claireg3

Here's hoping that all you folks already over there (esp WA) can enlighten me as to the rules and regs concerning child car seats.

We had planned on bringing over a booster seat for our 5 yr old and our bigger seat (which later converts to a booster) for our 3yr old, but, I was told the other day that british made car seats do not fit the australian safety standards and that if we are stopped by the cops thay will fine us and seize the seats. Is this true or just a load of....

I've tried to contact the relevant agencies but have heard nothing back

Hope someone can help

steve-n-jo

Claire

I've also heard this is true. I've read we can take our british baby car seat on the plane but wouldn't be able to use it at the other end as it doesn't conform to Australian Standards.

Luckily my brother will be waiting for me, with a car seat (I hope).

Jo x

wolfens_wife

We are gonna dump ours at heathrow airport. Two of them !!!

karawara88

I think I read that baby seats must be fixed to an anchorage point. Have found this site which has some links and me be of use.

http://www.meerilinga.org.au/travel/

cresta57

Ours are toooooo big for car seats but I'd still like to dump them both at Heathrow sometimes/always/immediately delete as appropriate as stress levels vary

Don

I'm sure you love them dearly!!!

cresta57

WW3 broke out this morning just because Daddy bear got up early and ate the last bowl of frosties in the box
"Well I can't go to work on an empty stomach" cut no ice with either of them and it was my fault they woke up Deb :scared: Can't wait untill the new term starts:lecture: :lecture:

Don

C'est la vie. You just have to get on with it. I am but a house husband and I know about being the drudge.

Teresa

try this site for useful info

http://www.wa.bubhub.com.au/wacarseats.htm

Jolyn

Thanks for the tip. Just checked this out and yes we do need to get a new car seat. Australian cars have restraining points for car seats so the seat needs an extra strap at the top to hook into the point. Same as the Isofix system that is coming in gradually in the UK.

Britax seems to be the main brand in Oz - called Safe-n-Sound there. Their website is www.britax.com.au and click on link to Safe-n-Sound to view models. There are other makes available but they seem more basic - without the recline features or whatever of the top of the range Britax seats.

There's a safety harness you can use with a booster seat or on its own in a taxi which hooks into the restraining point - looks useful if your kids are little Houdinis like ours. Under accessories on the Britax site.

We're taking our car seat with us though as we can use it on the plane - recline it a bit and toddler terror should sleep for a while!

baldbutts

Get one here
Our 5 year old used a booster seat in the U.k,but we didn't bring it over.
You can buy super dooper seats over here for around 50 or 60 dollars from Target ,Big W, K-mart etc.They are a more of an 'armchair' for want of a better description, which supports the back and head.They're light weight,as they're made of polystyrene. So when BB jnr falls asleep ,his head is well supported,With the booster seats,his head would rest on his chest,and he'd wake up with neck ache !!


BB-see,I can post seriously- Bum-oops

wolfens_wife

My two year old manages to get his arms out of the straps and then pulls the polystrene inserts out of the seat and makes an almighty mess.
Meanwhile the five year old needs the toilet and the baby's been sick!!!
All this while Im driving down the M4!!!

I need a super duper strap him in seat. Plastic if poss.

sundarize

We plan to abandon our kiddie seat in the hire car at the airport.

We've bought a new one on line from

http://www.babybusiness.com.au/

and had it delivered to Aunty's address in Adelaide. She will meet us at the airport and bring it with her so we can stick it straight in the hire car at that end.

Inspired I know !!!!:lecture:

Amazulu

Do they use the Isofix system in Australia ?. Our RAV4 has Isofix as standard & the next seat we will buy will be Isofix, can we use it down there ?.

dracupg

You do need anchorage straps for your child seats, but even if you got this for your UK car seat, you should be careful about your car insurance.

I would make sure and get confirmation from the insurance company that the UK safety standard is recognised by the Australian insurance company, otherwise you could end up invalidating your insurance. Even though it is exactly the same product in Australia, if it doesn’t have the recognised stamp, you may have problems.

Don’t want to alarm you, but we had the same issue and we couldn’t get a satisfactory answer from the insurance company, so we didn’t want to take the chance.