Child Seat Installation
Authorised child restraint fitting station. Car seats fitted while you wait, no booking, at four NSW workshops. Anchor points installed for Utes and Vans.
Transport NSW Approved Fitment Centre
Child Car Seat Fitting in Newcastle, the Hunter & Sydney
Car seats are fiddlier to fit than they look, and most of us only ever do it once or twice. Our fitters are accredited to do it properly and they do it every day, so bring the seat and the car and let us sort it out. There's no appointment needed. Drive in between 8:00am and 4:30pm and you'll usually be back on the road inside twenty minutes.
We'll also run you through how it all works before you go, because that seat will come out again at some point and you'll want to put it back the same way.
What The Law Requires
The national rules are set by age, but the principle that actually matters is size. If your child is too small for the restraint their age allows, keep them in the current one. If they've outgrown it, move up early. Age is the legal minimum, not the recommendation.
Under 6 months
Rearward facing
An approved rearward-facing restraint with an inbuilt harness. Nothing else is legal at this age.
6 months to 4 years
Rear or forward facing
An approved restraint with an inbuilt harness, either direction. Under-4s cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows.
4 to 7 years
Harness or booster
Forward-facing restraint with an inbuilt harness, or an approved booster with a lap-sash belt. Front seat only if every other back seat is taken by a child under seven.
7 to 16 years
Booster or seatbelt
If the seatbelt doesn't sit correctly across the shoulder and hips, a booster is strongly recommended regardless of age.
Not sure your child is ready to move up?
Bring them in with the vehicle. We'll check how the current restraint fits them and whether the next stage is safe yet — that's a two-minute conversation and it's free. Rules are set nationally and enforced by Transport for NSW; we'll point you to the official guidance if you want to read it yourself.
Bring them in with the vehicle. We'll check how the current restraint fits them and whether the next stage is safe yet — that's a two-minute conversation and it's free. Rules are set nationally and enforced by Transport for NSW; we'll point you to the official guidance if you want to read it yourself.
Fitted while you wait, no booking
Child seat fitting is one of the few things we don't ask you to book. Turn up with the seat and the vehicle and we'll do it there and then.
- Walk in any day between 8:00am and 4:30pm
- Fitted by an accredited restraint fitter, not a general installer
- We'll show you how to remove, refit and adjust it yourself
- Seats bought anywhere are welcome — you don't need to have bought it from us
- Anchor points supplied and installed where your vehicle has none
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Vehicles Without Anchor Points
Dual cab utes, vans and some wagons leave the factory with no usable top tether anchor, or not enough of them. That's the job we get called about most, and it's where an accredited fitter matters more than anywhere else — an anchor point is a structural attachment that has to hold a child in a crash.
We supply and install anchor points across a wide range of vehicles, including dual cabs like the Nissan Navara D22 and the LandCruiser 79 Series. There are three main approaches, and which one suits comes down to your vehicle's body and how many seats you need to anchor.
Dual Cab Device (DCD)
An anchor mounts to the floor behind the rear seat, with a D-ring on the back wall of the cab. The restraint strap runs to the floor anchor through the ring.
Pre-engineered device. On vehicles with a factory tub, most of the hardware stays hidden.
Dual Cab Anchor (DCA)
Fitted to the rear window of the cab. Originally developed for the Holden Rodeo and since adapted to suit vehicles like the Navara and Triton.
Pre-engineered device. Fewer holes drilled into the body, at the cost of being more visible.
Child Restraint Anchor Bar
A sleeved tube bolted to the body, spanning the width of the cabin. Usually the answer for vans and 4×4 wagons with no rear parcel shelf.
Up to three anchor points from one device, and on some vehicles it allows a third row of seats.
Some vehicles require an additional engineering certificate from an automotive engineer before an anchor point can be legally used. We'll tell you up front if yours is one of them rather than discovering it afterwards.
Why Choose Altapac?
We've been fitting gear to Australian vehicles since 1972. Four workshops, one standard of work, and accreditation that means the person fitting your child's seat has been trained to do it.
1972Fitting Australian vehicles since
4NSW workshops across the Hunter and Sydney
30,000+Fitments completed
4.6 ★Average from 1,113 Google reviews
Accredited restraint fittersAn authorised fitting station means trained, assessed fitters working to the national standard — not a general installer following the pamphlet in the box.
We show you, not just do itSeats get moved between cars, loosened by grandparents and readjusted as kids grow. We'll walk you through removing and refitting it so you're not guessing later.
Anchor points, not just fittingIf your ute or van has nowhere to anchor a restraint, we can engineer and install one. Few workshops in the Hunter do this work.
No booking, no fussDrive in between 8:00am and 4:30pm. We know a newborn in the car isn't a schedule that bends easily.
What our customers say
Wonderful people to deal with, very good throughout the process and delivered a quality hard lid for my vehicle. Were excellent with any after sales questions, making me feel like they wanted to look after their customers.
Darren M. — Maitland
What a team! This is my 3rd set of roof racks I've had installed by these legends and this one was by far the most complex on my new work van. I have a pretty high attention to detail and Andrew in the office and Beau installing them absolutely nailed it. Very happy and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. Thanks again
James C. — Kotara
Great store to get fitted out for roof racks and attachments for the car. They fitted my first set of roof racks and have helped me out with all the changes to my setup for over 10 years. Great and knowledgeable service too.
Christopher Y. — Artarmon
Where We Fit Child Seats
Drive in between 8:00am and 4:30pm — no booking required. If you need an anchor point installed rather than a straight fitting, call ahead so we can allow the time.
Newcastle
Kotara
94 Park Ave, Kotara NSW 2289 02 4941 4444
Opposite Westfield Kotara. Convenient for Charlestown, Adamstown, Merewether and Lake Macquarie.
Hunter Valley
Maitland
3/175 High St, Maitland NSW 2320 02 4003 8500
On High Street. Convenient for Rutherford, East Maitland, Cessnock and Singleton.
Lower North Shore
Artarmon
Roof Rack & Towbar World, rebranding to AltapacUnit 13/87 Reserve Rd, Artarmon NSW 2064 02 8999 8878
Convenient for Chatswood, St Leonards, Lane Cove and North Sydney.
Inner West
Burwood
Roof Rack & Towbar World, an Altapac partner store3/320 Parramatta Rd, Burwood NSW 2134 02 8999 2099
On Parramatta Rd. Convenient for Strathfield, Ashfield, Croydon and Concord.
Child Seat Questions
No booking needed. Drive in any day between 8:00am and 4:30pm and we'll fit it while you wait. A straightforward fitting usually takes around twenty minutes, including the time we spend showing you how it comes out and goes back in. Installing a new anchor point is a bigger job, so call ahead for that one and we'll set aside the time.
Yes. Most seats we fit were bought elsewhere — a department store, online, or handed down from family. The only thing we need is that the restraint carries the Australian standard mark, AS/NZS 1754. Seats bought overseas or from overseas websites generally don't meet it and can't legally be used here, even if they look identical to an Australian model. Bring the seat and the vehicle and we'll check it before we start.
Almost always, yes. Dual cabs are the most common request we get — vehicles like the Navara D22 and the LandCruiser 79 Series Dual Cab often have no usable top tether anchor from the factory. Depending on the vehicle we'll use a floor-mounted device with a D-ring, a cab-mounted anchor, or an anchor bar spanning the cabin. Some vehicles need an additional engineering certificate from an automotive engineer before the anchor can be used, and we'll tell you that at the quote rather than after the work.
It depends on its history, and that's the problem with a seat you didn't own from new. A restraint that has been in a crash should be replaced even if it looks undamaged, because the forces can stretch the harness and stress the shell invisibly. Plastics also degrade with heat and UV over time, and the general guidance in Australia is to retire a seat around ten years from its date of manufacture, which is usually stamped into the shell. If you're unsure, bring it in — we'll look at the date, the standards mark and the condition of the harness and tell you honestly whether we'd put a child in it.
