Australia’s safest baby and child car seats for 2024

What do the CREP assessments do?

The CREP assessments aim to educate parents about which restraints offer the best protection, by assessing child car seats not only on how they perform in crash tests, but also how easy they are to install and use. The seat with the highest protection rating may not have the highest ease-of-use rating.

Your child's safety is of paramount importance, which is why all seats tested by CREP comply with Australian Standards. While Australian Standards specify a range of design and performance requirements and involve some crash testing, the CREP ratings assess how a seat performs over and above the minimum safety requirements of the standard. This means even a one-star CREP safety rated seat performs over and above the minimum requirements.  

For the assessments, test dummies measuring the upper end of the height and weight limit for each type of seat are put into a crash simulation to measure the forces experienced by the dummy on impact. The car seats are scored based on several performance aspects, such as how well they maintain structural integrity and how well they protect the child’s torso in a car crash.

Australia's safest baby and child car seats for 2024

The best car seat for your child is one that fits. Although guidelines are based on age, children should always travel in a restraint matched to their size and height. CREP advises that if your child is too small for the child restraint specified for their age, they should be kept in their current child restraint until it is safe for them to move to the next level.

CREP has tested many of Australia’s top-selling car seats. From baby and toddler seats to boosters and convertibles, these are the highest-rating child car seats by category.

Click here to view the full results of the latest CREP assessments.

Single-purpose seats

Single-purpose car seats are designed to be used in only one mode: rearward or forward-facing, or as a capsule or booster. That means once a child outgrows their seat, they will need a new one.

The safest baby capsules (rearward-facing)

Capsules are baby car seats that click into a base installed in the car. Many capsules can also be clipped into select prams – this is sometimes referred to as a travel system. 

Age of use: Capsules are generally for use from birth to at least six months; however, some are available for use from birth to 12 months. Kidsafe advises that children should use a rearward-facing child restraint until they outgrow it. This is defined by when their shoulders are above the maximum shoulder height marker (if present) or above the top shoulder harness strap slot (if there is no marker).

Of the seats tested since 2021, the Cybex Cloud Q had the highest protection rating of all capsules with a score of 3.9. The capsule has an ease-of-use score of 2.6 and it can be used from birth to 12 months.

When it comes to ease-of-use, the Britax Safe-N-Sound B.Pod Lite BS2300B-C20135 capsule had the highest score at 3.9, with a protection score of 3.2. This capsule is also approved from birth to 12 months.

Convertible seats

Convertible seats can be used for longer because once kids outgrow one mode, the seat can be reconfigured. Many convertible car seats can be used from birth until four years of age, but sometimes even longer.

Most of the seats tend to have higher protection ratings in either rearward-facing or forward-facing mode so it is important to check the safety rating across all modes.

The safest rearward-facing car seat convertible to forward-facing

CREP tested three types of rearward to forward convertible seats on the Australian market:

• Rearward-facing from birth to 12 months, forward-facing from six months to four years
• Rearward-facing from birth to 2.5 years, forward-facing from six months to four years
• Rearward-facing from birth to 2.5 years, forward-facing from six months to at least eight years.

Three convertible rearward to forward-facing child car seats rated since 2021 earned the highest given 4.3-star rating in rearward-facing mode: the Britax Safe-N-Sound Premier II BS0072E-020133, the Britax Safe-N-Sound SafeFix tested with seatbelt BS0072E-i20133, and the Britax Safe-N-Sound Safekeeper II BS0072E-020133. The seats each scored 3.8 in forward-facing mode.

The Britax Safe-N-Sound B-First ClickTight BS3700A-C20133 scored the highest ease-of-use score for its category with 4.8 in rear-facing and 4.5 in forward-facing.

The safest booster seats (single mode)

Parents are spoilt for choice in this category, with many seats consistently performing above the Australian Standard. 

Age of use: Generally four years to at least seven years old. There are also booster seats that children can use until they are at least 10 years old. Kidsafe advises that children should keep using a booster for as long as possible, at least until they can pass the five-step test for good seatbelt fit.

The Britax Safe-N-Sound Tourer BS4000A-020133 had the highest protection score at 4.1 stars, and an ease-of-use score of 3.3. The booster seat with the highest ease-of-use score in this category was the Babylove EzyMove BL4050A-020133 with a 3.9-star rating (and a protection rating of 3.5). Both seats are rated for children aged four to eight years old.

The safest multi-purpose child car seats

These seats can be used from birth until kids outgrow the restraint and are ready to travel with an adult seatbelt. However, seats can wear out over time, so make sure parts stay in good working condition.

Age of use: Accommodate most children from birth to at least seven years or 145 centimetres tall.

CREP only has data on three multipurpose child car seats that can be used from birth to eight years. Those seats are the Infa-Secure Advance Plus CS4313, Infa-Secure Gold Quantum Pro CS4313 and Infa-Secure Talent CS4313 each of which had the same scores across every mode in both protection and ease-of-use categories. For protection, the seats were rated 2.9 in rear-facing mode, 3.3 in forward-facing mode and 3.4 as a booster seat. They were rated 1.9 for ease-of-use in both rear and forward-facing modes, and 2.6 as a booster seat.

Tips for choosing the right car seat for your baby or child

Parents and guardians can find useful information about how to choose the right car seat for their child on the RACV website.

When buying a new car seat or assessing the suitability of an existing car seat, remember the following top tips.

1. Is the car seat installed correctly and fastened securely as per the manufacturer's guidelines? "Child car seats can be complicated for many people – if you’re confused in any way, RACV strongly recommends talking to an experienced installer," Williams says.
   
2. Do the child’s shoulders fit between the shoulder height markers on the restraint?
3. What's the safety rating in all modes? Convertible restraints might be safer in one position over another (for example, four stars in the forward position and three stars when facing rearward).
4. What's the ease-of-use score? A seat that is easier to use is more likely to be used correctly.
5. Newborns should be started in rearward-facing seats. Once they've outgrown them, they should be moved into a forward-facing seat, then moved into a booster. Children should remain in a booster seat until they're taller than 145cm, regardless of their age. 
6. Check the price of the seat. Some of the seats that perform better in crash testing are also the cheapest. Aim to buy the safest seat you can afford.