Can you leave your kids alone in a car?

By Jez Spinks

So you want to quickly pay for fuel at the service station while the kids stay in the car?

Or maybe your child has fallen asleep in the car in your driveway and you want to pop inside to put the shopping away? 

Many parents have done the above at some time – but is it illegal to leave kids alone in a vehicle?

What does the law say?

The law in Australia seems to allow for some interpretation on the amount of time children can be left unattended in a car. But it generally says that kids should never be left alone.

For example, New South Wales says, “It is illegal to leave a child unattended in a car where they might be in distress or their health is in danger.”

In Victoria, it is an offence for the person with responsibility for a child to “leave the child without making reasonable provision for the child’s supervision and care for a time which is unreasonable having regard to all the circumstances of the case”.

Queensland law wording refers to not leaving a child in a car unattended for an “unreasonable time … depending on relevant circumstances”.

Penalties vary across states. Fines are possible, while a maximum jail term of three years is common to many states.

Victoria has the shortest maximum jail term at six months, while South Australia quotes up to five years as a potential sentence.

Kids are a risk

Parents are warned especially about leaving kids in cars on a typical Australian summer day, as the temperature in a parked vehicle can rise to 20-30°C above the outside temperature.

Experts say about 75% of this temperature increase happens within the first five minutes of closing up a stationary car, regardless of vehicle size. Leaving car windows open does little to reduce the cabin temperature.

This puts kids at risk of heatstroke and/or dehydration, especially as their body temperatures climb three to five times faster than older children or adults.

In the case of children who are able to extract themselves from their child seats/restraints, another danger is that they could play with vehicle controls such as handbrakes, power window switches and gear levers.

Then there’s the consideration of vehicle theft with your child still inside, or your child being stolen from your car.

What to do if you see a child alone in a car

More than 5000 kids are said to be rescued from cars every year in Australia.

If you see a child alone in a car who is in potential danger, child accident prevention foundation KidSafe recommends calling 000 and asking for the fire brigade – providing details of your location, registration number of the vehicle concerned, and condition and approximate age of the child.

It says if the car is unlocked to open the doors, shield the child from the sun if possible, and wait for the emergency services – or “safely try to remove the child from the vehicle if you are concerned about the child’s condition as every second counts!”.

So, while the law seems to allow parents some wriggle room to apply common sense around leaving their kids in the car, the strong recommendation from both government legislation and children charities is to avoid doing so. If you are in any doubt, the safest action is to take your child or children with you.