How to install a car seat safely

In Australia, kids under the age of seven must be in some kind of approved car seat if they’re going to travel in the car. If you plan on hitting the road at all with your tiniest family members, then you’ll need a seat that is the correct size, adjusted to fit them and, most importantly, correctly installed.

Yet in Australia, it's estimated that almost three-quarters of car seats are installed incorrectly. Yep, more than 70% of car seats are putting children at risk of injury if they are in an accident.

So yeah, getting the car seat right is a biggie!

The easiest way to ensure your car seat is installed safely and correctly is to get a professional to install it for you. But, it is possible to do it safely yourself.

Installing a car seat yourself is going to be cheaper as, well, you don’t have to pay yourself to install it! Getting a professional to install a car seat is going to incur a fee, but for some, it’s worth the peace of mind.

There are loads of places in Australia that will professionally install a car seat for you. Baby Bunting for instance will set you back $49 for one seat and $89 for two seats, to give you a ballpark for cost.

If you live in NSW, you can use the Transport NSW website to find an authorised car restraint fitting station near you

For Victorians, VicRoads links to this site to help find a professional fitter near you.

This is from the Transport NSW site showing nearby qualified child restraint fitters in the Northern Rivers NSW.

You’ll either use a seatbelt or an ISOFIX system (the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars) when installing a car seat. Most modern cars will have ISOFIX, but older cars may not, which means you’ll need to purchase a car seat that can be used in any vehicle and uses the seatbelt to install.

How old your child is will be a big factor in how you configure the car seat, and whether you need to install a car seat or a booster seat.

It’s the law in Australia that children must be rear-facing for the first 6 months of their lives, though ideally you’ll keep them rear-facing as long as they fit in the car seat this way. This is because it’s safer for them to be rear-facing.

The car seat should be less than ten years old. Ideally, you would buy a car seat brand new, but if you do opt to buy a second-hand car seat, buy as close to new as possible and make sure you know the history of the seat and that there’s been no damage or faults.

How to install your car seat will depend on the car seat you buy. You’ll need to correctly follow the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure it has been installed safely.

The car seat needs to meet the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1754—this should be visible somewhere on the car seat.

You’ll need to continue to adjust your baby’s child seat as they grow to ensure it’s still safe for them.

Once your child meets the height requirements, you can swap them into a car booster seat.

Get yourself familiar with the features and functions of your child’s car seat, especially the different harnesses and straps.

There are lots of mistakes people make when installing car seats, hence more than 70% of car seats being installed incorrectly. Here are some of the common ones.

Car seat sizes are generally based on your child’s size, rather than their age, so even if you think your child is old enough for, say, a booster seat, they still need to meet the minimum height requirements first. Age is just a guide.

Infant car seats are not set-and-forget—they require regular checking and adjusting as your child grows to make sure it’s still safe.

It’s so important that whichever car seat you buy, you follow their specific instructions on how to install it. Don’t assume that the installation process for one brand of car seat is the same for another.

Make sure that the harnesses restraining your child are firm and snug and not too loose. A harness that is too loose can increase the risk of an injury in an accident.

If you’re confident you can safely install your child’s car seat yourself, then by all means you can opt to go the DIY route. If you’d prefer the peace of mind knowing that it’s been done by a professional, then there are plenty of options for that, too.

Child Car Seats Australia has a bunch of videos you can check out on how to install and use a car seat safely.