The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, AFTERNOONS WITH EMMA BICKLEY
FRIDAY, 6 NOVEMBER 2026
SUBJECTS: Labor protecting Australians from unsafe e-bikes
EMMA BICKLEY: Now, you may be concerned about the safety of the riders of e-bikes, your own safety as a motorist or a pedestrian. But what about the bikes themselves? Buying an e-bike is something you might have done to get around a little bit easier. How do you know the one you're buying is safe? The consumer watchdog is seeking feedback on proposed national safety standards – covering everything from speed to batteries and charges. So what could change for riders and the businesses selling these e-bikes? Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition and the Member for Fenner. He joins me on the line. Welcome to Afternoons!
ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks Emma, lovely to be with you.
EMMA BICKLEY: Nice to have you on now, I'm sure. First of all, do you have an e-bike? Do you ride one?
ANDREW LEIGH: I don't. I'm a keen cyclist. My favourite uses of e-bikes is really where people have had a terrific cycling career and then, as they're finding their legs are getting a bit more tired and in their 70s or 80s, they move to an e-bike and extend that cycling career out for another decade. But we are increasingly seeing them picked up by folks who I reckon could do fine just turning the pedals by themselves…
EMMA BICKLEY: Well, that might be a controversial opinion among some of our listeners. I would love it if anyone had any thoughts on that if they send it through. But Assistant Minister, go on.
ANDREW LEIGH: Well, e-bikes are a great way of extending the mobility networks, but what we're seeing on the roads increasingly are things that look more like motorbikes with pedals. They're overpowered and they're a risk to pedestrians and of course, to the riders themselves. The ACT already has strict rules about what can be ridden on the roads but there's not the same standards around what can be sold. So we've given extra funding to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to do a consultation on a national e-bike standard which will regulate what can be sold.
EMMA BICKLEY: And when you say it'll regulate what can be sold, can we get into the nitty-gritty a little bit? Are we talking about battery sizes, the speed they can go? What sorts of things are they looking at?
ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah that's right. So the sorts of things that are in these standards, such as the European standard EN15194, have to do with the maximum power limit, the speed at which the motor cuts out and also the ability to modify e-bikes. Because we know that there have been some e-bikes that are sold and appear to be road compliant when they're sold, but then can be modified and run at speeds much faster than the normal 25 kilometres an hour.
EMMA BICKLEY: And I think our listeners would be particularly concerned about that one, and I understand why. What is it? What checks and balances are in place at the moment if someone is riding a bike that looks okay but is actually much more dangerous?
ANDREW LEIGH: Well in terms of what you can ride on the roads [in the ACT], the limit is up to 250 watts. The motor only provides assistance while you're pedalling and it cuts out at 25 kilometres an hour. That is the standard for what can be ridden on the roads. But of course, what can be sold is different. And we've already seen a whole lot of accidents across the country. Just last month, we had a couple of teens go to hospital following an accident in Belconnen. I've spoken to people who've been hit as pedestrians walking on bike paths.
E-bikes can be a terrific boon to mobility, but we do need to make sure that what's being used is a safe vehicle that's on the road. And that's why we've funded the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to put in place this national standard. They're doing a consultation right now which wraps up at the end of the month.
EMMA BICKLEY: Assistant Minister for Competition and Member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh joins us today to talk e-bikes. What are your thoughts on them? Andy C from Florey has texted in. He's excited about Fri-Yay, but not as happy about the e-bikes. ‘I'd much rather they were banned’, he says. Do you agree with Andy?
Assistant Minister, I'm wondering – our police, when they're out on the roads, are they stopping people on e-bikes and checking? Are they trained to know what the standards are and whether an e-bike is safe? And I'm not implying that they don't, I'm simply asking?
ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah. I mean, it's a question more naturally put to the ACT Police Minister. But I've got a lot of confidence that ACT policing know what they're doing. They're aware of those rules that apply in the ACT. So really, my responsibility Emma, is about what's sold and the ACT's responsibility is about what can be written. And I think bringing those two things into alignment is what Canberrans expect. People at the moment are buying bikes which are effectively motorbikes with pedals. They're claiming that they will only ride them on private property and then turning around and riding them on the streets or on footpaths.
EMMA BICKLEY: Yes. And talking about enforcement, let's move across then to the consumer regulators, the ACCC and such. Oftentimes these do get labelled with the title of being a bit toothless. What will be in place to enforce these standards?
ANDREW LEIGH: Well, they work with their state and territory counterparts, with the departments of Fair Trading across the country. There's a lot of work which is focused on the online platforms, a common way for many people to buy products these days, as well as retailers and stores. I imagine a lot of Canberra bike stores would be very happy about this because they're currently only selling compliant e-bikes. The problem is with some of the other platforms that are taking advantage of loopholes in order to get much more dangerous bikes out there, bikes that are able to be adjusted or even the sale of conversion kits which allow people to turn a safe e-bike into an unsafe e-bike.
EMMA BICKLEY: Absolutely. Somebody that's concerned perhaps about a bike that they've seen, are they able to report that somewhere? Would it be the police or the ACCC? Where would they go?
ANDREW LEIGH: If it’s being ridden on the road, it's ACT policing. So they have the power to regulate and ensure that people are in compliance with the existing rules which exist in terms of what can be written around Canberra. And I know ACT policing has been cracking down on a number of recent incidents, including the teens who were riding e-motorbikes through a Canberra shopping centre down in Greenway back in June.
EMMA BICKLEY: Wow! Okay. So the consumer watchdog will be doing this work. They are seeking feedback on these proposed national safety standards. Who do they want to hear from and how could our listeners get involved if they have thoughts on this process?
ANDREW LEIGH: They’re keen to hear from everyone but it'll be particularly the health stakeholders, the bicycle industry who's engaging most closely. This is not about being anti-e-bike, this is about ensuring that those e-bikes that are ridden are safe. Consultation is on the ACCC website: www.accc.gov.au and people can have their say until the end of the month.
EMMA BICKLEY: Oh, that's fantastic. So you can have your say until the end of the month. And any sense of a timeline, finally, of when these recommendations could turn into these new and improved safety standards?
ANDREW LEIGH: Early next year. So, we're keen to act swiftly on this. We understand the public concern. People are being sent to hospital. We've even had some fatalities from e-bikes. And so, the Commonwealth Government is keen to do our part alongside what the states and territories have done with the road rules.
EMMA BICKLEY: That's wonderful. Thanks so much for your time Assistant Minister.
ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks for the conversation.
EMMA BICKLEY: That’s Dr Andrew Leigh there, he’s the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury.
ENDS