Government announces e-bike crackdown, but sellers warn it won’t solve the real problem
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The federal government has announced a plan to introduce strict new national safety standards for all mobility devices sold in Australia following a sharp rise in serious injuries and deaths related to e-bikes and e-scooters.
However, the proposal has been met with opposition from NSW e-bike sellers who say the crackdown will harm their businesses without fixing the larger issues of illegal modifications and reckless riding.
A Sydney police officer seizes an e-bike during a recent operation. NSW Police
The Albanese government has tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with constructing a national safety framework for the e-mobility devices under Australian consumer law.
The move aims to stamp out high-powered, high-speed e-bikes that bypass current road safety limits and pose huge risks to riders and pedestrians, particularly children.
The crackdown comes amid surging hospital admissions and deadly crashes involving e-micromobility devices nationwide.
In Queensland alone last year, 12 people died in e-mobility-related incidents, while more than 6300 people presented to hospital emergency departments with injuries linked to the devices.
Emergency doctors and safety advocates have repeatedly raised alarms over non-compliant devices - often imported illegally or modified post-sale - that can reach speeds far exceeding lawful road limits.
The ACCC is expected to begin by drafting the national standards for e-bikes, before moving on to other mobility devices.
The consumer watchdog should be in a position to release the new standards by early next year, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh told reporters this morning.
Leigh said clearer rules would benefit both buyers and reputable retailers.
“As more Australians choose e-bikes, it’s important that consumers can have confidence in the safety of the products they buy,” he said.
“Nationally consistent standards will provide clearer expectations for manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike.”
What the new standards will do
Currently, regulations vary between states and territories, creating loopholes for retailers selling non-compliant devices.
The new national standard will create a uniform threshold for what battery-powered devices can legally be sold anywhere in Australia.
Under the proposed national standards - which align with the European standard - e-bikes sold for public road and path use face a rigid set of restrictions.
Complying e-bikes must have a maximum power output of 250 watts, and pedal assistance has to cut out at 25km/h.
The standard also includes battery, electrical, and fire-safety requirements, as well as anti-tampering protections to prevent alteration of power or speed limits.
Currently, Australia operates under a confusing patchwork of state laws. In Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, e-bikes are already strictly restricted to a continuous rated system output of 250 watts.
In NSW, however, regulations allow retailers to legally sell e-bikes with up to 500 watts of maximum continuous power, provided motor assistance cuts out at 25 km/h.
Earlier this year, the NSW government announced a transition period allowing these 500-watt bikes to be legally sold and ridden on public roads until March 1, 2029, at which point state enforcement would officially step down to 250 watts.
If the ACCC enforces a uniform national standard sooner, NSW retailers say they risk having their most sought-after inventory wiped out overnight.
The number of children presenting to emergency departments due to e-scooter injuries has ballooned. Scott McNaughton/Nine
‘An enforcement problem, not a standard problem’
Scott Jeffrey, owner of Beaches Electric Bikes in Sydney’s Narrabeen, told nine.com.au introducing another standard fails to address why modified, high-speed e-bikes are flooding suburban streets in the first place.
“The standard is already there and has been there for a lengthy period of time - it’s just that it hasn’t been enforced,” Jeffrey said.
“It all comes down to how the bikes are being imported, and then the ability after they’ve been imported to modify them.
“If they can be modified, it doesn’t matter if they meet the standard, because people will choose to modify them and make them go faster than they should go.”
Jeffrey explained that many of his customers routinely override the standard 25km/h factory cut-off to reach speeds between 35 and 40km/h solely under motor power.
His staff frequently service compliant bikes that owners have modified, only to reset them back to legal speed limits before repeating the cycle.
He warned that taking away NSW’s 500-watt allowance early will harm legitimate sellers while doing little to stop illegal modifications on the street.
“It’s definitely going to impact our sales, and I’m having discussions with customers every day about it,” Jeffrey said, adding 250-watt bikes were often not powerful enough to keep up with road traffic.
In Campsie, Shadi Raad, owner of Ebike Boys, painted an even starker picture for bike shops already struggling to survive in a difficult economic environment.
“Customers aren’t happy with 250 watts because it can’t even climb hills,” Raad said.
“If you live in hilly areas, you won’t be able to ride your bike.
“It’s no better than a pushbike. A standard push bike can easily go 30 to 40km/h - 250 watts capped at 25km/h is not feasible for anyone.”
Raad predicted that restricting sales strictly to 250-watt units would lead to a catastrophic drop in revenue across the retail sector.
“All the businesses would be affected and sales will be down by no less than 60 to 70 per cent,” Raad said.
“We are already struggling and barely breaking even. If you want to punish people, punish the riders for reckless riding - don’t punish the shops.
“It’s not my problem if someone does wheelies on the bike or modifies it after buying it. You crack down on those people, not us.”
Responding to concerns over modifications, Leigh suggested the new standards would also aim to address the issue.
“Getting in place a standard that deals with modification is going to be really important,” Leigh said.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is e-bikes coming into the country that are ostensibly compliant but can be modified in order to be non-compliant.”
Leigh said consumer law operated as a jointly across all Australian jurisdictions to regulate what can legally enter and be sold in the market, warning that non-compliant retailers could face penalties of up to $100 million.
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