Uk car seats

[Mazza227]

I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me please. I'm sure I read somewhere that uk car seats are no good in Aus? We have 2 isofix seats but surely if the cars out there have isofix they will be ok? Or does it work differently out there? My children are 8&7,but I am big on them them being in a proper seat, not boosters for a couple more years yet.:wink:

[NicF]

There's a sticky thread over on Poms in Adelaide all about car seats (haven't checked this forum so the same thread might be on here as well). Have a look here => http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/transport/24721-car-seats-australia-what-you-need-know.html

 

It's not been updated for a while but there are some links that might have more up to date information on them. It certainly always used to be that UK car seats were not legal in Aus but there were changes proposed at one point to allow isofix car seats here as well. I'm afraid I don't know if that has now been made law or even how easy it would to buy cars with isofix here though. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be able to help further.

[newjez]

I thought isofix was a European standard?

 

To be legal you really need to comply with the Australian standard. There have been many threads on this so its worth a search, or Google Australian car seat standards.

 

http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/123214-car-seats-australia-what-you-need-know.html

[kevsan]

My understanding is that if the seat does not have a stamp indicating that it meets the relevant Australian Standard, it is illegal to use it

 

From http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia

 

ISOFIX compatible child restraints are now available for sale in Australia. These are seats that can click directly into your car, and are popular in Europe and America.

 

Only ISOFIX seats that meet Australian standards will be legally allowed here, which means using restraints bought overseas is illegal.

 

http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia#ixzz3gmrc63VL

 

Also check out;

https://www.childcarseats.com.au

 

 

[benj1980]

If in doubt, sell over here and buy over there!

[bristolman]

My understanding is that if the seat does not have a stamp indicating that it meets the relevant Australian Standard, it is illegal to use it

 

From http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia

 

ISOFIX compatible child restraints are now available for sale in Australia. These are seats that can click directly into your car, and are popular in Europe and America.

 

Only ISOFIX seats that meet Australian standards will be legally allowed here, which means using restraints bought overseas is illegal.

 

http://www.babycenter.com.au/a1033422/car-seat-laws-in-australia#ixzz3gmrc63VL

 

Also check out;

https://www.childcarseats.com.au

 

 

 

Yes it is unfortunately one of those situations where something that is theoretically safer is illegal because it doesn't have the little sticker. We use British seats for our kids but I WOULD NOT recommend anyone doing it. There really needs to be a global standard based on the highest regional standard.

[newjez]

Yes it is unfortunately one of those situations where something that is theoretically safer is illegal because it doesn't have the little sticker. We use British seats for our kids but I WOULD NOT recommend anyone doing it. There really needs to be a global standard based on the highest regional standard.

 

 

We used Australian seats in the UK and found them to be far superior due to the safety strap, but that was before isofix had made an impact. I would say isofix is the better system.

[Seizethedance]

As others have said, you cant use UK car seats in Australia. In the past year or so new seats have been released in Australia that harness until at least 8 years old (and often several years more) and these seem to be considered the best on the market for older kids. The main two are the maxi guard SICT and the infa evolve caprice. There are a couple of other newer ones that are cheaper as well I think they're called type G seats. We've got 2 evolves for when we arrive in Australia for our 2 and 4 year olds.

[Seizethedance]

Just to add - although isofix is available in Australia now, I think it's only in seats for little babies, though I'm not sure. If you're on facebook there is a group called 'child restraints. Is your child restrained correctly?' You'll get an answer if you post in there.

[Mazza227]

Thanks for all your replies. The way I look at it as my 2 probably won't even legally need seats as they will be 8&9 when we move (I need to look into that properly though) so I would personally rather have them in them longer than they have to anyway as I believe they are safer in them. (After an accident we had earlier this year!) I will have a read though the links you have put on here for me and check it all out properly:wink:

[LKC]

Thanks for all your replies. The way I look at it as my 2 probably won't even legally need seats as they will be 8&9 when we move (I need to look into that properly though) so I would personally rather have them in them longer than they have to anyway as I believe they are safer in them. (After an accident we had earlier this year!) I will have a read though the links you have put on here for me and check it all out properly:wink:

 

I believe they are safer in the seats too. Our girls are 7 and 9 but although they don't have to have seats by age, they are both so tiny that they are still in their high-back boosters. The adult seatbelts just don't fit them properly at that age imo.