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Previously all children up to 5 years of age had to use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in a car. Children aged 5 to 7 years had to use an appropriate child restraint if one was available.
In 2013, Waka Kotahi consulted on amending New Zealand’s child restraint laws. The proposed changes received strong support from both the general public and stakeholders. We also looked at what overseas jurisdictions were doing and considered New Zealand evidence on the use of child restraints and injuries from crashes. This led to the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 amendment, which came into in November 2013 and requires child passengers up to 7 years of age to be restrained in an appropriate child restraint.
Safer Journeys Child Restraints Cabinet Paper [PDF, 306 KB]
Safer Journeys Child Restraints Regulatory Impact Statement [PDF, 2.6 MB]
We undertook annual national surveys of child restraint use in New Zealand until 2016.