New quad bike safety standards

Quad bike incidents caused nine deaths in Queensland last year and 23 in Australia. Roll overs were blamed for nearly half of them.

Last year the Federal Government introduced the Consumer Goods (Quad Bikes) Safety Standard 2019 to improve quad bike safety through better information for consumers and safer new bike design. The standard does not apply to second-hand quads other than those imported into Australia.

Phase one of the safety standard started on 11 October 2020, and all new and imported second-hand quad bikes must:

• meet requirements specified in the United States or European standard for quad bikes
• have a durable label that is clear and visible warning of the risk of rollover
  
• have information on rollover risk in the owner’s manual or instruction handbook
• be tested for lateral static stability and display the result on a hang tag.
  

Phase two of the standard begins on 11 October 2021 and will require all new and imported second-hand general use quad bikes to have an operator protection device integrated into their design, or fitted to them, and meet minimum requirements for stability.

Further information

Read more about the Federal Government quad bike safety standards.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland quad bike safety resources.