E-Scooter and E-Bike Safety
This is a critical issue that QDN has led on the policy work around over the past 3 years.
The Queensland Government is holding a Parliamentary Inquiry into personal e-mobility devices. This includes e-scooters and e-bikes.
The Inquiry aims to improve safety and address community concerns.
This is an important issue for QDN Members. QDN will be making a submission, and we encourage you to make a submission as well.
QDN recently held a Member Online Forum on E-Scooter and E-Bike Safety where we heard from members what their experience has been with E-Mobility devices.
There was a great range of ideas and suggestions that came from people with disability across the state and we spoke about a whole range of topics.
Background
On 1 May 2025 the Legislative Assembly agreed to a motion that the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee inquire into and report on e-mobility safety and use in Queensland, with the following terms of reference:
The State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee inquire into and report to the Legislative Assembly no later than 30 March 2026 on:
- Benefits of e-mobility (including both Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), such as e-scooters and e-skateboards, as well as e-bikes) for Queensland;
- Safety issues associated with e-mobility use, including increasing crashes, injuries, fatalities, and community concerns;
- Issues associated with e-mobility ownership, such as risk of fire, storage and disposal of lithium batteries used in e-mobility, and any consideration of mitigants or controls;
- Suitability of current regulatory frameworks for PMDs and e-bikes, informed by approaches in Australia and internationally;
- Effectiveness of current enforcement approaches and powers to address dangerous riding behaviours and the use of illegal devices;
- Gaps between Commonwealth and Queensland laws that allow illegal devices to be imported and used;
- Communication and education about device requirements, rules, and consequences for unsafe use; and
- Broad stakeholder perspectives, including from community members, road user groups, disability advocates, health and trauma experts, academia, the e-mobility industry, and all levels of government.