For most people, the event of new ebike laws coming into effect in NSW went under the radar. From observations of social media posts etc., there is still a lot that people are unaware about. So let’s break it down.
The source for this article is the NSW Government Gazette number 298, dated Friday August 2nd, 2024. This link will take you to the Gazette where you’ll find the information in its entirety from page 13.
Here’s a summary of what is contained in the Gazette.
1. Broadly speaking in NSW an ebike is a bicycle that is electrically power assisted. This means that when you pedal, the motor provides assistance by engaging when you turn the pedals. This system is otherwise known as Pedalec – you need to be turning the pedals for the motor to engage. Human powered and electrically assisted if you like.
2. The motor, regardless of whether it’s a hub motor or mid-drive can not exceed 500 watts power to be road legal. We are fortunate here in NSW, other states have a limit of 250 watts.
3. The ebike must not be capable of exceeding 25 Km/h top speed. Bikes that do this are not road legal.
4. Some Pedalec bikes come with a throttle. To be road legal in NSW, the throttle can only provide assistance up to 6 Km/h. A bike that operates purely on the throttle and doesn’t need pedaling to go over 6 Km/h is not road legal.
What changes with the new laws.
For most consumers it’s more of a “buyer beware” situation. As of February 1st 2025, the definitions tabled in the Gazette became mandatory.
All ebikes sold after August 1st 2025 must comply with the following standards: AS 15194 :2016; or EN 15194: 2017 +A1:2023; or UL 2849. In addition to this, any lithium ion battery sold in NSW for ebikes, either with or without a bike, must comply with the following standards: EN 50604-1:2016 +A1:2021; or IEC 62133-2:2017; or UL 2271. This includes additional batteries purchased, conversion kits that come with batteries and batteries replaced under warranty.
At the time of writing this article, a six month reprieve had been granted to retailers, effectively pushing back the implementation of the laws until early 2026. This gives retailers time to catch up with getting their products certified, a time consuming and expensive process.
What doesn’t change.
Speed limits for ebikes are still 25 Km/h across Australia so that’s nothing new. It’s just more clearly defined in NSW law now. Also, your old ebike, if it’s a Pedalec and doesn’t have a throttle that enables you to exceed 6 Km/h is still road legal. You don’t need to get your battery or the bike certified.
Final word.
You the consumer are responsible for educating yourself with the rules and regulations around ebike usage and ownership in NSW. Failure to do so could be costly for you financially and legally. Hopefully this article has given you the relevant information for you to ask the right questions if you are going to purchase an ebike in the future.
Disclaimer: We’ve done our best to provide an accurate interpretation of the new laws as outlined in the Gazette and to the best of our knowledge, this article is accurate. Any inaccuracies resulting from our interpretation are unintentional.