Children aged 7 years and over who are too small to use a seatbelt should use an approved booster seat or an anchored safety harness. The suggested minimum height for using a seatbelt is 145cm or taller.
Children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat. Children who are 8 years of age OR have reached 4'9” in height may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.
Children aged 7 years and over can travel in the front seat. However, research shows that children under 12 years are much safer travelling in the back seat.
Legally, children aged 7 and up can sit in a normal seat with an adult seatbelt and can travel in the front seat, but they are safest if they remain in their existing booster seat until their shoulders go past the maximum height marker, and continue to travel in the back seat until age 12.
In WA, children aged 0 to 7 years must be appropriately restrained in a child car restraint when travelling as a passenger in a vehicle. Restraints should be appropriate for your child's age and height, not old or worn, nor over 10 years old or previously been in a crash and need to be correctly installed in cars.
Currently booster cushions fall under the Group 2/3 car seat category, meaning they can be used from around 4-years-old. The new extension recommends children use backless boosters once they are 125cm or taller, which is roughly about 7-years-old.
Children's seatbelts and child restraints
Aged 4 years to under 7 years seated in either a forward-facing child seat or booster seat restrained by a fastened seatbelt or child safety harness. Aged 7 years to 16 years are either in a suitable child seat or a seatbelt.
Children aged 7 or older can legally sit in the front seat. They can either sit in a booster seat or use a properly adjusted seatbelt. However, it is recommended that children sit in the back seat until they are 12 for safety reasons.
Children aged 4 to 7 years can only sit in the front seat if all other seats are occupied by children under 7 years old. Children 7 years and over can sit in the front seat.
Is a backless booster seat illegal in Australia? Backless booster seats do not meet the Australian Safety Standards and are not legal to use in Australia. All child car seats to be used in Australia must comply with the Australian Standards AS/NZS 1754.
Children aged between 6 months and 4 years must use either a rear-facing child car seat or a forward-facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness. Children aged between 4 and 7 years must use a forward‑facing child car seat with an inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat.
All children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat. When children are old enough and large enough for the vehicle seat belt to fit them correctly, they should always use a lap and shoulder seat belts for the best protection. All children younger than 13 should ride in the back seat.
Child restraints and the law
In Victoria, children under seven years of age must be restrained in an approved child restraint or approved booster seat when travelling in a motor vehicle. Children over seven years of age and under 16 years must be restrained in a booster seat or adult seatbelt.
Why is the middle seat safest? Simply stated, the middle seat is the furthest from impact during a collision, as well as the furthest away from air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that all children under the age of 13 ride in the back seat, ideally in the center.
At 4 months, a baby typically can hold his/her head steady without support, and at 6 months, he/she begins to sit with a little help. At 9 months he/she sits well without support, and gets in and out of a sitting position but may require help. At 12 months, he/she gets into the sitting position without help.
It is safest — and best practice — for children to not sit in the front seat until they are 13 years old. The Centers for Disease Control, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and, most likely, even your air bag and car manufacturer recommend keeping children under age 13 in the back seat.
Although a child aged over 7 can legally ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with two or more rows of seats, it is recommended that children under 12 years of age always use the rear seats first.
Children over the age of 12 months are permitted to wear a seatbelt while travelling in a taxi – but parents or taxi service providers may wish to provide and use a child car seat. To travel in an Uber, babies and children who are under the age of seven must be secured in an approved child car seat for their age.
It is recommended that children 12 years and younger do not sit in the front seat of a car. How do I install a car seat? To keep your child safe the car seat must be properly installed in your car. A new car seat will come with instructions on how to install it.
Passenger safety. It's illegal to leave a child unattended in a car where they might be in distress or their health is in danger. Sometimes children won't want to buckle up. They may not understand the safety reasons, be restless or want to do it their way.
Types of Booster Seats:
They do not come with a harness but are used with lap and shoulder seat belts in your vehicle, the same way an adult rides. They are designed to raise a child up so that lap and shoulder seat belts fit properly over the strongest parts of the child's body.
If you're wondering if you can put a car seat in the third row of an SUV, the answer is yes. But space limitations can make it difficult to get the seat installed properly and maneuver with a child in hand. Learn more about the difference between SUVs vs.
All children must be secured in appropriate safety restraints regardless of where they are sitting. Children under the age of four should never travel in the front seat of a vehicle unless the car is a ute or other type of vehicle that does not have a back seat.
Most families will use three different seats as their child grows: an infant seat, a convertible seat, and a booster seat.