Currently, there’s no Australian Standard for child safety gates. CHOICE has devised its own based on US and EU standards
The safety gates that failed our tests pose risks such as finger and limb entrapment, and even potential strangulation risks
Our experts have decades of experience and carry out rigorous tests based on overseas standards and safety knowledge
There’s nothing like an adventurous, wobbly toddler to make every parent suddenly extremely aware of all the potential hazards in their home. Safety gates can be a helpful solution if you want to block your child’s access to a staircase or any other area of the house you don’t want them to toddle into unattended.
They’re also handy options for those of us with inquisitive four-legged friends we might want to keep confined to a certain area of the house.
Our expert testers noted a range of issues from fiddly latches to tricky assembly instructions and outright choking hazards
Safety gates seem simple enough – just prop them up, screw them in and off you go, right? But when our expert testers took a closer look, they noted a range of issues from fiddly latches to tricky assembly instructions and outright choking hazards in the safety gates we purchased.
CHOICE experts have recently tested a range of safety gates from brands including Kmart Anko, 4Baby, Childcare and Dreambaby and found three with serious safety issues as well as models with several minor safety issues you should be aware of before you buy.
Here’s what you need to know about the safety gates that failed our rigorous testing, and what to consider if you’re buying a safety gate.
Contrary to what you might expect, there are no Australian safety standards for baby safety gates. There are however, two international standards, from Europe and the US. CHOICE experts have drawn on these standards, as well as safety requirements and test procedures based on various Australian and overseas standards for other children’s products, to create our comprehensive in-house testing method to assess which gates are the best and safest.
“Manufacturers whose models we’ve failed say they do meet existing international safety gate standards, but CHOICE experts believe our requirements address key safety concerns,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE household goods expert.
We test whether a typical toddler could force the gate open or push it out of the door frame
When we assess each gate, we’re looking to see how well they are constructed and checking for obvious potential hazards. We make sure the lock can’t be opened by a small child, look for tripping or entrapment hazards, and test whether a typical toddler could force the gate open or push it out of the door frame.
Our experts also assess how easy it is to assemble and install the gate and how easy it is to release and close the latch.
CHOICE director of campaigns, Andy Kelly says: “The lack of mandatory standards for safety gates is a symptom of Australia’s reactive product safety laws – it might take a serious injury or death before a new mandatory standard is introduced or an unsafe product is recalled.”
“With tens of thousands of product categories and only a handful of products covered by mandatory standards and product bans, we urgently need to change the law so that it actually prevents companies from selling unsafe products.”
Safety gates from our latest testing with serious failures
CHOICE experts found three safety games with serious failures. All were retractable screen-style baby gates, sold via online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay and online marketplace partners for retailers such as Big W, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith and Myer.
Retractable Pet Fence Universal Pet Safety Enclosure
CHOICE Expert Rating: 21%
Ease of use score: 70%
Serious failures: small parts that can be detached are choking hazards; it is flimsy and not secure or high enough and therefore ineffective.
This product has multiple significant failures and is marketed as a “Creativity Baby Safe Guard” with images of babies and pets in its advertising material.
“This gate is so flimsy, it feels like a plastic book covering,” says product expert Kim Gilmour.
“Even though there is an emphasis on ‘pets’ in the product name, the product description and imagery used infers it is also suitable to be used as a baby gate.
“It’s far too low to prevent children from climbing over, and there are only cheap sticky hooks holding it in place on the door frame.”
Serious failures: strangulation hazard and lack of security.
CHOICE experts noted three serious failures and one minor failure on The BoPeep Retractable Safety Gate SG021 (a product that is currently available for purchase from multiple retailers).
The serious failures include an aspect of the gate’s lock that presents a potential strangulation hazard if a piece of child’s clothing was to become snagged on it, and an issue with the locking mechanism that means it is not completely secure.
Experts also found that the gate could easily be removed from its wall mounts by hand. And crucially, the gap created between the gate and the door frame has the potential for limbs to get stuck in it.
Dreambaby Glide ‘N Hide Xtra-Tall Retractable Gate G9377
CHOICE Expert Rating: 29%
Ease of use score: 50%
Serious failure: lack of security (lock is easy to be left inadvertently unengaged).
The baby safety gate raises a significant concern around basic security: it doesn’t reliably lock unless the user takes multiple deliberate steps – and it’s surprisingly easy to get those steps wrong. The lock button must be manually activated, but there’s no strong, obvious indication when it hasn’t been engaged.
Even more worrying, the gate can appear closed while only one of its two catches is secured, leaving the other side unintentionally loose. In practice, this creates a false sense of safety, where caregivers may believe the gate is properly locked when it isn’t.
Beyond that, the overall design feels unnecessarily complicated and somewhat flimsy. Locking happens at one end, while securing the two catches happens at the other, forcing users to manage multiple points of interaction every time they open or close it. The retractable fabric mechanism can be awkward to guide, and ensuring both the top and bottom catches are engaged is fiddly.
There’s also a minor but notable risk of a child’s limb getting caught in a gap near the edge of the gate.
We contacted the manufacturers and suppliers of the safety gates we marked as having serious failures, requesting a response. eBay removed the Retractable Pet Fence Universal Pet Safety Enclosure, and similar items, for sale but it’s still available to buy on Ali Express. We have not received a response from the supplier of the BoPeep gate.
In response to our findings, Dreambaby says that its Glide N’ Hide gate passes the European (EN1930) and US (ASTMF1004) safety gate standards. It says the gate can be “conveniently removed from the wall if an adult chooses to do so” and will review its instructions.
Minor safety failures
In several of the gates we tested, CHOICE experts found a risk of limb entrapment, which we consider an important factor parents should consider when deciding whether or not to buy a particular model of gate.
Kim says: “Manufacturers rightly warn that children should never be left unattended when a safety gate is used, but in a split second, an adventurous child could well test the waters and attempt to unlatch or escape from the gate, causing their arm or leg to get lodged between the bars.”
To find out which baby safety gates had minor failures, and to see the ones that passed our tests with flying colours, check out the baby safety gate review.
Tester Antonio Bonacruz has more than 20 years’ experience testing children’s products.
Meet our tester
Our safety gate tester Antonio Bonacruz knows his stuff. He’s been testing children’s products for the past 22 years and sits on various committees for Standards Australia, where he helps write the safety requirements for children’s products. This includes specifying how these products should be tested for safety.
He helped develop CHOICE’s in-house test method, which consists of safety requirements and test procedures based on various Australian and overseas standards for children’s products.
The method tests for things such as choking hazards, entanglements that can cause strangulation, access to dangerous places, falls from heights, entrapments in openings and between moving components, and structural integrity.
Some safety gates can be difficult to open and close, may be left in an insecure position, or may appear to be locked when in fact they’re not.
Things to consider when buying a child safety gate
If you’re looking for a child safety gate, you might also like to consider features that will affect how adults will use the gate.
Is it a trip hazard for you?
We found some gates pose a trip hazard as the floor bar is high enough for you to catch your foot on as you walk through. To lower the risk of dropping your baby while carrying them through a safety gate, look out for a safety gate with either a low-profile floor bar with chamfered edges, or one that doesn’t have a floor bar at all.
Is it easy to open and close?
Some safety gates can be tricky to open and close, and some even need two hands to open and close them. Given that parents tend to have their hands full most of the time, this could mean that you either don’t close the gate properly or stop using it altogether – which rather defeats the purpose of having a safety gate in the first place.
Is it difficult to assemble?
If you’re a parent, you’re likely to be running on reduced sleep, so a safety gate that’s difficult to assemble may just tip you over the edge! Make sure you check the ease of use scores in our review so you can avoid the models that are a nightmare to set up.
Tips for baby-proofing your home
If you’re looking to babyproof your home, a safety gate is one of the key items you’ll be adding to your shopping list. You’ll find some of the most important things to look out for in a safety gate in our baby safety gate buying guide. Here are a few other things to consider:
You may need to buy more than one safety gate; consider placing at both the bottom and tops of stairs and in front of entrances to rooms that may contain hazards, such as the kitchen or bathroom.
Babies and toddlers often pull themselves up on furniture – heavy items such as bookcases, tallboys and cabinets should be anchored to the wall so they don’t topple over. Check out the dangers of topping furniture and how to avoid it.
Cover electrical outlets with outlet covers, and secure or put away electrical cords.
Install childproof locks (either magnetic locks or latches) on cabinets or drawers with items that can cause harm, such as sharp utensils, cleaning supplies, medicines or alcohol.
Add corner guards to sharp-edged tables or furniture stands.
Place fragile, breakable items such as pot plants or ornaments well out of reach.
Ensure any items that may contain button batteries are secured or out of reach – you might be surprised at the number of household items that contain button batteries that can be extremely harmful if ingested. Think bathroom scales, light-up toys or shoes, glucose monitors, remote controls, car key fobs, musical greeting cards, hearing aids or digital thermometers.
Know the products to avoid before you shop. Get our free guide and buy smarter.
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
For more than 60 years, we've been making a difference for Australian consumers. In that time, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family. And our recent sunscreens test showed just how important it is to keep business claims in check.
So you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
