The New South Wales Government will introduce a minimum age to ride an e-bike in the state as part of reforms to address safety concerns.
Under current NSW road rules, a child of any age can ride an e-bike and riders of any age can carry passengers if the bike's design allows.
An expert review led by Transport for NSW will recommend a legal minimum age between 12 and 16 for riding an e-bike in the state and appraise whether children and teenagers should be allowed to carry passengers. Findings will be presented by June 2026.
Alone among Australian states so far, Western Australia has imposed an age limit of 16, with any child under 16 caught riding an e-bike fined $50.
E-bikes are heavier and faster than push bikes, which can increase the force involved in a crash, heighten the risk of serious injury and make them harder to control and manoeuvre.
With an estimated 760,000 e-bikes in NSW, they are an increasingly popular mode of transport, but hoon behaviour and a climb in e-bike-related serious injuries and fatalities have prompted safety concerns. NSW recorded 226 e-bike-related injuries in 2024, followed by 233 in just the first seven months of 2025.
In March, NSW will also adopt the European safety and performance standard (EN15194) for e-bikes in a bid to remove high-powered, illegal electric motorbikes masquerading as e-bikes from roads and footpaths.
Under this standard, e-bikes must have a maximum power output of 250 watts, with power assistance cutting out at 25km/h, and no power assistance delivered after 6km/h if a rider is not also pedalling.
The news comes hot on the heels of an announcement of expanded powers for NSW Police to seize and crush illegal e-bikes.
Minister for Transport, John Graham, said: “We want children outdoors and active but keeping them safe is paramount.
“I am concerned that we have primary school-aged children trying to control e-bikes that in some cases are heavier than them.
“I acknowledge the concern in the community about groups of teens piling onto fat bikes – often three to a bike – and sometimes breaking simple road rules. This review has been tasked with investigating whether teens have the ability to safely double their friends and how young is too young to be in the saddle of an electric bike.
"The community has spoken against souped-up motorbikes masquerading as e-bikes and this new standard makes clear that e-bikes must perform like bicycles not motorbikes."
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