NSW E-Bike & E-Scooter Safety Laws 2026: What You Need to Know

NSW E-Bike & E-Scooter Safety Laws 2026: What You Need to Know

NSW's New E-Bike and E-Scooter Safety Laws (Feb–Mar 2026): What Owners, Strata and Retailers Need to Know

From 1 February 2026, every e-bike, e-scooter, e-skateboard and self-balancing scooter sold in NSW — along with its lithium-ion battery and charger — must be independently tested, certified and marked before it hits the shelf. From March 2026, NSW also adopts the European safety standard EN 15194 for e-bikes, repealing the previous 500W allowance and giving police new powers to seize and destroy non-compliant devices.

If you own, sell, hire out, or manage a building that houses e-bikes or e-scooters, this is the biggest regulatory shake-up the category has ever seen in Australia. Here's what's actually changing, what it means in practice, and the gap the laws don't close — the one every owner and building manager needs to think about.

Official NSW Fair Trading page: New standards for lithium-ion batteries in e-micromobility devices

Why the laws changed

The numbers behind the reform are stark:

  • Fire and Rescue NSW recorded 193 e-micromobility fires between 2022 and 2025, and the rate is rising every year.
  • Total lithium-ion battery fires in NSW jumped from 165 in 2022 to 323 in 2024 — a 95% increase in two years.
  • Emergency services in NSW now respond to roughly 5.7 lithium-ion battery fires every week.
  • An estimated 760,000 e-bikes are already in use across NSW.
  • Three people died in NSW in a recent 12-month period from fires involving lithium-ion battery-powered bikes.

The category has simply outgrown the safety framework around it — and the new laws are NSW's attempt to catch up.

What's changing — the key dates

February 2025 — Information standard in force

Since 19 February 2025, retailers must provide written safety information to consumers at point of sale, covering safe use, charging, storage, fire prevention and disposal. Penalties of up to $5,500 per failure apply.

1 February 2026 — Mandatory testing, certification and marking

E-micromobility devices, their batteries and chargers are now "declared electrical articles" under the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2017. Each component must:

  • Be tested by an accredited laboratory
  • Hold a Certificate of Approval
  • Display an electrical safety approval mark

Selling non-compliant products carries corporate penalties of up to $825,000. NSW Fair Trading maintains a register of certified products that retailers and buyers can check.

March 2026 — EN 15194 adopted, 500W allowance repealed

NSW reverses the 2023 decision that allowed 500W e-bikes on public roads. From March 2026, only 250W e-bikes certified to EN 15194 are road-legal. Police gain new powers to seize and crush non-compliant devices, and portable dyno units are being trialled for roadside power testing.

March 2029 — End of the transition period

If you bought a 500W e-bike before March 2026, you have a three-year grace period to keep riding it in NSW. After 1 March 2029, all e-bikes over 250W will be treated as unregistered motor vehicles.

Who is affected — and how

Retailers and online sellers

You can no longer legally sell uncertified e-bikes, e-scooters or replacement batteries in NSW. Stock that doesn't carry the safety approval mark needs to come off the shelf. You're also required to supply written safety information at point of sale.

Hire, rental and subscription operators

From 1 February 2026, you can only purchase certified and marked vehicles for hire, lease or rent. NSW Fair Trading can ask for compliance evidence at any time. If you later sell a former hire vehicle, it must be tested, certified and marked before sale.

Strata buildings and owners corporations

High-density buildings are uniquely exposed. Shared bike rooms, basement car parks and individual apartments all become potential ignition points. The new laws regulate what can be sold, but they don't remove the hundreds of thousands of older or imported devices already being charged in apartments every night. Owners corporations are increasingly drafting by-laws to control storage and charging of e-micromobility devices — and insurers are paying attention.

Workplaces with delivery riders

Food delivery, courier and last-mile logistics operators relying on rider-owned e-bikes face exposure on two fronts: the bikes brought onto premises for charging, and the WHS duty of care that comes with it.

Schools, councils and public facilities

Bike racks, charging points and storage areas where students, staff or the public charge devices need a fire safety plan that matches the risk profile of lithium-ion — not the risk profile of a pushbike.

The gap the new laws don't close

The standards are a major step forward — but they regulate the sale of new products. They don't:

  • Remove the hundreds of thousands of older, modified or non-compliant devices already in circulation
  • Prevent a certified battery from failing due to physical damage, water ingress, age, or use of an incorrect aftermarket charger
  • Stop thermal runaway once it starts — once a lithium-ion cell begins venting, no certification helps
  • Cover devices brought in from interstate or purchased online from non-compliant overseas sellers

Even a fully compliant, fully certified e-bike battery is a high-energy electrochemical device. When it fails — and roughly 18% of lithium-ion fires begin during or shortly after charging — it burns at temperatures up to 1,600°C, releases toxic gases, and is highly resistant to conventional fire extinguishers. Standard ABE dry-chemical units may briefly suppress flames but won't stop thermal runaway.

This is the part of the puzzle that sits outside the new regulations. It sits with the owner, the building, the workplace, or the retailer.

Practical fire safety for e-bikes and e-scooters

A properly equipped site — whether that's a home garage, a strata bike room, a depot or a retail store — typically needs three layers of protection:

1. Lithium-ion-specific fire blankets

Purpose-built EV fire blankets are designed to contain a burning e-bike or e-scooter, smother flames, contain toxic gases, and prevent fire spread to surrounding property while emergency services respond. Our 2m × 2m EV Fire Blankets are sized specifically for e-bikes and e-scooters and tested to the European EN 13501 standard.

Browse EV fire blankets →

2. Lithium-ion fire extinguishers

Our 1L EV Fire Extinguisher is engineered specifically for e-bike and e-scooter battery fires — compact, easy to mount near a charging zone, and formulated to cool the battery and interrupt thermal runaway rather than just suppress visible flame. Compliant with European standards EN-3-7-2004 and A1-2007.

View the 1L e-bike & e-scooter extinguisher →
Browse all EV fire extinguishers →

3. Lithium-ion containment bags

For damaged, swollen, leaking or end-of-life batteries that need to be isolated before disposal. Essential for retailers, repair workshops, and any operator handling battery returns or recalls.

View containment bags →

Bundles for a complete setup

If you'd rather equip a site or a vehicle in one go, our pre-built bundles combine blanket, extinguisher and accessories at a lower combined price.

Browse bundles →

Industry-specific guidance

Different operators face different risk profiles. We've put together tailored advice for the audiences most affected by the new laws:

Smart habits that work alongside the gear

  1. Buy certified. From 1 February 2026, only buy e-bikes, e-scooters and replacement batteries with a NSW electrical safety approval mark. Check NSW Fair Trading's register of certified products before purchase.
  2. Use the original charger. Mismatched aftermarket chargers are one of the most common causes of battery failure.
  3. Charge in the open, never overnight. Don't charge unattended, don't charge near exits or flammable materials, and never charge while you sleep.
  4. Watch for warning signs. Swelling, unusual heat, hissing, strange smells, or discolouration mean stop charging immediately and move the device outdoors if safe to do so.
  5. Have the right equipment within reach. A blanket and extinguisher mounted next to the charging point — not buried in a cupboard.

Talk to us

If you're a strata manager, retailer, fleet operator, council, or business owner working through what these new laws mean for your site, we're happy to help you scope the right setup. We supply across Australia and ship from Sydney.

Browse the full range: https://evfiresolutions.com.au/
Get in touch: https://evfiresolutions.com.au/pages/contact or sales@evfiresolutions.com.au

The new laws will make new e-bikes safer to buy. They won't make the 760,000 already on NSW streets — or the next one being charged in your building tonight — safe to ignore.

This article is a general summary of NSW lithium-ion e-micromobility regulations as at the time of writing. Always check the official NSW Fair Trading page for the latest requirements, certified product register, and your specific obligations.

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