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Products the mandatory standard applies to
Parents and carers use child restraints to keep children safe inside motor vehicles. Restraints are generally suitable for children up to 10 years old with shoulder height of 530 mm.
They are fitted in the vehicle and used with existing adult seatbelts.
A child restraint is a device used with an adult seatbelt to restrain a child passenger in a motor vehicle. This reduces the risk of injury or death if there’s an accident.
Child restraints come in many designs and include components to restrain the child with a harness, and to anchor the restraint to the vehicle.
Types of child restraints
There are 8 types of child restraints under the mandatory standard.
Type A
Rearward-facing or transversely installed restraint with a harness.
There are 8 variations in this type.
Type B
Forward-facing chair with harness.
Type C
Forward-facing harness used with a booster seat without a chair.
There are 2 variations in this type.
Type D
Rearward-facing chair with harness.
Type E
A booster seat used in conjunction with a lap-sash seatbelt suitable for children less than 128 cm high.
Type F
A booster seat used in conjunction with a lap-sash seatbelt suitable for children less than 138 cm high.
Type G
Forward-facing chair with harness.
Type H
Converter that’s used either:
- with a booster seat, or
- with a seatbelt without a booster.
Combination type
Child restraints can also be a combination of the above types, such as:
- type AB
- type BE.
Products the mandatory standard does not apply to
This mandatory standard doesn’t apply to child restraints:
- designed for children with a disability
- that are an integrated feature of a motor vehicle.
Complying with the mandatory standard
This mandatory standard applies to design, construction, performance, user instructions, marking and packaging requirements of child restraints used in motor vehicles.
This information is an overview of how to comply with the mandatory standard. Suppliers must not rely on this information as a complete guide to compliance.
View the full detail of the standard.
Design and construction
Child restraints must comply with the design and construction requirements of the mandatory standard. These include the following:
- there must be upper tether straps to reduce a child’s head jolting forward in a motor vehicle accident
- forward-facing restraints must have double crotch straps with a minimum 5-point harness. Single crotch straps can harm the child's genital area during impact from an accident.
The harness:
- should have a single-point adjustment and tested for ease of use
- adjusters must be self-locking
- should have a quick-release buckle so that the child can be quickly freed from the restraint by their parent or carer.
Covers and liners must be included in the restraint to:
- cover any polystyrene that could be accessed by a child
- make sure harnesses aren't easily twisted or tangled so that they can restrain the child properly and comfortably.
Other components and accessories must:
- be durable enough to resist regular wear and tear
- have webbing ends that are not unthreaded
- be rigid, not come off and not be sharp or harmful if a child can access them
- have size and dimension requirements on the anchoring system so child restraints are compatible with different vehicle seats.
Testing
To make sure child restraints comply with the standard suppliers should undertake testing for frontal, side, rear and inverted simulated impacts and other testing set out by the requirements of the mandatory standard.
Child restraint suppliers should organise product testing through specialist testing laboratories.
Labels
A child restraint must be supplied with:
- instructions for safe use and assembly, maintenance and installation information as required by the mandatory standard
- permanent and legible warning labels on it.
The following warnings must appear on all child restraints.
- Use the restraint exactly as shown in the instructions.
- Supervision of children is needed because they may be able to undo buckles.
- WARNING: DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN UNATTENDED IN THE CAR.
- Do not alter or modify this restraint.
- Repairs must only be done by the manufacturer or agent.
- Do not allow the restraint to come into contact with polishes, oils, bleach and other chemicals.
- Destroy the restraint if it has been in a severe crash, even if no damage is visible.
If following the 2013 version of the voluntary standard, the following warning must also appear on the child restraint.
- DO NOT USE THIS RESTRAINT WITHOUT THE COVER.
There are extra warnings required for each restraint type. See the full detail of the standard for more information.
Instructions
A child restraint must come with instructions for installation, use and maintenance as well as general information. The instructions and information need to come in a booklet or sheet that must be:
- attached to the child restraint and removable, or
- provided in a pocket as part of the child restraint.
For type C restraints, the booklet or sheet must be in the package with the child restraint.
Mandatory standard details
The Consumer Protection Notice No. 3 of 2014 sets out the mandatory requirements for child restraint systems for motor vehicles.
The accompanying Explanatory Statement has further information.
The mandatory standard requires that a child restraint complies with certain sections of any one of the 2004, 2010 or 2013 versions of the voluntary Australian New Zealand standard AS/NZS 1754 Child restraint systems for use in motor vehicles, with the variations outlined in the mandatory standard.
You can buy AS/NZS 1754 from Standards Australia, Intertek Inform or Accuris.
We can make a copy of this standard available for viewing at an ACCC office, subject to licensing conditions.
When a product does not comply
Fines and penalties may apply for failure to comply with a mandatory safety or information standard. For more information, see fines and penalties.
Suppliers may need to recall a product when it doesn't meet the mandatory standard or is potentially unsafe.
