No, a 500W e-bike is not legal to ride as a bicycle on public roads, footpaths or shared paths in Australia. Under Australian road rules, which adopt European standard EN15194, a legal e-bike must be a pedal-assist pedelec with a maximum continuous rated power of 250 watts, where assistance cuts out at 25 km/h, and may only have a throttle for walk-assist up to 6 km/h. Any e-bike with a 500W motor exceeds this limit and is classified in law as a motor vehicle, not a bicycle. That means to be legal it would need to be registered as a moped or motorcycle, comply with Australian Design Rules for motor vehicles, have mirrors, lights, number plate and be ridden by someone with a motorcycle licence wearing a motorcycle helmet, which virtually no 500W e-bikes sold online meet because they have no ADR compliance plate. If police stop you on a 500W e-bike, they can treat it as an unregistered, uninsured motor vehicle. In NSW, fines are $686 for using an unregistered vehicle, $848 for using an uninsured vehicle, $848 for riding without a licence, plus additional fines for not wearing an approved motorcycle helmet, and police have the power to seize and impound the bike. Queensland, Victoria and WA have similar penalties. Some 500W e-bikes are sold as for private property use only, meaning you can legally ride them only on private land with the landowner's permission, not in public.
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