New child restraint laws 01.03.2010
On 4 November 2009, former NSW Premier Nathan Rees and Minister for Transport vid Campbell announced the introduction of new child restraint laws for children up to seven years of age.
Summary of changes From 1 March 2010:
Children younger than six months must be secured in a rearward facing restraint.
Children aged six months to under four years must be secured in either a rear or forward facing restraint.
Children aged four years to under seven years must be secured in forward facing child restraint or booster seat.
Children younger than four years cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows.
Children aged four years to under seven years cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows, unless all other back seats are occupied by children younger than seven years in a child restraint or booster seat.
A transitional period will apply until 30 June 2010 to allow parents and carers to fully understand and comply with the new laws.
The transitional period does not provide an exemption for the new requirements regarding seating young children in the front seat.
Drivers will need to ensure that children younger than four years of age do not travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows. Drivers will also need to ensure that children aged four years to under seven years of age do not travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows unless all other back seats are occupied by children younger than seven years.
In the interests of improved child road safety it is recommended parents and carers of young children make every effort to comply with the new requirements as soon as possible.
New child restraint laws - Frequently Asked Questions
Choose the right child restraint
A child that is properly secured in an approved child restraint is less likely to be injured or killed in a car crash than one who is not.
Child restraints can be purchased from retail outlets or hired from some local councils, some maternity hospitals,
community groups and from privately run rental companies.
Child restraints available in Australia must meet the Australian /New Zealand Standard 1754:2004 Child restraints for use in motor vehicles. The standard is one of the toughest child restraint standards in the world and child restraints manufactured to this Standard offer good protection in a crash.
A significant number of the restraints have been tested and assessed under the Child Restrain Evaluation Programme (CREP).
Find out more about the results of these tests and the guidelines you should follow when buying a child restraint in the safer child restraints brochure.
Remember
Using a restraint correctly greatly increases a child's safety during a crash.
Placing a child in a restraint that is designed for a larger/older child increases the risk of serious injury in a crash.
Ensure the restraint is installed correctly. See a restraint fitter if in any doubt.
Always use the top tether strap where required.
Teach your child to always keep both arms within the harness system of the child seat or the seat belt of the booster seat.
When using a seat belt with a booster, ensure the seat belt is correctly fitted over the child’s shoulder.
Move your child into a forward-facing restraint only when they no longer fit into a rearward-facing restraint.
Move your child into a booster seat only when they no longer fit into a forward-facing restraint.
Installation
Follow all the manufacturer's instructions carefully if you are fitting the restraint yourself. If the instructions have been lost, contact the manufacturer or seek advice from an RTA Authorised Fitting Station. Call 13 22 13 to find your nearest RTA Authorised Fitting Station.
Changes to the Graduated Licensing Scheme for learner drivers 19.12.09
From 19 December 2009, there are changes to the Graduated Licensing Scheme for learner drivers.
Learner drivers who complete a one hour structured driving lesson with a fully licensed driving instructor can record three hours driving experience in their Learner driver log book.
A maximum of 10 hours of lessons will be accepted and recorded as 30 hours in the Learner driver log book.
In addition, learner drivers who are aged 25 and over will no longer be required to present a Learner driver log book prior to attempting the driving test.
Note: These changes do not mean driving lessons are compulsory or that you should stop having lessons after reaching the 10 hours of training.
Structured lessons
A fully licensed driving instructor must develop each structured lesson in conjunction with the supervising driver and their learner driver using the Driving instructor structured lesson planner.
Driving instructors are required to keep a copy of each lesson plan completed in the Driving instructor structured lesson planner for auditing purposes. This is in order to ensure that learner drivers are receiving high quality structured lessons tailored to the needs of each learner driver.
Each lesson must aim to develop and enhance the learner driver’s practical application of low risk driving principles, as outlined in the Learner driver log book.
The Structured lesson record keeper is a summary of the structured lessons conducted on road by a fully licensed driving instructor.
Structured lesson record keeper inserts are available from RTA Motor Registries, RTA Contact Centres or you can download a copy by accessing the link at the bottom of this page.
This insert must be attached to the Declaration of Completion, on page 111 of the Learner driver log book.
Structured driving lessons are to be recorded on the Structured lesson record keeper in order to be recognised under this new scheme. In addition any lessons recorded in the Learner driver log book prior to 19 December 2009 can be transferred from the log book to the insert.
A Supplementary Declaration is included on the insert and must be signed by a supervising driver for the insert to be recognised under this new scheme.
Lessons conducted at night (between sunset and sunrise) count for only one hour of night driving towards the required 20 hours, with two hours to be added to day driving hours in the log book.
When a learner driver has recorded 10 hours of lessons, on the Structured lesson record keeper, then the driving instructor resumes entering the lesson hours into the Learner driver log book
Learner drivers and the demerit points scheme 28.09.2009
From 28 September 2009 learner licence holders will be included in the demerit points scheme to help reduce young driver deaths on our roads. The allocation of demerit points for certain traffic offences is designed to encourage safe and responsible . 
Under the scheme, a learner licence will be suspended, or a licence application or renewal refused, for a period of three months if four (4) or more demerit points are incurred within a three-year period.
The minimum number of demerit points for a speeding offence committed by a learner will be four (4). This means that a learner licence will be suspended, or an application for a learner licence refused, under the demerit points scheme for three months for any speeding offence.
You can also lose your licence for higher levels of speeding. An additional three-month suspension applies for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h and a six-month suspension applies for speeding more than 45 km/h.
Police can also suspend and confiscate your licence at the roadside for speeding more than 30 km/h over the limit or if you drive without a supervisor.
A learner driver will have the right to appeal to a local court, a decision to suspend or refuse a licence under the demerit points or excessive speed schemes.
Heavy penalties, including a jail sentence and disqualification from driving, may be imposed by a court if you are convicted of driving while your licence is suspended or refused.
The majority of drivers, including learners, are able to drive safely and in accordance with the law. However, drivers under twenty years of age continue to be over-represented in road crashes. The inclusion of learner licence holders in the demerit points scheme will further encourage safe driving by young people and help reduce the trauma caused by road crashes to individuals and their families and friends.
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