The NSW GOVERNMENT permits the sale of mobilty devices for those with disabilities that can be classified, by the NSW GOVERNMENT as non compliant. Example mobility scooters come in many sizes. The large ones offer many benefits but according to the NSW government are non compliant with their standards especially public transport.
I know this may not make sense but I have this in writing from the now NSW treasurer from when she was trnsport minister.

What right has anyone to dictate what others may or may not purchase?

If certain devices pose a danger to the public, then don't allow them on public roads, but that doesn't give you permission to stop people from buying whatever they like so long as it stays on their own premises (or the premises of others who agree to it).

I don't know which devices are specifically being referred
to here and what the problems are. But, I would have
thought that safety would be a primary concern in what is
or is not acceptable both in regards to the person with the
disability and others. I imagine that there are standards
that regulate mobility devices that have to be met.
And it makes sense to have these standards.

Lamp, obviously some of the very large gophers are too big to go on public transport, as they would take up too much room and be a danger to feet all around them!
I have had a small gopher run over my well-shod nursing boot and I had a huge bruise.

Quite often, some of the disabled males, who were the sort who clung to their car long after it was safe for them to drive it, bought big gophers that they didn't really need or were too big for them to handle safely.

These sort of gophers aren't suitable for public transport vehicles. and should only be used for personal use to get them from home to shop on the footpaths etc.
The Government doesn't need to ban them outright, but they do need to have rules re their use.

Suse,

Nice to the point post; non compliance but approved for use has absolutely nothing to do with safety but, as you say, has everything to do with size, some of these devices are almost in the 'light truck' category.
They won't even fit into a public transport 'bus.

I am all in favour of mobility devices, believing some of the 'Usual Suspects' on the forum who presently rely on their 'Zimmer Frames' to get them out and about from the "home" will find them a god send, particularly for the fortnightly bingo outing. It gets them away from the homes PC and posting forum dribble, and out in the fresh air.
BUT, fellas could you please restrict your speed to 5km/hr in built up areas, like shopping centers, and on the open road, try to keep under a 100 if you can.

The responses totally miss the point. Example mobility scooters are classified as pedestrian devices, can be sold sold as mobility devices for those with disabilities. They are purchased in good faith to transport disabled people from A to B to C. They are legal but the NSW GOVERNMENT takes the GST then, says you have purchased a mobility device but now we will declare that device non compliant because we can.

Non-compliant in what way Lamp?
If they have been found to be unsafe, then the Government have a duty of care to do what they can.

"The responses totally miss the point."

Which is what, lamp? Did you obtain a mobility device that was supposedly 'compliant' only to find out it wasn't? Was compliance for your device withdrawn/changed/refused?

The legal sale of a mobility device does not automatically infer a legal compliance for its use in all locations.

I can understand why some units would be appropriate for use in a hospital/nursing home or residential accomodation setting but not be legally compliant for use on a public footpath/roadway/bus or train.

It is difficult to get the point or be sympathetic unless you are more specific.

The new large ones have stability systems, four disc brakes, independent suspension and regenerative braking. Safety is paramount with the mobilty scooters. Sympathy is not the point. If you buy a mobility scooter or any mobility device it is sold for a reason. The reason being to assist the independence of those with disabilities. They have passed many stringent criteria, both state and federal,to be sold as a mobility aid. What is important is that a government then states what we have legally permitted to be sold we now declare non compliant bcause we say so. Remember these mobility scooters are a few thousand dollars.

I copped another one of these "Old Farts in Carts" down at my local 'Westfields' on the weekend doing burnouts in his bloody go-kart, aka 15 km/hr in a crowded shopping center, a danger to the public. I implore you all to join 'STOP Farts In Carts' we hope to attract 100,000 protesters to a rally we are organizing in Canberra in July. We will be burning an effigy of Hugo Von Hofmannsthal that infamous 17th century Bavarian cart builder, on the lawns of parliament house. Come one come all, come in your cars, come by train, come on your bicycle, but defiantly not in your cart, we are declaring Canberra a'Cart Free Republic' and have the support of many a leading politician, who for privacy and ethical reasons I can not name at this time.

lamp,

Do you want the Government to re-design public transport every time the makers of these devices bring out a new and bigger model?

What do we have here, I known, the forums 'Usual Suspects' are having their version of a 'Conserves Political Love In'. LOL. Oh that naughty Rudd, oh that naughty Gillard, the shame of it all! Go for it fellas.

Paul 1405 should realise that it is the user not the machine. Like all vehicle users they have a responsibilty to use the machine sensibly. Yes mobility scooters do the same job as electric wheelchairs. Just because you use a chair does not mean you have greater mobilty issues. No one understands until they are in the same situation. So try them out and then start being negative.
If these devices are non compliant then ban the sale of them. Which politicians wont do because they have no comprehension.

lamp,

What if the buyer never wants to use the vehicle on public transport etc., and couldn't give a damn about compliance?
He might want a big tough one to get around the farm or the factory.

The Government has a duty to list the vehicles that comply with the dimensions of public transport (whatever) but it has no duty to ensure that only those vehicles that comply are sold.

There are plenty of motor vehicles that are non-compliant and can't be registered for road use, it's up to the buyer to check compliance.

Is Mise, while I agree they shouldn't ban the sale of non compliant mobility devices, surely we can do better than Buyer Beware? Potential problems could be avoided by putting an obligation on the seller to inform the buyer of whether or not it's compliant before the sale is made.