The Safer E-Bikes Bill 2025 (Road Vehicle Standards Amendment) will be introduced to Parliament today by Federal Mackellar MP Dr Sophie Scamps, calling for well-overdue reform to ensure e-bikes are safe, fit-for-purpose, and regulated under federal law.
This bill responds to widespread calls from parents, pedestrians and state politicians for the Federal Government to legislate national safety and import standards for e-bikes. Currently, e-bikes imported into Australia do not have to meet any national safety and quality standard.
“There has been growing community concern about unsafe, high-powered e-bikes being imported and sold without proper oversight. Many new generation e-bikes can be easily modified to exceed legal speed limits, and are being ridden illegally, often unknowingly, on footpaths and roads, posing serious risks to riders, pedestrians and drivers,” said Dr Scamps.
At a recent sold-out community forum hosted by Dr Scamps and Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby, trauma surgeons, police, and transport experts highlighted the alarming rise in injuries and enforcement challenges linked to illegal and non-compliant e-bikes.
This reform has broad support at the state level with New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland Government Ministers all having written to the Federal Government calling for national leadership on unsafe e-bike imports and the establishment of national safety standards.
“This bill is about ensuring the e-bikes imported into Australia are both safe and legal for use and cannot be tampered with to make them go beyond legal speed limits except for specific special purposes,” said Dr Scamps.
The Bill will bring e-bikes under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018, classifying them as road vehicles and requiring them to meet key safety standards when being imported. It will also require the minister to establish national safety standards for both standard and powerful e-bikes, based on the European Standard EN15194 – the current global best practice standard. Finally it will ensure safety features such as operational pedal cranks, anti-tampering protections, and speed limits are mandated by the new standard.