The NSW government has announced a “crackdown” on illegally modified ebikes, with police to be given powers to seize and destroy any that exceed the legal speed limit.

The transport minister, John Graham, announced on Sunday that new seizure laws will be developed to allow police to seize any ebike that does not cut power assistance at 25km/h, with non-compliant bikes to be removed from the streets and crushed.

The laws will apply to all illegally modified bikes – even if the owner was unaware their ebike was noncompliant.

The government will also invest in a number of “dyno units” – portable speed-testing devices – to measure an ebike’s power output.

The move is an expansion on the state’s existing seizure laws, designed to remove high-powered cars and motorbikes from the road, which require a lengthy and resource-intensive court process.

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It follows an incident on Wednesday in which about 40 ebikes and e-motorcycles swarmed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Footage posted online also shows riders – including those on so-called fat bikes – travelling on the Western Distributor, and performing stunts.

The NRMA has called for strong action against illegal ebike and e-scooters and claimed that NSW faced a burgeoning “road safety disaster”. In 2024, there were 226 ebike-related injuries, while in the first seven months of 2025 there were 233 injuries and four deaths.

Graham said the proposed laws were a direct response to community concern about “souped-up ebikes and the antisocial behaviour that seems to go hand in hand with them”.

“Riders and owners of illegal ebikes should now hear us loud and clear: if you are breaking the rules, and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assisted ebike, expect it to be removed from your possession and crushed,” he said.

“Illegal bikes will end up as a twisted wreck so they can’t rejoin the road. We will ensure ebikes behave as bicycles, not motorbikes.”

The NSW government said Transport for NSW and NSW Police will develop the laws but will look to emulate those currently in place in Western Australia, where police have confiscated and crushed dozens of bikes.

It said the changes were the “start” of a broader package of reforms to ensure ebikes are “safe, legal and fit for use on public roads and paths”, with further measures to be announced in coming weeks.

The roads minister, Jenny Aitchison, said it was a “crackdown, plain and simple” while police minister, Yasmin Catley, said the government was “drawing a line in the sand”.

“Illegal high-powered ebikes aren’t harmless fun and anyone thinking they can slip under the radar should take this as their final warning. If your bike does not meet the rules, it will be destroyed,” she said.

Catley said parents also had a role to ensure their kids were riding legal ebikes.

“If you buy or allow a child to ride a high-powered ebike that doesn’t meet the rules, you’re not just gambling with their safety, you’re gambling with the bike too and there will be no exceptions,” she said.

Natalie Ward, the deputy opposition leader and Coalition transport spokesperson, described the announcement as a “slow, reactive and bureaucracy-first approach” to a growing issue that did not address rider behaviour.

“Ebikes do not ride themselves,” she said. “The community wants accountability for rider behaviour and enforcement of the road rules.”

A Liberal government would “deliver licence plates, enforcement and accountability while Labor continues to tinker,” she said.