Across the country, authorities are grappling with the surge in dangerous e-bike riding. This week, police in Perth seized and destroyed dozens of illegal e-rideables and charged 25 young people.
Now, pressure is mounting on the government in Australia’s most populous state to crack down too. Authorities are facing increasing calls for number plates and licensing to be implemented for riders under 18.
New South Wales Transport Minister John Graham has said the government was “not ruling out” the idea of registration, proposed by the opposition late last year. But internal advice warned that the proposal may create more problems than it solves.
“We’re happy to work with the opposition if there are good ideas in this space,” Mr Graham said on 2GB.
“But there are some real questions about it.
“The idea that this can be done with no additional resources just won’t work, compliance needs to be properly resourced.”
The NSW government is not ruling out the introduction of e-bike licenses. Source: Yahoo News Australia/Reddit
Officers are warning parents to closely monitor their children’s use of high-powered devices after some were caught travelling at speeds of up to 80 km/h.
E-bike popularity explodes across Australia
E-bikes have exploded in popularity in Sydney in recent times, and not always legally.
High-powered devices capable of speeds well beyond the legal limit have flooded footpaths and shared paths, particularly in beachside suburbs, prompting police crackdowns and fines topping $800.
“It was like the Wild West in some suburbs,” Graham said.
While the government wants kids riding bikes and ditching screens, the reality on the ground has become harder to ignore.
“There’s got to be balance here,” he said, pointing to the growing impact on pedestrians, older residents and parents with prams.
Across Queensland, more than a dozen people died in incidents involving e-bikes in 2025. Source: QPS
Why licences for kids may fail
Meanwhile, the Coalition has stood firm on its stance.
It does want number plates for shared e-bikes and riders under 18, arguing it would boost safety and accountability.
But Graham said enforcement is the weak link, particularly when it comes to teenagers already riding illegal bikes.
“The advice to me is it probably won’t help enforcement,” he said.
Teenagers riding illegal high-powered e-bikes, he warned, could simply claim to be older.
Instead, the government has focused on tightening supply and regulation, working with the federal government to reimpose import controls and slash allowable motor power to keep high-speed bikes off public streets.
“There’s more work to do in the private bike space,” Graham said. “We do need to crack down on the riding behaviour we’re seeing.”
But Shadow Transport Minister Natalie Ward blasted Graham’s response, accusing him of dithering while streets grow more dangerous.
“More talk from the Transport Minister, one minute it’s the bureaucrats say no, the next minute it’s ‘I’m open to it’,” Ward told The Daily Telegraph.
“We’ve got a confused Minister who doesn’t know who he should be listening to. For young riders, accountability can’t start with a trip to the emergency room.”
E-bikes have exploded across Australian cities as a cheap, convenient transport alternative and a favourite for food delivery riders — but their popularity has come with rising safety headaches.
Children and teens are increasingly riding them to school and around traffic, and hospitals have seen a sharp uptick in e-bike injuries among young riders.
Parents are being cautioned about the risks, especially on busy roads and shared paths, where fast e-bikes can clash with pedestrians and prams
E-bike use, particularly among companies like Lime, is soaring in Sydney. Source: Yahoo News Australia
Communities call for change
Communities, transport experts, and road safety advocates have long been calling for tighter regulation.
The NSW Liberal Party previously vowed to roll out the crackdown should they win office in 2027, as uptake rises across the state and the country.
Liberal transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward earlier announced that children, food delivery riders and share bikes would need licence plates under her proposal.
The registration would be held in the parents’ name but linked to the child, and it could be transferred between different bikes.
Under the proposal, NSW Police would be able to issue fines to parents when kids are caught hooning on illegal bikes, riding recklessly on footpaths, or skipping helmets.
Commercial e-bike users would also need number plates, allowing food delivery riders to be identified and fined when they flout laws.
The fines would go to the company first, and it would then have to confirm who was on the bike when the offence occurred.
Major crackdown sees e-bikes and e-scooters destroyed
Over in WA, police this week charged 25 young people between 11 and 16 and seized and destroyed 36 electric scooters and off-road bikes in a targeted crackdown on the devices.
It comes after an influx of community concern about dangerous riding and anti-social behaviour.
A young mum was even left injured and shaken after a teen riding an e-bike allegedly hurled a brick at her while she was unloading groceries from her car in the driveway, while holding her newborn.
The west coast mother said she’s been left badly traumatised by the ordeal.
It is alleged that most of the riders were under the age of 18.
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