Following a Queensland Police Service (QPS) audit at our local public high schools, which revealed the vast majority of e-bikes and e-scooters were non-compliant with Queensland legislation, Sunshine Beach State High School (SBSHS), Noosa District State High School (NDSHS) and Coolum State High School (CSHS) have announced a ban on all e-bikes and e-scooters from their school sites beginning in 2026.

Sandy recognises that this difficult decision was made as a last resort, following multiple requests for parental support to help address ongoing issues. After corresponding with the Principal of SBSHS, we received the below information outlining the context and reasons behind the decision.

  • The 3 schools (SBSHS, NDSHS, CSHS) have been working with students and parents throughout the year with the largest parental communication being CSHS and our SBSHS.
  • We have had QPS and Transport and Main Roads safety team in multiple times to speak with the students about the legal requirement and also safety for them and the community.
  • We have communicated with parents multiple times asking them not to allow their children to ride non-compliant bikes in public spaces or public roads.
  • We have given the parents multiple copies of what is a compliant e-bike and e-scooter.
  • I had QPS come to school with a number of police who were also receiving training on how to identify a non-compliant e-bike or e-scooter. 
  • They took an audit of the 79 devices in or school last week. 78 of these devices were highly non-compliant with some having engine capacity of over 8 time the legal power output. The one potentially compliant e-bike was considered most likely non-compliant but would need to be ridden to prove.
  • As a school we are responding to up to 15 complaints from community a day in regards to students in our uniform and their behaviour on an e-bike.  
  • The large amount of video sent to us proves these are not vexatious complaints.  The efforts to curb this behaviour by speaking to the students, etc., was unsuccessful.
  • The complaints are not just from individuals but businesses, resorts and shopping centres.
  • With all above and no resolution with parents allowing their child to openly not abide by the current regulations, we saw no option but to ban all e-bikes and e-scooters at our schools.  In the case of Sunshine Beach SHS, we basically had no compliant e-bikes.

We appreciate the efforts made by SBSHS to address the ongoing issues of non-compliant e-bikes and e-scooters, as well as unsafe behaviours by students, in the lead-up to this decision. To read the joint communication from the Principals of SBSHS, NDSHS, and CSHS to parents, please visit https://www.sandybolton.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/E-bike-Letter.png

As this ban will not address conduct outside school hours, particularly on weekends, Sandy continues to advocate for increased enforcement and proactive measures while we await the outcomes of the Parliamentary Inquiry into E-Mobility Safety, due to report in March 2026.

In addition, Sandy has also asked Noosa Council and our schools to consider, if suitable, an e-tag program for students, which recently was reported as being very successful in NSW, to give those who are doing the right thing the ability to get back to riding to school sooner.

The Premier and Minister for Transport and Main Roads have maintained that no legislative changes will be made regarding e-mobility devices until the completion of the Parliamentary Inquiry into E-Mobility Safety, which is due to report in March 2026.

For our latest update on Sandy’s ongoing advocacy to address the reckless use of electric bikes, scooters and illegal motorbikes, including efforts to improve awareness and education, strengthen enforcement on our paths, roads and in our national parks, and address retailers supplying non-compliant devices, visit www.sandybolton.com/electric-bikes-and-scooters-update-september-2025.

Further information

For those wishing to directly advocate, consider emailing the Minister for Transport and Main Roads via transportandmainroads@ministerial.qld.gov.au. Please copy our office in via noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au and forward us any response you receive.

Although submissions have closed for the Parliamentary Inquiry, you can still contact them on SDIWC@parliament.qld.gov.au and request your correspondence be considered as a late submission.

Further information on the Inquiry is available at www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-Committees/Committees/Committee-Details?cid=272&id=4522.

For our previous Noosa 360 updates on electric bikes and scooters, please visit www.sandybolton.com/?s=Electric+Bikes.

Sandy asks all in our community to assist our police by reporting offenders to Policelink on 131 444 or by lodging an online report at www.police.qld.gov.au/policelink-reporting. For anyone who has CCTV cameras, you can register with the Community Camera Alliance at www.police.qld.gov.au/safety-and-preventing-crime/community-camera-alliance.