Federal and state governments are consolidating their plans around new rules for e-bikes.
Following the decision in 2025 to reintroduce the European standard for e-bikes on Australian roads, the Commonwealth has now amended the import rules for e-bikes by re-inserting EN15194:2017 into the definition of an e-bike in the Australian Design Rules.
The Department of Transport and Border Security uses this definition to decide if a product is an e-bike that can be imported into Australia.
Such an e-bike must meet all the requirements of EN15194:2017 including having a maximum continuous power of 250 watts, a maximum assisted speed of 25km/h, and a maximum throttled-controlled walk-mode speed of 6km/h.
Significantly, the standard now also contains an anti-tampering provision to prevent the power and speed limitations being altered by sellers or owners.
A retailer manufacturer or retailer cannot provide a code, controller setting, device app, mechanical device, throttle in a box or any other functionality for consumer modification.
From our local state perspective, NSW e-bike laws are changing in stages between 2026 and 2029, to become aligned with the national regulations.
New e-bikes sold in NSW must now be marked to show whether they meet the EN 15194 standard or not.
From March 2029, e-bikes that aren’t certified to EN 15194 will no longer be legal to ride on roads, cycleways, shared paths or other public areas in NSW.
The links below provide information about what has changed at a national level, and how these new regulations are being applied in NSW…
State governments and local councils have a strategy to increase participation in walking and cycling activities – referred to by planners as “active transport”. Doing so would improve citizens’ health and air quality, reduce emissions and traffic congestion, and increase accessibility and liveability, the strategies say.