There are strict laws in NSW governing the use of child restraints in vehicles. Do you know if you have the correct child restraints for the age and size of your children? Find out more about road safety for kids:

What the Law Says

Children less than 6 months old: Your child must be safely fastened in an approved rearward-facing child restraint.

Children 6 months old to 4 years old: Your child must be safely fastened in an approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness – it can either be rear facing or forward facing. Note that children under 4 years old are not allowed to travel in the front seat of vehicles with two or more rows.

Children 4 years old to 7 years old: Your child must be secured in a forward-facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness, or an approved booster seat. Note that children aged 4-7 years old are not allowed to travel in the front seat of your car unless all the back seats are taken by children less than 7 years old.

Children 7 years to 16 years old: Children aged 7-16 years old may use a properly adjusted seatbelt. However, if they are too small then they must use an approved booster seat. The NSW government recommends that children over the age of 7 years old must be at least 145cm tall before they use a normal seatbelt.

The Driver is Responsible: The driver is responsible that children are safely secured as outlined by the road rules. The penalty for not following the rules is steep – 20 penalty points – which works out to be $2,200.

You can check out further details on the rules for child restraints here: Road Rules 2008, reg 266

Find out More About Child Restraints

If you have trouble fitting or adjusting your child car seat, you can visit an Authorised Restraint Fitting Station.

You can find more information on road safety for kids and selecting the right child restraints for your children here.