E-bike rules

By the end of this topic you can

• You can tell a legal e-bike from an illegal electric motorbike
• You can explain the difference between pedal-assist and throttle e-bikes
• You can follow the bicycle road rules that apply to e-bike riders
• You can find where e-bikes may be ridden in your state
• You can explain why a high-powered bike needs registration and a licence

What you need to know and understand

• Legal e-bikes are treated as bicycles: no licence or registration needed
• A pedal-assist e-bike (pedelec) may have up to 250 watts, with assistance cutting out at 25 km/h
• Another category allows a motor of up to 200 watts that can help without pedalling
• A bike over these limits is a motor vehicle and needs registration and a licence to be ridden on roads
• Helmets are required for bike riders across Australia, with limited local exceptions
• Some states, including NSW, have been tightening e-bike standards and reviewing age rules, so rules vary by state

What counts as a legal e-bike

There are two common types. A pedelec only helps when you pedal. Its motor can be up to 250 watts, and it must stop helping once you reach 25 km/h. You can ride faster under your own leg power. The second type has a smaller motor of up to 200 watts that can give some help without pedalling.

Bikes sold as e-bikes but able to reach much higher speeds on the throttle, or with motors well over these limits, are not legal e-bikes. Police in several states can fine riders and seize these bikes. Removing a speed limiter also turns a legal e-bike into an illegal one.

• Legal: pedal-assist up to 250 watts, cutting out at 25 km/h
• Legal: up to 200 watts with limited throttle help
• Not legal on public roads or paths without registration: anything more powerful or faster under motor power

Where you can ride

Because a legal e-bike is a bicycle, you can usually ride wherever bicycles are allowed: roads, bike lanes, bike paths and shared paths. Footpath riding for adults varies by state. For example, Queensland and Tasmania allow riders of any age on footpaths unless signs say otherwise, while in other states footpath riding is mostly limited to children and their supervising adults. Check your own state's rules.

Wherever you ride, give way to pedestrians on footpaths and shared paths, keep left and ride at a speed that lets you stop safely.

Riding safely and legally

1. Check the bike's label or specifications show it meets the legal power and speed limits
2. Wear an approved bicycle helmet, correctly fastened
3. Fit front and rear lights and a reflector before riding at night
4. Make sure the bell or horn works
5. Obey traffic lights, signs and give way rules, just like other vehicles
6. Charge the battery with the charger that came with it, away from exits and never unattended overnight

Common mistakes

• Buying a bike online without checking power and speed: many sold as e-bikes are illegal on public roads
• Removing the speed limiter: this makes the bike illegal and less safe
• Treating a shared path like a road: slow down and give way to people walking
• Riding without a helmet: helmets are required for bike riders
• Charging cheap batteries unattended: battery fires can be serious, so use the right charger and supervise charging

Test yourself: E-bike rules

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.