Are electric skateboards legal in South Australia?
Specific law, with conditions. South Australia now allows personal mobility devices (PMDs) and lists e-skateboards as an example. A legal PMD must be electric, weigh 45 kg or less, and measure no more than 125 cm long, 70 cm wide and 135 cm high. Riders must be 16 or older and wear a helmet. They may ride on footpaths at up to 10 km/h, and on bicycle paths, bike lanes and roads with speed limits up to 50 km/h at up to 25 km/h. No licence or registration is needed. The regulations themselves could not be fetched, so this entry relies on the official sa.gov.au page.
What the law says
| What the text says | Section | |
|---|---|---|
| PMDs are legal; e-skateboards named | “Personal Mobility Devices (PMD) are legal to use in South Australia.” “Examples of devices that could be PMDs include: e-scooters e-skateboards e-solo-wheels.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| Device requirements | A legal PMD “has at least one wheel”, “is designed for one person”, “is propelled by an electric motor”, “is 45kg or less”, “can stop using brakes, gears or motor control”, “meets electrical safety standards”, “is no more than 125cm long, 70cm wide and 135cm high” and “must have a bell, horn or similar warning device in working order.” “Any device that does not meet these requirements of a PMD is not permitted to be ridden on the road network.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| Age and helmet | “PMD riders must: be aged 16 years or over wear a helmet”. “When you ride a PMD, you must wear an approved bicycle helmet or an approved motorbike helmet.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| Footpaths and paths | “You can legally ride a PMD: on footpaths, shared paths, beaches and road crossings - maximum speed of 10km/h. on separated footpaths, bicycle paths or bicycle lanes (physically separated from other traffic) - maximum speed of 25km/h.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| Roads: 50 km/h limit for non-scooter PMDs | PMDs may ride “on bike lanes (where the maximum road speed limit is no greater than 50km/h) - maximum speed of 25km/h” and “to the left on any road where there is no bike lane (where the maximum speed limit is no greater than 50km/h)”. “PMDs (that are not e-scooters) must only travel on roads where the speed limit is 50km/h or less”, except to get around an obstruction or to cross the road. | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| No licence or registration | “PMD riders do not require a driver’s licence to ride these devices. PMDs are not required to be registered. Compulsory third party insurance will not apply to PMDs.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
| Signs and monitoring | “You must not ride your PMD where bicycles or wheeled recreational devices such as skateboards and scooters are not allowed.” “PMD use will be monitored for 12 months to ensure devices are being used safely on shared spaces like footpaths, shared paths and roads.” | SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” |
Each row is the statute's own content, reduced to plain wording where it is long and quoted directly where the exact words matter. The section in the last column is a link to the text.
Sources
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SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices” — SA.GOV.AU - Personal mobility devices.
Official source, read 2026-09-25.
Page shows “Page last updated 16 August 2026”. Read in a browser because sa.gov.au blocks automated fetch (HTTP 403). The underlying SA regulations (legislation.sa.gov.au) could not be fetched (HTTP 403).
Every source on this page is the text as published by the legislature or the state agency itself. Open them.
How South Australia compares
The same four questions, across every jurisdiction whose primary sources we have read. Each row links to its own page and its own citations.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Helmet | Speed limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia | Regulated | “PMD riders must: be aged 16 years or over wear a helmet”. “When you ride a PMD, you must | — |
| Alabama | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alaska | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Arizona | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Arkansas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| California | Regulated | Required at every age: a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet meeting the standard | Not above 15 mph on a highway, bikeway, public bicycle path, |
| Colorado | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Connecticut | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Delaware | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Florida | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Georgia | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Hawaii | Unaddressed | “No person under eighteen years of age shall operate a skateboard upon a street, roadway, | — |
| Idaho | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Illinois | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Indiana | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Iowa | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Kansas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Kentucky | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Louisiana | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Maine | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Maryland | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | Maryland’s stand-up electric class requires a vehicle that “ |
| Massachusetts | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Michigan | Regulated | “A person less than 19 years of age operating an electric skateboard shall wear a crash he | — |
| Minnesota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Mississippi | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Missouri | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Montana | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nebraska | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nevada | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Hampshire | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Jersey | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | The 2019 class that New Jersey does allow on the road is def |
| New Mexico | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| New York | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| North Carolina | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| North Dakota | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ohio | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | “Vehicle” does not include “any low-speed micromobility devi |
| Oklahoma | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Oregon | Unaddressed | It is an offence if a person “is under 16 years of age, rides on a skateboard or scooter o | — |
| Pennsylvania | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Rhode Island | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| South Carolina | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| South Dakota | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Tennessee | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Texas | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Utah | Regulated | “An individual under 21 years old may not operate or ride the following on a highway unles | — |
| Vermont | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Virginia | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Washington | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| West Virginia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Wisconsin | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Wyoming | Named only | no rule naming the device | — |
| Alberta | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| British Columbia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Manitoba | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Brunswick | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Northwest Territories | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nova Scotia | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Nunavut | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Ontario | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Prince Edward Island | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Quebec | Regulated | Required. A rigid shell, padded inside, with a chin strap, correctly fitted and firmly fas | Maximum rated power 500 W, combined across motors, and the d |
| Saskatchewan | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | A “limited speed motor vehicle” is “any motor vehicle that h |
| Yukon | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Australian Capital Territory | Regulated | s 244H(1): “A person travelling in or on a personal mobility device must wear an approved | s 244FB: an offence is committed by travelling faster than “ |
| New South Wales | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Northern Territory | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| Queensland | Regulated | “When you ride a personal mobility device, you must wear an approved bicycle helmet or an | “You may ride on paths unless there's a sign prohibiting per |
| Tasmania | Regulated | “Yes. All PMD users must wear an approved helmet.” | “PMD users must not exceed: 15km/h on footpaths 25km/h on sh |
| Victoria | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| Western Australia | Regulated | r 223B(2): “A person must not ride an electric rideable device on a road or path unless th | r 15(2): a person “must not ride an electric rideable device |
| Austria | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | — |
| France | Regulated | A helmet is required nationally only where the authority has opened a road limited to 80 k | Service-public.fr: “La vitesse maximum autorisée est de 25 k |
| Germany | Unaddressed | no rule naming the device | These rules apply only to vehicles covered by the eKFV, not |
| Hong Kong | Prohibited | The 2023 LegCo paper (para. 14) proposes that “EMD users must be at least 16 years old” an | The 2023 LegCo paper (para. 14) proposes that “EMD users mus |
| Netherlands | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| New Zealand | Prohibited | The Road User Rule helmet requirement (cl. 11.8(1)) applies to anyone who rides “a bicycle | — |
| Singapore | Regulated | no rule naming the device | — |
| Spain | Unaddressed | In the version of the Reglamento General de Circulación amended by Real Decreto 518/2026, | — |
| Switzerland | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
| United Kingdom | Prohibited | no rule naming the device | — |
The spread is the point. These are neighbouring jurisdictions regulating the same object, and they do not agree on what it is, how fast it may go, who may ride it, or whether it may be ridden at all. A rider who crosses a state line is, quite often, subject to a different legal category rather than a stricter version of the same one — which is why a single national answer to this question does not exist and why anyone offering you one has stopped reading the law.
It also explains why so many rows say the device is unaddressed. Most vehicle codes were written before this machine existed, and a legislature that has not revisited them has not thereby permitted anything — it has left the question to a general classification and to your city.
What about a Onewheel?
No text we read for South Australia names a board with a single wheel. The reading above is for electric skateboards; whether a Onewheel falls in the same class, another one or none is a question the statutes here do not answer, and neither do we. 8 jurisdictions do name it — Are Onewheels legal?
What this page does not tell you
- It is not legal advice, and it never says you may ride. It says what the statute says, and links it.
- It does not cover municipal law. Cities regulate sidewalks, parks, paths and often these devices by name. Those rules sit on top of everything above.
- It does not cover private property, insurance, or what happens after an accident.
- It may be out of date. Every source carries the day we read it. A statute amended since then will not have updated itself here.
Other jurisdictions: the full list. Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas
Questions this raises
Are electric skateboards legal in South Australia?
A statute names the device and sets out what is required to ride it. South Australia now allows personal mobility devices (PMDs) and lists e-skateboards as an example. A legal PMD must be electric, weigh 45 kg or less, and measure no more than 125 cm long, 70 cm wide and 135 cm high. Riders must be 16 or older and wear a helmet. They may ride on footpaths at up to 10 km/h, and on bicycle paths, bike lanes and roads with speed limits up to 50 km/h at up to 25 km/h. No licence or registration is needed. The regulations themselves could not be fetched, so this entry relies on the official sa.gov.au page.
Is a Onewheel legal in South Australia?
No statute we read for South Australia names a board with a single wheel, so the law there does not answer directly. For electric skateboards, the status we found is: specific law, with conditions. Only 8 of the 81 jurisdictions we read name a one-wheel board: Utah, Quebec, Queensland, Tasmania, British Columbia, New York, Victoria, the Netherlands.
Do I need a helmet in South Australia?
“PMD riders must: be aged 16 years or over wear a helmet”. “When you ride a PMD, you must wear an approved bicycle helmet or an approved motorbike helmet.” That is SA.GOV.AU (Department for Infrastructure and Transport), “Personal mobility devices”.
How fast am I allowed to go in South Australia?
No speed limit specific to this device appears in the sources we have read for South Australia.
Does this cover city rules?
No. This page reads state, provincial or national law only. Municipal codes frequently add rules — on sidewalks, parks and paths especially — and where the state has written nothing, the city has written everything.
How do I check this myself?
Open the links in the sources below. Every row in the table above names the section it comes from, and every source shows the date we read it. That is the whole point of the page: you should not have to take our word for it.