ISOFIX child seats approved for Oz

Following a long wait, ISOFIX child safety seats will be available in Australia before the end of this month

The new ISOFIX standard for child safety seats has finally been given the green light in Australia – and it is actually possible to buy an off-the-shelf ISOFIX seat from September 27.

This follows an amendment on September 19 to the mandatory Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1754 for child restraint systems: ISOFIX has been coming to Australia for some time (it was first introduced in Europe more than a decade ago), but it is finally here even if, so far, only one child-seat manufacturer has – or will have from September 27 – product for sale.

What will this mean for Australian parents with children of child-seat age?

The answer, if you drive a car without ISOFIX anchor points, is nothing. Your existing top-tether system will continue to comply with Australian Design Rules (ADRs).

On the other hand, if you drive one of the growing numbers of cars (local or import) fitted with the ISOFIX system, you will now have the opportunity of updating to child safety standards already adopted around the world.

In fact, according to our legislators, you will actually be exceeding the standards that apply in other ISOFIX countries because of the hybrid system that is now written into the ADRs.

Our system requires that, if you are about to use an ISOFIX system already in your car, you must also continue to utilise the top tethers that have been included in ADRs since 1976. This might add to the complexity of correctly installing a child safety seat, but its intention, even if it's out of line with other ISOFIX countries, is to continue our already recognised high child safety standards.

With our multi-restraint system, the child seat (in ISOFIX-ready cars) will not only have the rigid ISOFIX mounts locking it in place, but will also have an extra degree of resistance, via the top tether, to fore-aft movement of the upper part of the seat in an accident.

The new rules also clarify the situation for car-makers, who are required to continue with top-tether mounting points even where ISOFIX mountings are present.

This all means the Australian-approved ISOFIX system is unique. It utilises the ISOFIX lower clip-ins, the current top-tether belt and the regular three-point safety harness to hold the seat in place.

Central to the ISOFIX argument is that (apart from the fact it locks the child seat more solidly to the car) it is simpler to install, and less prone to incorrect fitting, which, according to research, applies to a massive figure of about 90 per cent per cent of child safety seats currently in use.

ISOFIX doesn't by any means rule out the chances of incorrect installation though: A 2012 study by the American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety still found that 40 per cent of parents incorrectly attached the child seat to the lower ISOFIX mounting in their cars.

Against this background, child seat manufacturer Maxi-Cosi will become the first company to offer the ISOFIX restraining system in Australia when two child seats in its new ISOGO range go on sale on September 27 at prices starting from $529. Other child safety seat manufacturers, including Britax, also have ISOFIX seats in the pipeline for release shortly.

In Australia, about 1000 children are seriously injured each year in motor vehicle incidents, with car crashes the most common cause of injury and death for children aged between one and 14 years. With the high rate of incorrect installation, the less mistake-prone prone ISOFIX system could have the potential to positively affect those statistics.

Restraint systems

Restraints are suitable for children usually up to 10 years old with a shoulder height of 530 mm. They are fitted in the car and used with existing adult seatbelts.

There are six different types of child restraints under the mandatory standard:

Type A: Rearward-facing or transversely installed restraint with a harness or other means of holding the child back

Type B: Forward-facing chair with a harness

Type C: Forward-facing harness without a chair

Type E: A booster seat used in conjunction with a lap-sash seatbelt suitable for children approximately 4 to 10 years of age whose height is less than 138 cm.

Type F: A restraint that consists of either:

A booster seat used in conjunction with a Type C child restraint and a seatbelt, or with a lap-sash seatbelt, suitable for children approximately 4 to 10 years of age, or
A converter used in conjunction with a seatbelt, suitable for children approximately eight to 10 years of age.

Combination Type: Child restraints can also be a combination of the above types. For example: a Type A/B converter seat.

ISOFIX child seats approved for Oz

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