24/03/2026
The QLD government are introducing a raft of new E-Mobility laws into Parliament this week. The changes are based on the findings of the Parliamentary E-mobility Enquiry, which made 28 recommendations. The changes are in part already existing law in some form. Apart from some of the penalties and powers given to police to enforce the laws, and a few tweaks, the actual laws already exist and are enforceable. However the new laws will give authorities significant new tools to enforce laws promptly and effectively.
Tweaks to Existing Laws:
*Ban on under 16's using e-devices; essentially ALREADY LAW. Under 16's currently can only use an e-bike or e-scooter with an adult's supervision.
*Devices that can go faster than 25kmh to be considered mopeds or motorcycles and needing to be registered, insured and licenced to use; this is already mostly the case, certainly for electric pushbikes. What is not clear is whether the thousands of e-scooters which can be speed limited to 25kmh, but also in which the limit can be relatively easily bypassed, will become "illegal pmds". They certainly can't be registered so that would immediately bin hundreds of thousands of devices. Will owners of these devices be able to continue to use these devices in public providing they have left the 25kmh speed restriction in place?
The existing laws are adequate and sensible, they just need to be enforced for those who break the rules, not penalise those doing the right thing.
New Laws:
*Requirement to have at least a learners permit; this is tacitly about ensuring people have a knowledge of road rules, but yet not all people over 16 have or want licences and PMD's and e-bikes are a great option for these people. Requiring people to have a learners permit is a blunt instrument; there could be fairer solutions, such as e-mobility training or an e-mobility test.
*10kmh speed restriction on footpaths; Riding on a bicycle is difficult at 10kmh, on an e-scooter it's impossible to do at all safely. The current limit or 12kmh is almost borderline unsafe. The designers of this law have never ridden an e-scooter and this is probably the most poorly thought out of all the proposed changes.
New powers for Police and Authorities:
Police have been given new powers of enforcement which will be beneficial, providing the law is applied fairly.
*Power to confiscate and destroy illegal or modified devices on first offence; while this sounds wasteful I think it's a necessary step to ensure infringers understand the seriousness of the infraction. It also, in the case of under 16 riders, targets the user not the person who ultimately pays the fine, and in the case of over 16s, targets people who think they can ignore the fine (or can afford to just pay it). You don't want to lose your cool e-motorbike; don't ride it in public or ride it within the law.
*Fine non-payment can be referred to SPER (State Penalty Enforcement Register); for licenced riders (and under the new laws all riders will need to be licenced) means their licence can be suspended on non-payment. This is reasonable but for the SPER incentive to work without clogging the courts, the requirement for riders to be licenced is necessary, which as I said before, I don't believe is fair.
*Parents and guardians of under 16's are responsible for the fines their children accrue. This seems like a no brainer and while already enforceable via the court system it is difficult to enforce as prosecutors need to prove a lack of adequate supervision for a successful conviction against the parents. Not clear yet whether the new law will mean the penalties parents accrue as a result of their children breaking the law will be recoverable through SPER. I'm guessing they probably will be. So parents will have a very strong incentive to not put illegal e-bikes in their children reach other than for use on private property.
All in all these new laws aren't entirely off the mark, but there are also some serious missteps that are going to result in restrictions on those currently doing the right thing and not creating a public menace.
