Lanewise Have your say
How to have your say on e-scooters on NSW roads
By the Lanewise editorChecked 13 October 20263 min read
Short answer
The quickest useful thing you can do is write to your local state MP. A short message in your own words, saying where you would ride and why, is read by their office and can be passed to the Minister. A formal e-petition on the NSW Parliament's own website is the other route: 500 signatures gets a written response from the Minister, and 20,000 gets a debate in the Legislative Assembly. Lanewise does not collect signatures or contact details; everything here happens on official sites.
Who decides
Making private e-scooters legal mainly means changing the NSW Road Rules and defining which scooters qualify. That is a decision for the Government, led by the Minister for Transport, and it does not need a bill. MPs from every party carry their electorates' views to Ministers, which is why your local MP is the right first contact, whoever they are.
Option 1: write to your local MP
- Find your MP. Parliament lists every Member of the Legislative Assembly with their electorate and contact details. Your state MP is the one for your electorate, not your federal MP or your council.
- Keep it short. Four or five sentences is enough. Say who you are (a local resident is enough), what you would like, and why.
- Make it yours. Offices notice copy-pasted form letters. A real reason, like the trip you would take, beats a long argument.
- Ask a clear question. For example, whether the Member supports setting a start date for the drafted e-scooter rules, and whether they will raise it with the Minister for Transport.
An example of the shape, to rewrite in your own words:
I live in [suburb] and would use an e-scooter to get to [the station, work, uni] instead of driving. Transport for NSW drafted rules for private e-scooters in October 2024, and the Government backed them in May 2025, but there is still no start date. Will you ask the Minister for Transport when private e-scooters will be legal on NSW roads under those rules?
Be polite, and include your address so the office knows you are a constituent.
Option 2: sign or start an e-petition
The NSW Parliament runs its own e-petition system. It is the only kind of online petition that is formally presented to the House.
Signing. When we checked the open e-petitions on 13 October 2026, none was about e-scooters. If one opens, the Parliament's e-petitions page will list it, and we will add it to the tracker.
Starting one. The Legislative Assembly's rules, from Parliament's own page:
- A petition is addressed to "the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly".
- It sets out the facts (the grievance) and a clear request (the prayer).
- It must be presented by a Member of the Legislative Assembly. It does not have to be your local member, and the member does not have to agree with it.
- You choose an open period of 3, 12 or 24 weeks.
What happens next:
| Signatures | What Parliament does |
|---|---|
| Any | Receipt is announced in the House, recorded and sent to the responsible Minister |
| 500 or more | The Minister must give a written response within 35 calendar days |
| 20,000 or more (e-petition) | It is debated in the House, usually on a Thursday |
The deadline that matters. The last Legislative Assembly sitting day before the 2027 election is 26 November 2026. A petition that closes after that cannot be presented to this Parliament. Pick your open period with that date in mind.
Petitions on other websites
Petitions on commercial sites like Change.org can show public support, but the Legislative Assembly accepts petitions under its own rules for paper petitions and e-petitions. If you want a petition to reach the House, use Parliament's system.
Fair and civil
Lanewise is not a political party or a campaign group. It has no members, takes no donations and does not tell anyone how to vote. We think the drafted rules are a sensible basis for legal e-scooters on NSW roads, and we set out the concerns on the road map page too. If you disagree, the same routes are open to you.