Same answer in every state and territory
Can you donate a car seat in Australia?
Anywhere in Australia, complete and clean toys are welcome at almost any op shop; bag the pieces so sets stay together. Car seats, cots, prams and helmets are mostly refused: safety standards change, and car seats carry an expiry date moulded into the shell. An expired or crash-involved seat must be destroyed, not passed on.
What do I do with kids' toys & gear?
- Complete and clean toys Welcome almost anywhere. Bag the pieces of anything with parts so it stays together.
- Incomplete puzzles and games Not donatable. A puzzle missing a piece is somebody else's disappointment.
- Car seats, cots, prams, helmets Most charities refuse them. Safety standards change, and older seats have expiry dates moulded into the shell.
Australian safety standards for cots and car seats are national. If it predates the current standard, it can't be passed on.
Can I donate a car seat?
Usually not. Most Australian charities refuse child car seats because they cannot verify the seat's history or whether it meets the current standard, AS/NZS 1754. Manufacturers also set a use-by period, commonly around ten years from the date moulded into the shell. Some councils run car seat recycling drop-offs; check with yours.
What do I do with an expired or crashed car seat?
Destroy it so nobody can reuse it: cut the harness straps, remove the cover, and write 'expired' on the shell. Then take it to a council drop-off that recycles car seats if one exists near you, or put it out with a bulk collection or in general waste.
Will an op shop take a cot or pram?
Cots are usually refused because the Australian standard for cots is strict and older cots fail it. Prams are sometimes accepted if they are clean, complete and recent. Ring first. Buy Nothing groups and Marketplace move prams and cots faster than charities do.
What about toys with missing pieces?
Not donatable. A puzzle missing a piece or a game missing a die is somebody else's disappointment and the charity's landfill fee. Bag complete sets so the pieces stay together, and put incomplete ones in general waste.
Need it gone this week?
Pick your state to compare removal options:
This answer is the same in every state and territory, so there is one page for it. The answers that change at the state border are listed at where does it go.