How we test portable cots
Our expert testers examine portable cots in the CHOICE labs for safety and ease of use.
Last updated: 20 Oct 2026
When choosing a portable cot (or portacot), it can be hard to tell which ones have the important safety features and are also easy to set up and pack away.
All portable cots sold in Australia must comply with the latest mandatory infant sleep standards, which were updated in 2024 and came into force from January 2026. These cover both safety aspects (including design and construction) and information standards (such as warnings on labels). Historically we’ve seen plenty of models that fail requirements, which is why we put them to the test in our lab.
On this page:
Our expert testers
At CHOICE we maintain a highly professional NATA-accredited laboratory and the vast majority of our product testing is done in-house. We’re accredited to test to the mandatory Australian standard for portable cots, so our lab experts really do know whether a portable cot is safe or not.
Our experts, Antonio Bonacruz and Matthew Tung, sit on Australian and international standards committees for relevant babies’ and kids’ products. They understand the technicalities and intentions of the standards and contribute towards the improvement of safety standards.
How we choose what we test
With so many to choose from, what makes us choose one portable cot to test over another? As with most of our product testing, our aim is to test the most popular brands and types on the market and what you’re most likely to see in the retailers.
We survey manufacturers to find out about their range of products, we check market sales information and we also check for any member requests to test specific models. From this information we put together a final list that goes to our buyers.
They then get onto retailers – online, by phone or the old-fashioned way of actually going into stores – and purchase each product, just as a regular consumer would. We do this so we can be sure the products we get are the same as any consumer would find them and not tweaked in any way for better performance.
Since the mandatory standard was updated, we have had to re-start our portable cots test from scratch. Some products that we tested in the past were given another test run using a new product from a more recent batch, so some results may vary when compared with the initial results.
How we test portable cots
Our in-house lab is accredited to test portable cots against the most current Australian standard for portable cots, AS/NZS 2195:2010. The latest mandatory safety standard requires manufacturers to comply with AS/NZS 2195:2010 (or other international equivalents), as well as additional design, construction and information requirements. Our review includes testing portable cots against AS/NZ 2195:2010 as well as our assessment of the mandatory requirements.
Our experts test the portable cots (and any supplied accessories, such as change tables, bassinet modes and toys) for their safety performance.
All infant sleep products sold in Australia (such as portable cots, bassinets, and inclined sleepers) must now comply with mandatory standards. They must:
- not have an incline of more than seven degrees
- have a flat and not curved sleep surface
- have a firm sleeping surface that complies with a test method for mattress firmness
- have mesh or fabric sides that a baby can breathe through
- have no sharp points or edges
- have at least two brakes on the castors, if there are any.
When testing portable cots to mandatory requirements, our experts found that assessing curvature was difficult to consistently apply in practice, so we devised an alternative method based on industry guidance and in-house expertise.
The mandatory method requires a digital level to be used, but it does not specify what reading constitutes an acceptable or unacceptable curve on the sleeping surface. During testing we found that local angle measurements could also be affected by features such as quilting and fold lines.
Our method involves placing a straight square tube across the mattress surface at various positions and orientations, and identifying gaps exceeding 5mm. Testing was conducted with the mattress in situ, in both the lower and upper positions where available. It produces a better measure of the extent of curvature (including dips and bows) across the sleep surface.
We found that the vast majority of portable cots had gaps exceeding the 5mm threshold. As there is still some lack of clarity around the mandatory curvature test, we’ve not included it as part of our scoring.
In addition to this we test portable cots to the latest Australian safety standards, looking for:
- Entrapment hazards (including head, limb and finger entrapments in openings and moving components)
- Small objects (which could become loose and pose a choking hazard)
- Sharp corners, edges and points
- Strangulation hazards from straps or other components, or snag points
- Sufficient depth to prevent a child falling from the cot
- Stability
- Mattress firmness (as per the mandatory standard, the mattress must be firm and level enough to provide a safe sleeping surface. We use the Australian test method for mattresses, AS/NZS 8811.1).
- Clear warning and usage labels on the cot, packaging and instructions.
In addition to our performance and safety testing, we also score the portable cots for their ease of use, including:
- Unpacking and setting up the cot (as well as any supplied accessories)
- Folding it and packing it away (into the carry bag, where provided)
- The quality of the supplied instructions
Test criteria explained
The CHOICE Expert Rating, our overall score that determines which portable cots we recommend, is made up of the scores for:
- Performance (70%)
- Ease of use (30%)
Performance and ease of use scores are based on the factors listed above. For performance, we score as follows:
- 100% – no failures
- 80% – only very minor failures
- 60–65% – at least one minor failure
- 40% or less – at least one serious safety failure.
We only recommend models with a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 70%. These models pass all our key safety tests, but may have some very minor failures such as with information labels.
For some tests, no models score high enough to be recommended. In this case, look for the models that score at least 60%, as they’ve passed the key safety tests and have only minor safety failures.
Our portable cots buying guide explains more about how to choose the safest portable cot.
Our test lab
CHOICE has high quality NATA-accredited laboratories with calibrated test equipment and lab staff who are skilled and accredited in a wide range of product testing.
Kim Gilmour is a Senior project officer. She manages a range of product tests such as coffee machines, stick vacuums, bassinets, high chairs and ovens, which are all tested in our in-house labs.
Kim’s work gives people access to robust, independent advice and helps consumers make informed decisions about their purchases. Her work also helps to keep manufacturers in check, by regularly exposing product flaws which can result in better and safer products.
Prior to CHOICE, Kim spent 16 years working as a technology journalist in Sydney and London. With several years as a senior researcher/writer at our UK sister organisation, Which?
Kim has authored how-to technology books such as Spotify for Dummies and Digital Photography for the Older and Wiser.
Kim has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from Charles Sturt University. LinkedIn
Kim Gilmour is a Senior project officer. She manages a range of product tests such as coffee machines, stick vacuums, bassinets, high chairs and ovens, which are all tested in our in-house labs.
Kim’s work gives people access to robust, independent advice and helps consumers make informed decisions about their purchases. Her work also helps to keep manufacturers in check, by regularly exposing product flaws which can result in better and safer products.
Prior to CHOICE, Kim spent 16 years working as a technology journalist in Sydney and London. With several years as a senior researcher/writer at our UK sister organisation, Which?
Kim has authored how-to technology books such as Spotify for Dummies and Digital Photography for the Older and Wiser.
Kim has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from Charles Sturt University. LinkedIn
