Making sure your child car seats are fitted correctly should be a priority for every parent, but often life gets in the way, and once it’s off the newborn to-do list it gets forgotten.
This is why, according to new research by Kidsafe Victoria, 90 per cent of child car seats are fitted incorrectly – which poses a significant risk of serious injury or death in a crash.
The not-for-profit organisation, which is dedicated to the prevention of unintentional death and injury to children, found that of the 36,000 child restraints it checked in between 2020 and 2024, nine out of 10 were incorrectly installed or used.
In the event of a crash, it says, the risk of a child sustaining a life-threatening injury in a badly fitted seat is four to six times worse.
Senior Constable Travis Perkins from Victoria Police’s Casey Highway Patrol said that incorrect use of child restraints remains a major issue on Victorian roads.
“Many parents are unaware that their child’s car seat isn’t fitted properly and that small mistakes can have devastating consequences in the event of a crash,” said Perkins.
“During intercepts and random breath testing, we often see incorrectly fitted child car restraints, which is why safety checks are so important.”
How do I know if my car seat is installed correctly?
Of the faults identified by Kidsafe Victoria, common problems were that the headrest was set too low on the child car seat and the harness straps were too loose and/or too high or low.
Another issue was that the child had been put in a more advanced seat too soon – for example, children were moved into a forward-facing or booster seat too early.
Melbourne mum Zoe ten Broek was lucky her rear-facing child car seat was one of the 10 per cent fitted correctly, because if it hadn’t been, her son Jax might not have survived when they were involved in a crash.
In 2022, Zoe secured Jax in his rear-facing car seat for a routine 20-minute drive to her parents’ home. Their car was T-boned on Jax’s side, leaving the one-year-old unconscious and suffering multiple seizures.
Jaz, who was one at the time and is now almost six, was airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital, where he underwent four surgeries to treat a fractured skull, torn neck ligaments and severe head trauma.
And that’s despite his seat being properly fitted. Doctors told Zoe that Jax’s rear-facing position likely saved his life.
After several weeks in the hospital, Jax made a remarkable recovery, though he has experienced some developmental delays.
“He is functionally non-verbal at the moment and was delayed in walking. Was it because of the head trauma? We’ll never know. But he’s thriving in all other areas,” Zoe said.
“I’m so grateful I can still hear him laugh and watch him grow.
“Not a day goes by where I don’t think about what life would be like if we weren’t so lucky.”
Do baby seats need to be professionally fitted in Victoria?
No, they don’t, but it’s a very good idea if you don’t have experience of how to fit a child car seat safely yourself, or have someone in your immediate circle of friends or family who does.
Today, Kidsafe Victoria is hosting one of its free fitting events at Casey Fields in Melbourne’s south-east, which it says is as much about offering a physical check of a seat as it is education to keep kids safe while travelling.
However, whereas Kidsafe previously received funding from the state government, it no longer gets anything – instead relying on partial funding from corporate partners and public donations.
Kidsafe Victoria CEO Sarah Sexton said that the demand for professional child car restraint fittings far exceeds current resources.
“Parents and caregivers want to ensure their children's car seats are installed correctly, but our resources are stretched. Without additional funding, we can’t meet the growing demand for these life-saving checks,” said Sexton.
“An incorrectly fitted child car restraint could be a tragedy waiting to happen – the risk of life-threatening injuries is four to six times greater when a child car restraint is not installed or adjusted correctly.”
Does Baby Bunting install car seats?
The price will vary depending on how many car seats you require to be installed.
For one seat, it costs $54, for two $95 or three $139.
Comparatively, for a $49 donation, Kidsafe Victoria offers a free car seat check.
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
