What are the laws on child restraints in taxis in Australia?

If you’re planning to catch a taxi and have children with you, what do you do? Do you know the laws on child restraints in taxis?

Across Australian states and territories, the laws on child restraints in taxis are basically the same as the laws for child restraints in all other vehicles. As a national initiative, most states have updated their legislation to bring private and taxi vehicle laws into alignment in this respect, and also to bring alignment nationally.

While it’s always best to have your own child seat with you, it’s not always possible. Here are the standard rules across Australia for child restraints in taxis.

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Children up to 12 months

Children under 6 months must be in a rear-facing restraint and children 6 months or older but less than 12 months must be in either a rear-facing restraint or a forward-facing restraint with in-built harness. The same rules apply to all vehicles on the road.

Children 12 months to 16 years

In taxis, children 12 months or older but under 16 years old must be either on a booster seat and use a seat belt, or must use a suitable seat belt. The definition of ‘suitable restraint’ however can differ slightly from state to state. As it’s impractical for taxis to carry multiple children’s seats, standard seat belt restraints are allowed but must be fitted properly.

Children in the front seat

In general, no child under the age of four years is allowed to sit in the front seat of a taxi under any circumstances. Children between four years and seven years are only permitted to sit in the front seat of a taxi if the rear seats are holding children younger than seven years. All children must be properly restrained by appropriate seat belts.

Children on laps

This is one of the historically least consistent areas of the law and the most often misunderstood or mistaken by parents and taxi passengers and drivers alike. The recent alignment of vehicle and taxi child restraint laws across Australia has seen the standardisation of legislation on this matter; such that a child must not occupy the same seating position as another passenger regardless of seat belt use. In short, children must not be carried on laps.

Except in New South Wales, children under 1 year of age must also be in the back seat. They can be seated on the lap of a passenger who is 16 years or older. Infants must not share the seatbelt with the adult.

Do taxis have baby seats?

Many parents carry their own seats for their infant children. In NSW, 10 per cent of the taxi fleet is required by law to carry a baby capsule. When ordering taxis you will usually be able to request a baby seat. However, there is no guarantee that you will get one. This aspect seems to be a point of great contention on transport and parenting blogs and websites. It is a passenger’s right to fit a baby or booster seat into a taxi for their own use; the driver may not refuse to allow the restraint to be fitted. However, they are allowed to turn on the taxi metre during this time.

All taxis across Australia must have at least one child car seat anchor point installed. Except for in New South Wales, they do not have to have child car seats available for passenger use.

For more information on the laws around child restraints in taxis, contact the Department of Transportation in your state or territory. Alternatively, your local taxi industry group should be able to answer your questions.

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