Maverick,
I went through a similar discovery process a while ago when I was thinking about fitting drawers to our car. The OEM points are on the cargo floor, about a foot back from the rear set, so would be completely covered by the drawers. The following is what I could piece together at the time, and was correct for QLD. I know for a fact that other states were different, and even QLD may have moved on since then.
What I came up with:
* Fitting child seat points to a set of drawers in QLD is not legal, nor is there any way to make it so.
* This is the case even if the drawer manufacturer uses a steel frame and/or includes replacement child restraint points. QLD authorities don't recognise these as suitable anchor points.
* Most people run an extension strap from the original anchor point on the floor, under/behind the drawers and then up to the child seat.
* This is also technically illegal, as nothing can interfere with the restraint strap. The concern is that in a crash the area that the strap wraps around may buckle and the strap suddenly goes loose. Also concerns about fraying the strap where it touches anything - obviously these are in spots that you wouldn't look at often to inspect.
* RACQ has the list of workshops approved to add additional child restraint anchors to a vehicle, and can tell you who is close to you.
* These anchors must go into the bodywork of the car (IE, even an approved workshop can't add one to a drawer system) in the right spots.
* As Jason points out, you can get the anchors installed in the roof in the rear of the cabin. So long as you don't mind the straps being in the way. This may require cargo barrier mods, if you have one (clear path for the strap). This is commonly done for wagons with 50/50 split-fold seats, who need a 34rd anchor in the middle seat.
* Once fitted, you need a blue-plate fitted for the modification.
* The next option is to install a CRAB bar in the rear, and the new points get fitted to it. Google it to see examples.
* This was about $300 when TJM quoted me. They had the car for a day, but the only suitable bodywork for them to attach it to was right at the rear of the car just inside the tailgate. I believe in the GU you can fit one right behind the second row seats. Big thanks to TJM for ringing to ask me about it. They had to order the bar in especially for me, but didn't charge me a cent when they couldn't make it work acceptably well.
* Final option for us was to talk to a fellow in town who modifies vehicles for disabled people. He has all the correct certs and approval to do this stuff.
* The plan was for him to dismantle the rear seat, weld in all the required bracing, and install new child anchor points directly to the rear of the seat back. If you've ever seen a VE wagon, this is exactly the outcome that we would have got.
* This would also have to be approved, engineer-inspected and blue-plated.
* We didn't go ahead because of the cost.
* Without a doubt this was the best/ most seamless solution though.
In the end, we just didn't bother with the drawers.
I hope things have changed since then, but that's where we left it. In all honesty, I would have been happy with the CRAB bar if we could have made it work. Depending on how far it intrudes into your cargo area, it might be a good option.
Cheers,
Matt
