Child Restraints

Child Restraint Checking Days

Willoughby City Council, in conjunction with the RTA, holds regular free child restraint checking days. These checking days are held several times each year and are open to all Willoughby residents.

Phone 9777 7723 for details of the next child restraint checking day.

Correctly fitted child restraints provide excellent protection for children involved in crashes. Child restraint checks help parents and carers to choose and correctly fit child restraints and ensure they are using a suitable restraint for their child’s height and weight. Previous restraint checking days held by Willoughby Council have shown how important it is to have a child restraint checked by an authorised fitter with nearly 100% of all restraints needing some form of adjustment or sometimes even a total refit.

Always use an Australian Standards Approved child restraint
Don't carry your child in your arms. In a crash you won't be able to hold onto them and he or she will be thrown around the vehicle interior or thrown out of the vehicle
Keep your child in a rearward-facing restraint until they are at least 6 months old. It is preferable to continue to use a rear facing restraint until the child is too big for the shoulder harness as this provides maximum protection.
Between the ages of 6 months and 4 years children must be restrained in an approved rearward or forward facing restraint that is properly fitted to the vehicle and adjusted to fit the child’s body.
Between 4 and 7 years of age children must be restrained in an approved forward facing restraint or booster seat that is properly fitted to the vehicle and adjusted to fit the child’s body.

Before moving to a forward-facing child seat, your child must be able to sit and easily hold their head upright.

Children under the age of 4 must not be in the front seat of a vehicle that has two or more rows. Between 4 and 7 years children may only travel in the front seat of a vehicle that has two or more rows when all the other back seats are occupied by children under 7 in approved restraints.