this from happening:
- Don’t let your child play with your keys. Make sure to keep keys out of your child’s reach.
- Keep keys with you at all times to prevent them getting locked inside the car. Think about an easy way to carry your keys, like a lanyard.
- Newer cars often have self-locking features. Put windows down before putting children in the car in case the car automatically locks.
- Talk to your child about not playing with the buttons inside the car.
- Always keep your car locked when you’re not in the car so your child doesn’t get in on their own.
- If you can’t find a child, always check the car in case the child is hiding inside.
If your child is accidentally locked in a car or you see any child left unattended in a car, get help immediately. You could alert someone nearby or shout for help. If the child looks hot or distressed, call 000 immediately. Call local roadside assistance for help too.
Heat risks for children left unattended in cars
Heat is the main risk for children left unattended in cars. Children can suffer life-threatening heatstroke, rapid dehydration, suffocation and death.
This is because cars can get very hot very quickly. In fact, on a hot day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 20-30°C hotter than it is outside. When cars are parked, it takes less than 5 minutes for them to heat to temperatures that can seriously harm children.
Cars can heat to dangerous or fatal levels even on cool or overcast days or when they’re parked in the shade.
The younger children are, the more sensitive they are to heatstroke and the faster they’ll dehydrate.
Other risks for children left unattended in cars
Leaving your child in your car can be dangerous for other reasons too. For example, your child could:
- release themselves from their seat, leave the car and get onto the road
- disengage the car’s handbrake, causing it to roll forwards or backwards
- choke on food, a toy or other objects within their reach
- play with the windows and get their limbs or neck caught
- be involved in a car crash
- be a victim of a break-in
- accidentally lock you out of the car.
If you need to fill your car with petrol, plan to do this when your child isn’t with you or when you have another adult with you. You could also ask someone else to fill your car for you. If these options aren’t possible, you can take your child with you when you’re paying or go to a petrol station that lets you pay at the pump or via an app.