Are e-scooters legal in Australia? The law in every state, 2026

Last updated 3 July 2026. Written by the WattsUp.au team.

E-scooters are legal to ride in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, each with its own speed and age limits. In New South Wales and the Northern Territory, a privately owned e-scooter is still illegal in public outside a handful of council hire trials. Check your state below before you ride.

The short version:

Legal statewide: VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT. Still illegal outside hire trials: NSW and NT.
Minimum age is 16 in almost every jurisdiction. The Northern Territory's Beam hire scheme requires riders to be 18.
Speed caps range from 10 km/h on footpaths in WA and SA up to 25 km/h on paths and bike lanes in most states.
Queensland's rules changed hard on 1 July 2026: every device must now be electronically capped at 25 km/h, and police can seize and destroy noncompliant scooters on the spot.
A helmet is mandatory everywhere, with no exceptions.

State and territory quick reference

NSW: private use not legal (2 hire trials only). Footpath riding not permitted. Path and road speed 10 to 20 km/h in the trials. Minimum age 16 in the trials.
Victoria: private use legal. Footpath riding banned outright. Path and road speed 20 km/h. Minimum age 16.
Queensland: private use legal. Footpath speed 12 km/h. Path and road speed 25 km/h, with roads posted up to 60 km/h. Minimum age 16, plus a licence required from 31 August 2026.
Western Australia: private use legal. Footpath speed 10 km/h. Path and road speed 25 km/h. Minimum age 16.
South Australia: private use legal since July 2025. Footpath speed 10 km/h. Path and road speed 25 km/h, with a 60 km/h bike lane allowance. Minimum age 16.
Tasmania: private use legal since December 2021. Footpath speed 15 km/h. Path and road speed 25 km/h. Minimum age 16.
ACT: private use legal. Footpath speed 15 km/h. Path and road speed 25 km/h. No blanket minimum age.
Northern Territory: private use not legal, Beam hire only in Darwin. Footpath riding not permitted. Path speed 15 km/h for Beam hire. Minimum age 18 for Beam hire.

Is my e-scooter legal in NSW?

Not if you own it. NSW remains the most restrictive state: a privately owned e-scooter can only be ridden on private property. The only lawful public riding is inside two council hire trials, Wollongong (Neuron Mobility) and Forster Tuncurry (Beam), where riders must be 16, wear a helmet, and keep to 10 km/h on shared paths or 20 km/h on roads and bike lanes with a posted limit of 50 km/h or less. Outside those two zones, riding your own e-scooter in public risks being treated as an unregistered, uninsured, unlicensed motor vehicle. Transport for NSW has a bill through parliament and a draft regulation that would legalise independent private riding for people 16 and over, but as of this update that regulation is still in consultation and is not law. Do not assume NSW has caught up with the rest of the country until Transport for NSW's own page says so.

Is my e-scooter legal in Victoria?

Yes. Victoria legalised private e-scooters as part of its 2022 to 2023 reforms, and the rules are now permanent and statewide. Riders must be 16 or older, wear a helmet, and stay under 20 km/h. Victoria is the one state that bans footpath riding outright rather than just slowing it down, so stick to shared paths, bike lanes and roads up to 60 km/h. A device that can exceed 25 km/h is treated as an unregistered motor vehicle, which carries a four figure fine.

Is my e-scooter legal in Queensland?

Yes, and Queensland just rewrote the rulebook. From 1 July 2026, every e-scooter (grouped with e-skateboards and other personal mobility devices) must be electronically restricted so it cannot exceed 25 km/h at all, footpath and shared path speed near pedestrians drops to 12 km/h, and riders can now use roads and on road bike lanes signed up to 60 km/h while still capped at 25 km/h themselves. Police can seize and destroy an illegal device from a first offence, and from 31 August 2026 riders must be 16 and hold a licence of any class, a genuine first for Australia. Random breath testing at the standard 0.05 limit now applies to e-scooter riders too.

Is my e-scooter legal in Western Australia?

Yes, under the state's "eRideables" framework. Riders must be 16, wear a helmet, and keep to 10 km/h on footpaths and pedestrian crossings or 25 km/h on bicycle paths, shared paths and local roads up to 50 km/h with no dividing line. A noncompliant device is treated as an unlicensed motor vehicle, and WA police can seize and dispose of it, a model NSW has since said it is copying.

Is my e-scooter legal in South Australia?

Yes, since 13 July 2025, when SA moved from one of the strictest regimes in the country to a permissive one almost overnight. Riders must be 16, wear a helmet, and stay under 10 km/h on footpaths and shared paths or 25 km/h on separated paths and roads up to 50 km/h. E-scooters (but not other personal mobility devices) may also use the bike lane on roads signed to 60 km/h. South Australia opened a public review of its PMD and e-bike rules in 2026, so treat the current settings as current but not necessarily final.

Is my e-scooter legal in Tasmania?

Yes, and Tasmania has run the same framework since 1 December 2021, the longest of any state. Riders must be 16 for a standard device, though under 16s may use a lower powered scooter capped at 200 W and 10 km/h. The speed limit is 15 km/h on footpaths and 25 km/h on shared paths, bike paths and local roads up to 50 km/h with no dividing line.

Is my e-scooter legal in the ACT?

Yes. Canberra's rules are the most footpath friendly in the country: 15 km/h on footpaths, 25 km/h on shared and bicycle paths, and riders are expected to stay off roads altogether unless there is genuinely no path alternative. There is no clearly published blanket minimum age, though children under 12 need adult supervision, which makes the ACT the outlier on age as well as on where you are allowed to ride.

Is my e-scooter legal in the Northern Territory?

Only if you are hiring one. As in NSW, a privately owned e-scooter cannot legally be ridden anywhere in public in the NT, only on private property. The sole public option is the Beam hire scheme around Darwin, capped at 15 km/h, and riders must be 18, a higher age floor than anywhere else in the country.

What is the same in every state?

Two things do not change no matter where you are. A helmet is compulsory, full stop, and a device capable of exceeding 25 km/h stops being a personal mobility device and becomes a motor vehicle in the eyes of the law, which means registration, insurance and a licence apply. Every state also applies drink and drug riding rules at some level, generally the standard 0.05 limit, and every state treats footpath speeding near pedestrians as a real offence, not a technicality.

What happens if I get caught riding illegally?

It varies by state, but the direction of travel is the same everywhere: heavier enforcement, not lighter. Queensland's penalties for a first offence start at several hundred dollars and scale past a thousand for speeding or drink riding, and police can now destroy the device rather than just fine you. Victoria fines a non compliant device over a thousand dollars. Western Australia and, from 2026, NSW can seize and crush an illegal e-bike or e-scooter permanently, with no compensation. If your device is not clearly compliant with your state's rules, the safest assumption is that riding it in public is a real legal risk, not a grey area.

Buying an e-scooter soon? Check the rules for your state again closer to purchase, several are under active review in 2026 and could shift again before the year is out.

Compare compliant e-scooters sold in Australia, with AUD pricing, on the WattsUp Find & Compare directory. Weighing up an e-bike instead? Read our e-bike laws guide or browse models on eBikeFinder.au.

Frequently asked questions

Are e-scooters legal in NSW in 2026?

No, not for private owners. A privately owned e-scooter can only legally be ridden on private property in NSW. Public riding is only permitted through the Wollongong and Forster Tuncurry hire trials. A bill to legalise private use more broadly has passed, but the enabling regulation was still in consultation as of mid 2026, so it is not yet in force.

Are e-scooters legal in Victoria?

Yes. Victoria legalised private e-scooters in 2022 to 2023. Riders must be 16 or over, wear a helmet, and keep to 20 km/h. Footpath riding is banned outright, unlike most other states.

What is the minimum age to ride an e-scooter in Australia?

Sixteen in every state and territory except the Northern Territory, where hiring a Beam scooter requires you to be 18. The ACT does not publish a blanket minimum age but requires adult supervision for children under 12.

Do I need a licence to ride an e-scooter?

No state requires a driver licence to ride a compliant e-scooter, with one exception. Queensland is introducing a licence requirement for e-scooter and e-bike riders from 31 August 2026, the first state to do so.

What happens if my e-scooter can go faster than 25 km/h?

It stops being treated as a personal mobility device and becomes an unregistered motor vehicle in the eyes of the law. That means registration, licensing and insurance rules apply, and in NSW, WA and Queensland police can now seize and destroy noncompliant devices.

Do I need a helmet to ride an e-scooter?

Yes, in every state and territory, with no exceptions. An approved bicycle or motorbike helmet is required whether you own the device or are riding a hire scooter.

Sources

Browse e-bikes and compare models on eBikeFinder.au, the WattsUp network's bike directory.