The Queensland Government is holding a public inquiry into e-scooter safety.
It follows a sharp rise in e-scooter and e-bike injuries across the state. From 2021 to 2024 there was a 112 per cent rise in injuries to riders, passengers and pedestrians. There have been fatalities, too. Last year, eight people died in Queensland while using an e-mobility device.
“The increase in injuries and deaths we are seeing because of unsafe and unlawful riding cannot be ignored, and I share the community’s concern,” Minister for Transport Brent Mickelberg said. “The Crisafulli Government will hold a parliamentary inquiry to ensure we are doing everything we can to boost safety for both pedestrians and riders.”
The inquiry will be established by the State Development, Infrastructure and Works Committee and will focus on:
- benefits of e-mobility devices
- safety risks
- current rules and how they compare with other jurisdictions
- enforcement approaches
- importation laws
- communication and education
- stakeholder views.
“We want to hear from community members, road use groups, disability advocates, health and trauma experts, academia, the e-mobility industry, and all levels of government,” Mickelberg said. “It’s important we consider all research and opinions, to ensure a safe and reliable future for e-scooters and e-bikes.”
A report from Monash University’s Accident Research Centre makes several recommendations to address the rise in e-scooter and e-bike related injuries, including:
- infrastructure development, which could coincide with cycling infrastructure upgrades
- increase community education and awareness campaigns, in particular age limits for on-road use of private e-scooters.
- increase community awareness of e-scooter regulations
- more police enforcement of rules and regulations.
Driven by a need for sustainable, efficient and cost-effective transportation, the use of e-mobility devices has risen significantly in Australia over recent years. E-scooters were first introduced in Australia in 2018 with the launch of a public hire scheme in Brisbane. Queensland was also the first state to legalise e-scooter use.
E-scooters are also legal to ride in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT. New South Wales has conducted trials and explored legislative requirements around their use. NSW has also held a public inquiry into the use of e-mobility devices. The government’s response is due to be handed down next week.
The governments should be working together
While supporting inquiries to identify ways to improve safety, We Ride Australia executive director, Peter Bourke, told GN there needs to be a harmonisation of regulations.
“We have different regulations between different states, and between the federal government and the states,” he said. “The governments should be working together; the individual approaches are not going to create the optimum outcome for the country.”
Presently, import, sale and road regulations don’t align. “We have a situation where products in Queensland are legal to sell but illegal to use but they’re illegal to sell in NSW but legal to use,” said Bourke.
Describing the regulatory system as a “dog’s breakfast”, Bourke told GN: “Fragmentation and a lack of harmonisation – at a federal and state level – is the biggest problem when it comes to e-mobility devices.”
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