Amid all the talk of cracking down on e-bikes, one idea has just been knocked back on the numbers. A NSW Productivity and Equality Commission report has recommended against making e-bike insurance compulsory, finding it would cost far more than it returns.
What the report found
- Mandatory insurance for e-bikes and other e-micromobility devices would cost the community between 470 million and 1 billion dollars more than it delivers in benefit
- Spending on education and enforcement instead would deliver an estimated 55 million dollar net benefit, mainly through fewer crashes and injuries
- E-bike ownership in NSW households rose from about 2 per cent in 2019 to roughly 8 per cent in 2025
- The Commission found e-bikes have a safety profile broadly similar to ordinary bicycles, with unsafe riding and illegal devices, not a lack of insurance, being the main drivers of harm
What it recommends instead
Rather than a new insurance mandate, the Commission points to expanded public education, targeted enforcement of the device standards, and data-driven action in the areas where crashes actually cluster. It is a notable counterweight to the enforcement-first mood elsewhere: the finding is that the problem is illegal and unsafe riding, and that is better solved by education and policing than by a blanket cost on every rider.
Sources
Cost figures, ownership growth and recommendations are from the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission report, published 26 August 2026.