bicek Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Wondering if anyone who has moved to Australia from the UK with young kids can advise me. Did you take your children's car seats to Australia with you? Or did you find they were not lawful according to Australian regulation standards? I'm struggling to find information about whether the car seats we have would be deemed lawful there. It seems that the Australian system is different and most UK car seats (EU approved) are not acceptable to use over there. Is that the case? Does anyone have any direct experience of this? I'd prefer to bring the car seats we have with us, rather than buy new ones over there, as they just end up on landfill (and are costly) and that feels such a waste. But if we can't, it'll be useful to know this in advance! We have Joie and Maxi-Cosi models but I cannot find the equivalents in Australia when looking online, even though the brands exist there. Grateful for any information/experience you can provide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 UK car seats do not meet AUS/NZ standards 1754 FAQs | Child Car Seats - Make the safest choice No. Child car seats bought overseas do not comply with Australian Standards and they are not compatible with Australian vehicles. Australian vehicles have a unique top-tether strap anchorage system, with which only Australian Standard approved child car seats are compatible. In addition, the Australian Standard for child car seats is one of the most stringent child restraint standards in the world. Unlike the European Standard, the Australian Standard requires all child car seats to be tested in side and rear impact tests, and some with an inverted test for roll-over protection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Sell them. I've sold all our car seats on facebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicek Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Hi Ali, thanks for your reply! That's what I suspected. Great that the regulations are so stringent there, I have no complaints there. Just logistically, trying to figure it all out.... All of our car seats use the 3 point seat belt system (not isofix). Are seat belts used to secure car seats in Australia also? Is that what you mean by top-tether strap system? It sounds like the same thing? I found one car seat by Joie that is identical in the UK and Australia. It is the Joie Trillo (Group 2/3) high backed booster seat. If it is identical, can I use this one here and then bring to Australia, so that we have a car seat to use straight away from the Airport? However, we are also needing a seat suitable for a 3 year old, and another for a 4 month old. Assuming none of our car seats will be compatible, what on earth do people do when they relocate in the very immediate term. As in, how do you safely get from an Airport to the hotel quarantine to a car hire place, with 3 kids who all need car seats? What have families done? Did you use their existing UK car seats until you can get yourself to a car seat shop in Australia and replace them then? What is the alternative? I am also reluctant to hire car seats from a car rental as I was forced to do this once when a baggage handler broke one of our car seats overseas and we were forced to rent at the airport. They pulled the oldest most horrible car seat out of the back of a van and I swore never to rent a car seat again. But even so, getting to a car rental place from hotel quarantine safely without any car seats is a whole other issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicek Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said: Sell them. I've sold all our car seats on facebook. Did you sell them in the UK or in Australia? What did you do to manage as soon as you got to Australia? From the Airport I mean? Do people actually buy used car seats?? I didn't think they had any value as people are typically very concerned with the safety of them if the history of the seat is unknown (ie. if it's been in a road accident etc). Edited January 27, 2021 by bicek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Just now, bicek said: Did you sell them in the UK or in Australia? What did you do to manage as soon as you got to Australia? From the Airport I mean? We haven't moved yet, but you will be on a coach to quarantine so not required. From the Q hotel you can hire a seat from a car hire company for the little one. or I guess order a delivery to the hotel during your 2 weeks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicek Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 minute ago, Jon the Hat said: We haven't moved yet, but you will be on a coach to quarantine so not required. From the Q hotel you can hire a seat from a car hire company for the little one. or I guess order a delivery to the hotel during your 2 weeks. Ah, I've just spotted your signature. We'll be heading over at a similar time of year (with any luck). Can a hire car be collected from hotel quarantine then? I had thought we would need to get a taxi to the car hire place. We have 3 kids, so having them all on our laps is not an option, and one I would prefer to avoid anyway. I'm not sure what Australian regulations are on taxi journeys. But if the car hire can be collected from Q hotel then that would be much easier. Yes I did wonder if we can order car seats to be delivered to the hotel but I wasn't sure what the restrictions were on that. I was even wondering if nappies can be delivered as we might run out in the 2 weeks of quarantine! And then if we don't take our UK car seats with us and sell them before we go, the other issue is getting to the UK airport with 3 little ones, without any car seats. We'd be travelling 2 hours to get to the airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 3 minutes ago, bicek said: Ah, I've just spotted your signature. We'll be heading over at a similar time of year (with any luck). Can a hire car be collected from hotel quarantine then? I had thought we would need to get a taxi to the car hire place. We have 3 kids, so having them all on our laps is not an option, and one I would prefer to avoid anyway. I'm not sure what Australian regulations are on taxi journeys. But if the car hire can be collected from Q hotel then that would be much easier. Yes I did wonder if we can order car seats to be delivered to the hotel but I wasn't sure what the restrictions were on that. I was even wondering if nappies can be delivered as we might run out in the 2 weeks of quarantine! And then if we don't take our UK car seats with us and sell them before we go, the other issue is getting to the UK airport with 3 little ones, without any car seats. We'd be travelling 2 hours to get to the airport. It is tricky isn't it. Taxi's don't legally have to have them in either country but it isn't a great plan to go a long distance. I would expect Car hire company would deliver the car for a fee, but might be easier to order the car seats. Maybe some of those who are already in quarantine can confirm if you can order anything you like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 58 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said: We haven't moved yet, but you will be on a coach to quarantine so not required. From the Q hotel you can hire a seat from a car hire company for the little one. or I guess order a delivery to the hotel during your 2 weeks. I was just going to say, the transport from the airport to hotel quarantine will cater to little ones, so i wouldn't worry too much. Once in quarantine you can either on line shop and see if you can have delivery's to the hotel or hire a car seat when you hire a car. (we hired the seats with the hire car when we came) Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieMum Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 16 hours ago, bicek said: Are seat belts used to secure car seats in Australia also? Is that what you mean by top-tether strap system? It sounds like the same thing? No, the top tether is an additional strap that is part of the child restraint at the top back of the seat and is used in addition to the normal car seatbelt. It's attached to a vehicle anchor point in the car - the location varies by type of car and manufacturer but they are generally on the ceiling, back of the seat, or on the floor of a hatch/wagon/SUV. You won't be able to sell overseas car seats here, and while some people will say they brought theirs over and used them without a problem, you may run into problems, eg, with insurance, if you are found to be using a seat with an Australian Standards sticker on it. Another option if you are struggling to find a buyer before you leave is to see if any local charities take used car seats. For example, here in Victoria, Geelong/St Kilda/Ballarat Mums take seats that meet certain criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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