Legalities of Electric Bike Use

Road Safety

Each State is responsible for deciding how to treat ebikes and currently all States agree that ebikes do not require licensing or registration.

We specialise in street legal ebikes. We limit the risk to our business and our customers by offering exceptional quality options which comply with the legislation. We want to keep our customers safe, insured and covered. We do not sell over-powered or illegal models.

Australia-wide road safety

• Pedal assist (pedelec) is mandatory
• ebikes can have a motor of 250W of continuous rated power which can only be activated above 6km/hr by pedalling and must cut out over 25 km/hr (compliant with EU standard EN15194:2009 or EN 15194:2009+A1:2011)
• ebikes with a combined maximum power output not exceeding 200W does not have to comply with EN15194
• Bikes with power output over 250W, with motors which continue to operate over 25km/hr but do not exceed 50 km/hr are considered mopeds and are treated as motorcycles (licenced, registered, road use or private land only)
• Safe operation compliant with local and national rules (bikes must have working bell, and a reflector and lights if used at night or in poor visibility and rider must wear a helmet unless exempt)

Other requirements for e-bikes to comply with bicycle road rules and safety also apply. Always check your local laws but these are expected to include:

Helmets – wear an Australian Standard approved helmet complying with AS 2063 or AS/NZS 2063 unless carrying a doctor’s certificate stating you cannot wear a helmet or exempt on religious grounds which make it impractical to wear a helmet.

Equipment – at least 1 working brake and a working bell, horn or similar warning device

Lights – at night or in poor visibility, you must display a white light visible at least 200m from front of ebike. A red light which can be clearly seen at least 200m from rear of ebike. A red reflector that can be clearly seen at least 50m from behind when a vehicle’s headlights shine on it.

Operation – rules exist around the safe operation and use of transport infrastructure include bike lanes, roads and shared paths. Please check your local rules.

Electrical safety

Mandatory electrical safety compliance (declared item status) applies to any external mains powered battery charger that connects to the bicycle. The relevant standard for battery chargers is AS/NZS 60335.2.29 and all chargers should be accompanied by an electrical safety approval certificate.

EMC

The relevant ACMA EMC standard for RCM compliance covering motor driven devices is AS/NZS CISPR14.1.