Territory and Municipal Services Minister Shane Rattenbury has asked his directorate to investigate the proposal, one that Pedal Power ACT communications manager Matt Larkin has called the ideal solution to improving cyclist safety.

''That is the ideal solution and that's what Queensland has gone for,'' Mr Larkin said. ''We're not here to write road laws [on the exact distance]; that's not what Pedal Power is here for, but we want safer outcomes for cyclists on-road.

''Not everyone wants to meander their way through the suburbs - people want to get on their way through a fairly direct route.''

The Queensland government's move to introduce the one-metre overtaking distance in 60km/h or slower zones, and a 1.5-metre distance in quicker areas, followed the release on Friday of a parliamentary report that also recommended easing bike helmet restrictions in slower speed limit zones.

A spokesman for Mr Rattenbury said the passing distance proposal was something the ACT's Legislative Assembly inquiry into vulnerable road users would look at.

''Mr Rattenbury has asked TAMS to do an initial investigation into what that mandatory space proposal would mean if it was implemented,'' he said.

Neither the ACT government nor the NRMA directly addressed the passing distance rule in their submission to the ACT inquiry, but NRMA motoring services president Wendy Machin said the ACT government should not encourage road-sharing between cyclists and vehicles in high-speed areas.

''Preference should be given to encouraging alternative routes which avoid high-volume traffic and high-speed roads,'' Ms Machin said. ''We are concerned about the practice of reducing traffic lane widths to accommodate cycle paths, when this occurs without proper consideration for whether motor vehicles will be able to fit in the lanes.''

The Queensland report recommends removing the need for helmets for cyclists aged 16 and older on roads with a 60km/h or slower speed limit, and also permitting a rolling stop, which would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as give-way signs where it was safe to do so.

A similar helmet proposal was not mentioned in the ACT government or Pedal Power ACT submission, and the NRMA recommends improved education and enforcement to improve ACT cyclists' helmet usage rates.

Mr Larkin said higher rates of female cyclists on high-speed roads would be a sign of better road-safety confidence. The view is supported by Mr Rattenbury, who said in his submission the lack of confidence on roads was a likely reason only 13 per cent of women in the ACT aged 18 to 39 rode each week, when more than half of men of the same age did.

An estimated 5600 people in the ACT used a bicycle as their main form of transport on a usual trip to full-time work or study in March 2012, which equated to 2.8 per cent of all commuters.