Chris Minns announces NSW to ban e-bikes with power output greater than 250 watts from 2026

New restrictions on e-bikes have been announced by the NSW government, but calls for tougher rules to keep riders and motorists have been sounded, after a Lime bike rider was killed in a CBD crash.

Premier Chris Minns has banned e-bikes with a power output greater than 250 watts from 2026. Picture: Tim Hunter

Moves from the Premier to ban high-powered e-bikes have sparked fresh calls for even greater reforms to keep our streets safe.

Calls for tougher rules came as a Lime bike rider was killed after being hit by a garbage truck in the CBD.

Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday announced that NSW would ban e-bikes with a power output greater than 250 watts from next year.

However, a gaping loophole in the Premier’s plan will allow high-powered bikes, with motors of up to 500 watts, to remain on NSW roads.

Brisbane man Cooper Blackburn was seriously injured after a separate e-bike crash earlier in 2025. Picture: Supplied

Mr Blackburn of Brisbane had trouble remembering names and looking at screens for weeks after his crash. Picture: Supplied

Bikes with power outputs of up to 500 watts will remain legal in NSW, if they are purchased before the new regulation comes into force.

“There’s obviously a situation where people have legally bought bikes in good faith, thinking that they’re completely compliant, and they were,” Mr Minns told 2GB.

“We’ll have to grandfather the scheme in,” he said.

Mr Minns said the rule change would bring NSW in line with other states, and stop children hooning around on souped-up e-bikes.

An e-bike rider in his 30s was killed after colliding with a garbage truck in the CBD on Tuesday morning, sparking fresh calls for reform.

It’s understood the garbage truck had been collecting bins on Little Regent St before pulling out onto George St, where it collided with an e-bike rider.

An e-bike rider died in a collision involving a garbage truck in Sydney on December 2. Photo: Gaye Gerard

In the wake of the death, Pedestrian Council of Australia CEO Harold Scruby called for under 17-year-olds to be banned from riding e-bikes.

He said riders should have “licences, insurance, number plates, and a maximum speed limit of 10km/h on all shared paths”.

He called for greater enforcement to crack down on bikes which are already illegal.

“We need to look at confiscating bikes from children under 16 and throwing the book at people who are over 17.”

Independent councillor and former Sutherland Shire mayor Carmelo Pesce also supported age restrictions on e-bikes, as the council grapples to deal with an overwhelming uptake of the bikes particularly around Cronulla.

“I think we need to raise the age,” Cr Pesce said.

“They are like motorbikes, we need education and potentially a licence – the ones using them incorrectly are the kids.”

A 21-year-old eastern suburbs e-bike reader speaking on the condition of anonymity described his life flashing before his eyes after wiping out on an e-bike and seriously injuring himself.

“I was riding with no hands, no helmet, trying to take my jumper off and I flipped it,” the rider told The Daily Telegraph.

“I was so lucky to only graze my hand, I was convinced I was going to get hit.”

Brisbane e-bike rider Cooper Blackburn suffered severe injuries while riding an e-bike earlier this year.

Mr Blackburn was rushed to hospital with a concussion and massive gashes on his face, and had trouble remembering people’s names, looking at screens and returning to work for weeks after.

“My [mates] found me in the bathroom trying to clean my face up, and [there] was just blood gushing everywhere,” Mr Blackburn said.

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Originally published as Chris Minns announces NSW to ban e-bikes with power output greater than 250 watts from 2026