Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO SYDNEY, DRIVE WITH THOMAS ORITI
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes

THOMAS ORITI: Dr Andrew Leigh is Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, who is with us now. Good afternoon.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good afternoon Thomas, great to be with you.

THOMAS ORITI: Thank you for joining us. I mean, this is usually the responsibilities of the states and a story we've been covering for quite some time. In fact, I hazarded a guess, when we look at all of the issues we've been chatting about this year on Drive, e-bikes would be up there in terms of the passionate response from our audience. Why is the federal government getting involved now?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, consumer affairs is a compact between the Commonwealth and the states and territories, which is why in Darwin last week when Consumer Ministers met, we agreed to work together on setting a national standard for e-bikes. The Transport Ministers, led by Minister Catherine King, have already put in place an international standard which sets limits on speeds and power, as you referred to before. Now, from a consumer side, we're focusing on what can be sold. That regulation happens through the federal regulator – the ACCC, which will set the standard and then work to enforce it and also through all the state and territory fair trading bodies.

THOMAS ORITI: Okay that's looking at what will be sold. So, obviously maximum speeds, that kind of thing. But isn't the issue with e-bikes, particularly in Sydney, we keep hearing that what's being sold is not what's on the road? People are tweaking the speeds. They're fiddling with the motors and making them faster than they should be. These changes won't necessarily target that, will they?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, that work on enforcement of what's being ridden is ongoing already. So, the Transport Ministers have agreed to move to an international benchmark, EN 15194, which is a standard that has to do with speed, with power and also with the ability to modify. 
So, some of these bikes have rules - if you comply with the international standard, it means that if anyone attempts to modify the bike, then it immediately reverts to the factory setting. Indeed, in some cases they will revert to a go-slow mode, and so you can't get power assist beyond 6 kilometres an hour. Almost a punishment for attempting to modify the bike. We're also looking at things like what happens to modification kits and whether they should be banned as part of this reform.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO ADELAIDE, BREAKFAST WITH JULES SCHILLER AND RORY MCLAREN
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes; 2026 Census

JULES SCHILLER: Let’s talk e-bikes and e-scooter regulations. We’ve talked a lot about state level regulations but the federal government is also getting involved as well Rory.

RORY MCLAREN: You’re joined now by Andrew Leigh. He’s the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh, welcome.

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day, Jules. G'day, Rory. A hard act to follow there coming off the back of Jimmy Barnes.

JULES SCHILLER: And corned beef! That's right.

ANDREW LEIGH: Absolutely!

RORY MCLAREN: What are you looking to do as a federal government in this space and what move will happen and how quickly will it be in place?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, plenty of Australians have gotten the benefits of e-bikes and are out there on the streets keeping themselves fit and reducing congestion. But we're also seeing this rise in these high-powered, unsafe e-bikes. And so what the federal government's announced today is that we will task the competition watchdog, the ACCC, to develop a national safety standard and that will ensure that people aren't able to sell these overpowered, easily modified bikes, keep Australians safer, but also have the benefits of getting e-bikes out on the road.

The Hon Catherine King MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Stronger Product Safety Standards For E-Bikes

Thursday, 6 August 2026

The Albanese Government is continuing to crack down on the sale of unsafe e-bikes to protect consumers and the community. 

To further strengthen consumer safety, the Government has directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to develop a new nationally consistent safety standard under the Australian Consumer Law. 

This safety standard will ensure there is consistency in every state and territory when it comes to what battery-powered devices can be sold.

This will apply to e-bikes and e-micromobility devices, including e-scooters and e-skateboards, drawing a firm line against high-powered, high-speed devices linked to serious injuries and deaths, including children.

This work builds on decisions taken by Australian Transport Ministers to adopt international standard EN-15194 as the standard guidance for sellers and consumers on what bikes are appropriate for use on Australia roads.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

What Australian Aid Makes Possible

ACFID State of the Sector Report 2026 Launch,
Online Address

Thursday, 6 August 2026

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to Elders past and present. I extend that respect to all First Nations people here today.

On the cover of this report are Kilu and Oneidah from Boboe Island in Solomon Islands, harvesting sea grapes.

Sea grapes are a traditional food and an important source of livelihood. In Western Province, four communities have launched a women-led enterprise producing body lotion and soap from sustainably harvested sea grapes. The work draws on traditional practices and helps conserve a food source under pressure from a changing climate. It also creates new sources of income.

The project is supported through Climate Resilient by Nature, an Australian Government initiative delivered in partnership with WWF-Australia.

That cover image captures much of what good development looks like. Local knowledge shapes the work. A trusted partnership supplies support. Environmental care and economic opportunity advance together.

The photograph shows people at work. The pages that follow give us the evidence behind that work.

Good sector data helps organisations see changes and lets funders test assumptions. It also gives the public a clearer view of how the sector uses trust and expertise. This report performs each of those functions.

I am delighted to launch the ACFID State of the Sector Report 2026.

Thank you to ACFID and Monash University, and to Karinda Flavell, Raewyn Lans, Aditri Saikia, Emily Moreton, Samanthi Gunawardana and Sara Niner, with support from Terence Wood. Thank you also to the organisations that contributed data and case studies. A report of this scale depends on a sector willing to examine itself closely and share what it finds.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
FEDERATION MALL, CANBERRA
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes; gambling reform

ASSISTANT MINISTER ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks very much everyone, for coming along today. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities, and Treasury, and I'm really pleased to be joined by Peter Bourke from Bicycle Industries Australia and Stephen Hodge from We Ride Australia to announce that the Australian Government will be tasking the competition regulator, the ACCC to develop a national safety standard for e-bikes. 

E-bikes can be a really valuable way of helping people to get around, encouraging people to take their first go on a bike or extending the cycling career of someone whose knees might be feeling a little shaky. But the problem we have right now is that there's high-powered e-bikes that are too fast on the Australian roads, causing dangers to riders and to other people. And so, this new safety standard, which is supported by states and territories when we met last week in Darwin as Consumer Affairs Ministers, is going to be an important step forward in ensuring that the bikes that are sold in Australia are compliant with a clear safety standard. 

The ACCC will begin its work with e-bikes, but then will also look at other forms of e-micromobility, such as e-scooters. It follows on the important work that's been done by Transport Ministers in putting in place an international standard that states and territories have agreed to, that governs what can be ridden on Australian roads. And I pay tribute to Minister Catherine King for her leadership of that initiative. 
That work was about what can be ridden. This work is about what can be sold and ensuring that Australians have the confidence that when they buy an e-bike, it's safe and ensuring that people who don't use e-bikes aren't put at risk by bikes that are too fast, overpowered, or easily modified in order to not comply with the Australian rules. I’ll hand over now to Peter and then to Stephen to say a few words about today's announcement.

GENERAL MANAGER, BICYCLE INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA, PETER BOURKE: Thank you very much. Peter Bourke, General Manager, Bicycle Industries Australia. The industry is delighted to be here with the Assistant Minister today to talk about the new regulations and standards. We believe that compliant e-bikes are fantastic. They're fantastic for transport, they're fantastic for health, they're fantastic for the economy, and they're also fantastic for fun. 

Today's announcement will work towards aligning the states, aligning the federal government regulations so that we have consistency across importation definitions, sales regulations and road laws. So this process will give consumers confidence that the product that they are buying is safe, is high quality and it's also legal and appropriate to be using on roads and paths around Australia. And we look forward to working with the department, with the ACCC, and with the Assistant Minister’s office to ensure that consumers and the community get the best outcomes and the best quality products that we can. Thank you. 

ANDREW LEIGH: Thanks Peter. 

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026 

SUBJECTS: National safety standard for e-bikes; gambling reform; Commonwealth funding to ACT 

ROSS SOLLY: Look, the problem in Australia at the moment for e bikes, et cetera, is there's no consistency and there are certain cities you can go into where there's a very good chance you'll see them flying around everywhere. The Government has now said, ‘We've had enough. We want consistency and we want unsafe e bikes, e scooters, all of these sorts of things, e skateboards, we want them taken off the road.’

Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and he joins us this morning. Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning, Ross, great to be with you.

ROSS SOLLY: Thank you for joining us. Do we know – do we understand what we consider to be safe at the moment when it comes to these types of vehicles; e bikes, e scooters, e skateboards?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, Transport Ministers have set a standard which is an international standard that requires e bikes to not go faster than 25 kilometres an hour and not have more than 250 watts of power and not be able to be modified. And as the ACCC looks to make an overall safety standard, it will obviously be looking at that standard that the Transport Ministers have put in place for what can be ridden on our roads. This is about what can be sold, and obviously the two need to be consistent.

ROSS SOLLY: Are there a lot of   I mean, you go to different cities, Andrew Leigh, as I'm sure you do, around Australia, and you can see the different types that are on the roads and the different rules that are in place. Are there particular areas of concern?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah, I mean I think if you're zooming around the streets at the pace of a motorbike, then you should have a motorbike licence. The fact is if you're riding a bicycle you need to be operating at roughly bicycle speeds and that's important for your own safety, but also for that of the community.

We've seen accidents and even deaths resulting from e bikes and the federal government has worked with States and Territories. I took this to the Consumer Ministers meeting in Darwin last week, and this is now announcing a piece of work that the ACCC will do, reporting early next year.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SUNRISE, WITH NATALIE BARR AND MATT SHIRVINGTON
THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: Stronger product safety standards for e-bikes 

MATT SHIRVINGTON: A nationwide crackdown on unsafe e-bikes is on the way, with the government announcing a new national safety standard for all e-mobility devices. It's a move that's set to target the sale of unsafe products that fail to comply with current laws, limiting e-bikes to a maximum speed of 25 km/h and 250-watt motors. 

The ACCC will develop new rules and regulations under consumer law consisting across the whole country. For more, we're joined by Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh. Good morning to you. 

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Matt.

MATT SHIRVINGTON: Until now, it's been illegal to purchase high-speed e-bikes, but illegal to ride them on the roads. What's the logic behind that?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, this is about setting a national standard that ensures that Australians can get the benefits of e-bikes. E-bikes are a great addition to our transport network, reducing congestion, allowing people to enjoy the great outdoors. But we've got these high-powered e-bikes that are causing accidents and even deaths on our roads. We need to crack down on those. So, this new safety standard will ensure that people can't be riding those super fast bikes, high powered bikes or bikes that are easily modified. So, we'll get the benefits of e-bikes but we won't have bikes being sold that are a danger on the roads.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Freeing the standards rule book backs the people who build, wire, plumb, manufacture and repair

Published in The New Daily

5 August 2026

Imagine being told you have to obey a rule, then being asked to pay to read it.

For too long, that has been the bizarre position facing many tradies when it comes to mandatory Australian Standards. The rules they are required to follow have often sat behind a paid access system.

Under Federal Government changes, it will soon be free to access mandatory Australian Standards.

The reform is a no-brainer. When a standard becomes part of the law, people should have clear access to it.

Standards are the instruction manuals that help modern life hum along. They describe how products should be made, how systems should perform and how work should be carried out. They help keep homes and workplaces safe.

You might only notice standards when something goes wrong. In actual fact, they’re working around us every day.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Why Maths Matters
Launch of the Grand Mathematics Quiz,
Canberra

1 August 2026

[Acknowledgements omitted.]

I want to start with a story.

In 1787, in the German city of Brunswick, a teacher decided he would keep the class quiet by asking the students to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. He thought it would buy him a few minutes of peace.

What he hadn't counted on was a remarkable student named Carl Friedrich Gauss.

Gauss spotted a pattern. He realised that 1 plus 100 equals 101. So does 2 plus 99. So does 3 plus 98. There were 50 pairs, each adding to 101. Fifty times 101 is 5,050. Before anyone else had really begun, Gauss had the answer.

Instead of doing a hundred separate additions, he found the pattern that made the problem simple.

We do that every day. Maths is all around us. It powers the devices in our pockets. It helps us forecast the weather. It determines when buses should arrive. It helps us understand challenges such as climate change by modelling what different choices mean for our planet. Maths underpins my own discipline of economics, and it is essential to the design of every major structure, including the modernist Belconnen Library we're in today.

Recognising patterns has been the work of mathematicians for centuries.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
NEWS24, WEEKEND FIRST EDITION WITH ALEX THOMAS
SATURDAY, 1 AUGUST 2026

SUBJECTS: Luke Gosling; Angus Taylor; ABC; Australia’s world leading social media minimum age laws; inflation; fuel; Labor’s cost of living relief

ALEX THOMAS: Let's speak to Assistant Minister for Productivity Competition, Charities and Treasury, Andrew Leigh. He joins us live now. Good morning to you. 

ANDREW LEIGH: G’day Alex.

ALEX THOMAS: We've got lots to get through, but let's just deal with that Luke Gosling issue. As we heard from Matt Cunningham's report there, there are restrictions on his movements now, these embarrassing and shocking allegations about him elbowing David Connolly in the ribs. Surely it's the right time for him just to stand aside as Special Envoy while he deals with these allegations?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well Alex, I'm acutely aware of the principle of the separation of powers, and it's simply not appropriate for politicians to be commenting on matters that are before the courts at the moment. The courts will do their job. And like everybody else, Luke's entitled to the presumption of innocence. 

ALEX THOMAS: Okay Andrew, what do you make of the leaked tape of Opposition Leader Angus Taylor over the last 24 hours or so telling a business breakfast that migrants get access to the housing deposit scheme as soon as they land here? 

ANDREW LEIGH: Well, we simply know that Angus Taylor is loose with the facts and he's been following Pauline Hanson on immigration. I'd say to Angus Taylor, you can't out Hanson, Hanson when it comes to immigration. The Coalition has a long history of supporting a bipartisan, skilled migration policy. What we're seeing now is Angus Taylor attempting to chase Pauline Hanson's votes. He should instead recognise that migrants aren't just mouths to feed, but muscles to build and minds to inspire. 

More than half our doctors are born overseas and a quarter of our construction workers. Migrants make a big contribution to this country and it's time Angus Taylor recognised that. 

ALEX THOMAS: The national broadcaster – the ABC is yet to apologise for a segment that talks about assaulting Gina Rinehart. She has now taken legal action. Why can't the ABC simply say sorry?