E-bike laws must be urgently tightened to avoid more deaths and serious injuries, the bicycle industry says, as new research shows widespread non-compliance by riders.
State lawmakers have been pleading with the federal government to clamp down on the import and sale of e-bikes able to reach dangerously high speeds, amid a spate of deaths.
In a Monash University study published on Monday, researchers found many e-bike delivery riders in Melbourne were breaking the law, including some reaching speeds of up to 54km/h.
One in five exceeded Victoria's e-bike speed limit of 25 km/h, the research, commissioned by the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC), found.
Most of the 27,000 e-bikes observed were not using pedals, indicating they were throttle-powered or illegally modified, according to the research.
It urged authorities to look at the legal definition of e-bikes, enforce existing road rules for non-compliant devices, and close import loopholes.
WeRide, a group representing bicycle and e-bike companies, said leadership from the federal government was needed to ensure e-bikes entering Australia met local standards.
"We need all products coming into Australia to meet minimum quality safety requirements," WeRide executive officer Peter Bourke told AAP.
"The importation process right now which is a voluntary application, we support that to be mandatory."
Mr Bourke was hopeful moves towards national action would come at the next Infrastructure and Transport Ministers' Meetings (ITMM), due by the end of the year.
"The reality is if the motor goes over 25km/h and it has more than 250 watts of continuous motor power it is not an e-bike," he said.
University of Melbourne associate professor Milad Haghani said there would likely be more significant injuries and deaths linked to e-bikes unless authorities got tough on non-compliant devices.
One of the biggest safety risks at present was posed by young riders easily converting regular bicycles to high speed e-bikes, Professor Haghani told AAP.
"They are called conversion kits and they are marketed to children," he said.
"Some of them have very chunky wheels and they are very heavy and that creates major momentum in a crash especially at high speed - the kinetic energy can be fatal."
Most e-bike crashes involved overpowered bikes, those that breached safety regulations, or were ridden by people who broke road rules, according to Victoria Police.
Almost 300 fines for e-bike, e-scooter, motor scooter, bicycle and motorcycle offences have been issued since June.
VACC chief executive Peter Jones said the Monash research confirmed "what riders, pedestrians, and other road users have suspected - many of these delivery e-bikes were operating as unregistered motorbikes".
The devices lacked safeguards and enforcement applied to other transport vehicles like registration, insurance, road rule compliance, Mr Jones said.
"Anything that can go that fast really isn't an e-bike," he said.
In July, a University of Melbourne study found reports of the number of e-bike and e-scooter deaths across the country more than doubled to 30 from January 2020 to April 2025.
In one of the latest incidents, a teenage boy in July, allegedly riding on an electric dirt bike, struck and killed a 59-year-old woman in a Perth park.
A Victorian government spokesperson said the state had strict rules in place to manage the use of e-bikes and e-scooters.
"Those caught breaking the rules can face significant penalties, for riding illegal high-speed e-bikes or e-scooters, or riding on footpaths," the spokesperson said.
"E-bikes and e-scooters are growing in popularity, and we remind all users to obey the road rules and ride safely to keep themselves and others safe."
