Wrapping Up an Electrifying Year at BYKKO!
30/12/2024Our position on Queensland e-bike regulations – March 2026
Queensland deserves to be a world-class cycling destination.
These regulations would make it the opposite.
The implementation of the proposed rules by the Queensland Government would require each rider to hold a driver’s licence to hire a standard, compliant e-bike in Queensland – making Brisbane the only Olympic host city in history to restrict e-bike hire for international visitors. BYKKO is calling for change.
What’s happening
Two proposed rules that would change everything.
The Queensland Government has indicated its support for Recommendation 13 of the Parliamentary Inquiry into E-Mobility Safety and Use. If enacted before the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, two new requirements would apply to anyone riding an e-bike in Queensland:
1 – Mandatory driver’s licence
All e-bike riders would need to hold at least a Queensland Class C learner’s licence – regardless of whether the bike is a standard 250W pedal-assist model limited to 25km/h.
2 – Minimum riding age of 16
Teenagers under 16 would be legally prohibited from riding an e-bike anywhere in Queensland – even when supervised by a parent or guardian on a fully compliant e-bike.
$6B
Cycling tourism spend in Australia –
QLD attracts 1 in 5 dollars
$952
Avg. spend per regional cycling trip –
78% stays in QLD communities
4.3M
Additional international arrivals expected in QLD by 2032
Why it matters
Who would be locked out?
A driver’s licence requirement would exclude a significant proportion of Queensland’s most valuable visitors – not fringe cases, but mainstream tourism markets that Queensland depends on.
- Chinese visitors: Queensland’s highest-spending inbound market. Approximately half of Chinese adults do not hold a driver’s licence.
- European cycling tourists: Visitors from the Netherlands, Denmark and other cycling-centric countries where car licensing rates are lower.
- Backpackers & working holiday visitors: Young international travellers who have not yet obtained a car licence – a major segment of Queensland’s visitor economy.
- Families with children under 16: Families who hire e-bikes together for resort exploration or rail trail cycling will find children aged 12-15 excluded entirely.
- Car-free Australians: An estimated 1.5 million Australians from which 340,000 Queenslanders aged 16+ do not hold a driver’s licence – residents who rely on or choose sustainable transport.
- Olympic visitors in 2032: Delegates, athletes’ families, media and tourists would be turned away from resort bike racks in the only Olympic host city to impose this restriction.
Our position
A globally unprecedented requirement.
If enacted, Queensland would become only the third jurisdiction in the world alongside North Korea and New Jersey USA to require a driver’s licence to ride a standard, compliant Power Assisted Pedal Cycle (250W, 25km/h). Every other Australian state and territory, and every other country in the world, allows visitors to ride a standard e-bike without one.
BYKKO supports vigorous enforcement against illegal, dangerous e-devices. We are asking only that compliant, legal e-bikes — and the visitors who want to ride them — are not caught in well-intentioned but misdirected regulations.
“Queensland is on the cusp of its greatest tourism moment in history. But these regulations would make Brisbane the only Olympic host city to turn away visitors who simply want to hire a EN15194 compliant e-bike. That is not the Queensland we want the world to see.”
Monica Zarafu – CEO & Founder, BYKKO
What we’re asking
Our five calls to action for the Queensland Government
BYKKO has formally written to Queensland’s Minister for the Environment and Tourism, the Honourable Andrew Powell MP, asking that his office take the following steps before legislation is introduced:
- Oppose the driver’s licence requirement:
Engage the Minister for Transport and Main Roads to remove the licence requirement for riders of standard, EN15194 compliant e-bikes – Power Assisted Pedal Cycles with a 250W motor limited to 25km/h.- Commission an urgent tourism impact assessment:
Ask Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Research Australia to assess the impact on inbound international tourism, cycling tourism, and the accommodation sector before any legislation is introduced.- Advocate for an international visitor exemption:
Allow visitors to ride compliant hire e-bikes in Queensland without a driver’s licence – consistent with standard practice in every other state and country in the world.- Revise the minimum age threshold:
Support a revised minimum age, informed by expert consultation, which protects family tourism while genuinely addressing safety concerns.- Convene an industry roundtable:
Bring together Queensland accommodation operators, tourism industry bodies, and e-bike platform providers to model the real-world impact on Olympic visitor readiness before it is too late to act.
Take action
Add your voice!
This affects all of us – visitors, families, accommodation operators, regional communities, and anyone who wants Queensland to be a welcoming, world-class destination in 2032 and beyond. Here is how you can help:
Contact your local Queensland MP
Let your local member know this issue matters to you, your business, or your community.
Find your representative at:
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Members/Current-Members/Member-List
Share this page
Help spread the word to others in tourism, hospitality, and the cycling community.
Share our position page at:
https://bykko.com.au/bykko-advocates-for-tourism-friendly-and-inclusive-e-bike-regulations/
Get in touch with BYKKO
If you are an accommodation operator, tourism body or industry partner who wants to add your voice – or join the roundtable – we would love to hear from you. Please use our contact form.
Monica Zarafu | CEO & Founder, BYKKO