Are e-scooters legal in Western Australia?
Yes. WA calls them electric rideable devices, legal since December 2021, with no licence or registration. You need to be 16 and wear a helmet. It's 25 km/h on paths and low-speed roads, but only 10 km/h on footpaths.
- Footpaths
- Yes. Give way to pedestrians and keep left 1
- Which roads
- Only roads signed 50 km/h or less 1
- Your top speed
- 10 km/h on footpaths, 25 km/h on paths and roads 1
- Minimum age
- 16 to ride with the motor engaged 1
- Helmet
- Required (bicycle or motorcycle helmet) 1
- Licence & rego
- Neither is required. The rules say so directly, and there are no demerit points 2
- Passengers
- Not allowed 1
- Fines
- $50 to $100 for most offences. Phone use costs up to $1,000 6
WA legalised e-scooters on 4 December 2021, under its own name for them: electric rideable devices. The Road Safety Commission calls them “eRideables”, though that word never appears in the Code itself. 1 The rules were then loosened on 14 May 2026. If you’ve read something about divided roads being banned, it’s out of date. 1
What counts as a legal e-scooter in WA?
An electric rideable device has to be electric, built for one person, and have effective brakes. It can’t do more than 25 km/h on motor power on level ground. It has to fit the size caps too: no more than 125 cm long, 70 cm wide and 135 cm high, with the strictest weight limit in the country at 25 kg empty. 1
Anything heavier or faster isn’t an electric rideable device at all, and these rules simply don’t authorise riding it.
reg 3A(1) What counts as an electric rideable device Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA) 1
An electric rideable device is a scooter, skateboard, or other vehicle, that — (a) has at least 1 wheel; and (b) is designed to be used by a single person; and (c) has an electric motor or motors; and (d) is fitted with an effective stopping system controlled by use of brakes, gears or motor control; and (e) when propelled only by the motor or motors, is not capable of going faster than 25 km/h on level ground; and (f) complies with the mass and dimension requirements referred to in subregulation (2).
Where can you ride an e-scooter in WA?
Footpaths, shared paths and bicycle paths are all allowed, plus any road with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less. 1 Since 14 May 2026, the old bans on roads with dividing lines and on multi-lane one-way roads are repealed. The only road ban left is the over-50 km/h one, with a steeper fine when the limit is over 70. 1
You can cross a faster road by the shortest safe route. Watch for “no bicycles” and “no wheeled devices” signs, which create local bans, and use a bicycle lane where there is one. 1
reg 210B(1), (3) Roads you can't ride on Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA) 1
(1) A person must not ride an electric rideable device on a carriageway with a speed limit exceeding 50 km/h. Modified penalty: (a) if the person is riding on a carriageway with a speed limit exceeding 70 km/h — 10 PU (b) in any other case — 2 PU (3) Subregulation (1) does not apply to a person who is crossing a carriageway on an electric rideable device, if the person — (a) crosses the carriageway by the shortest safe route; and (b) does not stay on the carriageway longer than necessary to cross the carriageway safely.
How fast can you ride an e-scooter in WA?
10 km/h on footpaths, which is the lowest footpath cap anywhere in Australia. 25 km/h on carriageways, bicycle paths and shared paths. Pedestrian crossings are also 10 km/h, with a duty to give way. 1
reg 15(2)–(3) Speed limits Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA) 1
(2) A person must not ride an electric rideable device on a carriageway, bicycle path or shared path at a speed exceeding 25 km/h. Modified penalty: 2 PU (3) A person must not ride an electric rideable device on a footpath (other than a bicycle path or shared path) at a speed exceeding 10 km/h. Modified penalty: 2 PU
How old do you have to be, and do you need a helmet, in WA?
You have to be 16 or older to ride with the motor engaged, and wear a securely fastened bicycle or motorcycle helmet on any road or path. There are exemptions for religious and cultural headdress, and medical exemptions the Commissioner can grant. 1
Children under 16 aren’t shut out completely. Low-powered scooters capped at 200 watts and 10 km/h are a separate class they can ride. 5
The other conduct rules are what you’d expect. No passengers or animals. At least one hand on the handlebars. No towing, and no holding onto vehicles. And no riding “under the influence of alcohol, drugs or alcohol and drugs to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control”, which is the Code’s own impairment offence. 1
At night you need a white front light and a red rear light visible from 200 metres, a red rear reflector, and two yellow side reflectors. 1 The Road Safety Commission also applies the vehicle phone rules to riders, at $500 to $1,000. 6
Do you need a licence or registration for an e-scooter in WA?
WA answers this more clearly than any other state, with rules that say so directly rather than leaving it to definitions. No vehicle licence, meaning registration, is required. 2 Riding without a driver’s licence is authorised. 3 And eRideable offences are kept out of the demerit-point system. 3
reg 15(1)–(2)(e) No registration needed Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (WA) 2
(1) For section 4(1), a vehicle licence is required for a vehicle that is a motor vehicle or a trailer. (2) However, a vehicle licence is not required for a motor vehicle or trailer that is — … (e) a motorised scooter or electric rideable device.
Fines are small by national standards too. WA’s road-law penalty unit is $50, 4 so most e-scooter fines land between $50 and $100. Every dollar figure on the Road Safety Commission’s penalties page reconciles exactly with the Code’s penalty units. 6
What happens if you’re caught in WA?
WA’s numbers are small by national standards, and there is a structural reason for that worth knowing.
The state’s road-law penalty unit is $50, so most e-scooter offences land between $50 and $100. Every dollar figure the Road Safety Commission publishes reconciles exactly with the Code’s penalty units. 4 6
Two things break that pattern. Phone use is charged at the vehicle rates, so it jumps to $500 for taking a call and $1,000 for texting or video. And riding on a road over 70 km/h is $500 rather than the usual $100. 6 1
What you don’t collect is demerit points. WA excludes eRideable offences from the demerit system in so many words, so a scooter fine doesn’t touch your driver licence the way it can in Victoria or the ACT. 3
The impairment offence is the one to take seriously, because it isn’t number-based. The Code prohibits riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs “to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control”, which means there is no blood-alcohol reading to stay under. It is a judgement about your condition. 1
What it costs to get it wrong
| Offence | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exceeding the speed limits (reg 15), riding a road over 50 km/h (reg 210B), riding recklessly or under the influence (reg 229), no lights at night, towing, tailgating a vehicle | $100 each on the spot ($500 for a road over 70 km/h) | 1 |
| No helmet, under-16 riding with motor engaged, carrying a passenger, one hand off the handlebars, riding past a no-wheeled-devices sign, path conduct offences | $50 each on the spot | 1 |
| Using a mobile phone while riding (reg 265, applied to riders as vehicle drivers) | $500 for a call, $1,000 for texting or video | 6 |
| Court maximums for Code offences (reg 9) | Up to $3,200 first offence, $4,800 after that | 1 |
Common questions
Do you have to wear a helmet on an e-scooter in WA?
Yes, a securely fastened bicycle or motorcycle helmet, on any road or path. Riding without one costs $50 on the spot. 1
Can you ride an e-scooter on the footpath (sidewalk) in WA?
Yes, but at no more than 10 km/h, which is the lowest footpath limit in Australia. Give way to pedestrians and keep left. 1
Can you ride an e-scooter on the road in WA?
Yes, on any road with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less. Since 14 May 2026 the old bans on divided roads and multi-lane one-way roads are gone. Only the over-50 km/h ban remains, at a $100 fine, or $500 if the limit is over 70. 1
How old do you have to be to ride an e-scooter in WA?
16, to ride with the motor engaged. The wording matters here. The offence is riding with a motor engaged while under 16. 1
Do you need a licence or rego for an e-scooter in WA?
No. WA is unusually clear about this. The regulations exempt electric rideable devices from vehicle licensing, which is registration, allow riding without a driver's licence, and keep them out of the demerit-point system. All three are written down. 2
How fast can you legally ride an e-scooter in WA?
25 km/h on carriageways, bicycle paths and shared paths, and 10 km/h on footpaths. The scooter itself also has to be incapable of exceeding 25 km/h on motor power to be legal at all. 1
Can you carry a passenger on an e-scooter in WA?
No. Riding with a passenger or an animal on the device is a $50 offence, and the device has to be built for one person to be legal in the first place. 1
Can you get fined for using your phone on an e-scooter in WA?
Yes. The Road Safety Commission applies the vehicle mobile-phone rules to eRideable riders. It's $500 for touching the phone to take a call, and $1,000 for texting, video or photos. 6
Every source on this page
The small numbered marks throughout this page point to this list — 1 means source 1 below.
- Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA), regs 3A, 15, 210B, 223B, 228, 229
- Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (WA), reg 15(2)(e)
- Road Traffic (Authorisation to Drive) Regulations 2014 (WA), regs 55(2)(h), 65(4)
- Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008 (WA), s 7
- Road Safety Commission WA — eRideables
- Road Safety Commission WA — Offences and penalties: eRideables
Sourced from the Western Australian Legislation website at 27 Aug 2026. For the latest information on Western Australian legislation, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au. © State of Western Australia. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Reproduced without changes. This is not an official version and its use is not endorsed by the State. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
Other rules for Western Australia
- Are e-bikes legal in Western Australia? Legal, with conditions
- How high can a fence be in WA? Varies by area
- Is it legal to record a conversation in Western Australia? Legal, with conditions
- What are the pool fence rules in WA? Legal, with conditions
E-scooters rules elsewhere
- Australian Capital Territory Legal, with conditions
- New South Wales Illegal
- Northern Territory Illegal
- Queensland Legal, with conditions
- South Australia Legal, with conditions
- Tasmania Legal, with conditions
- Victoria Legal, with conditions
Page history
Every change to this page
- 9 Oct 2026
- Cluster re-check against the WA register. Every extract, the $50 penalty unit and all fines confirmed current at the register; no substantive change. The Road Traffic Code and Vehicles Regulations compilations moved to May and July 2026 amendments that do not touch the e-rideable provisions quoted here.
- 27 Aug 2026
- First published. Current to the WA Road Traffic Code as at 14 May 2026, including the May 2026 relaxation of the road rules.