NSW police to seize and destroy illegally ‘souped-up’ ebikes under government crackdown | New South Wales politics

The NSW government has announced it is launching a “crackdown” on illegally modified e-bikes; The police will be given the power to seize and destroy those exceeding the legal speed limit.

Transport minister John Graham announced on Sunday that new seizure laws will be developed that will allow police to seize any e-bike that does not cut off electrical assistance at 15mph, and non-compliant bikes will be removed from the streets and crushed.

The laws will apply to any illegally modified bike, even if the owner is unaware that their e-bike is non-compliant.

The government will also invest in a range of “dyno units” (portable speed testers) to measure an e-bike’s power output.

The move is an expansion of the state’s existing impound laws designed to remove high-powered cars and motorcycles from the road. Graham said it was a long, complicated process with “a lot of paperwork” and “it certainly won’t work to get these electric motorcycles off our streets.”

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This follows an incident on Wednesday where around 40 e-bikes and e-motorcycles flocked to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Footage posted online also shows riders, including fat bikes, traveling over the Western Distributor and performing stunts.

The NRMA has called for strong action against illegal e-bikes and e-scooters and claimed NSW faces a growing “road safety disaster”. There were 226 e-bike-related injuries in 2024, while there were 233 injuries and 4 deaths in the first seven months of 2025.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury welcomed Sunday’s announcement.

“Seizing the bike and crushing it is an expensive proposition, but paying for the funeral is even more expensive,” he said.

Graham said the proposed laws were a direct response to the community’s concerns about “enhanced e-bikes and the antisocial behavior that seems to go hand in hand with them.”

“Riders and owners of illegal e-bikes need to hear us loud and clear now: If you are breaking the rules and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assist e-bike, expect it to be taken away and crushed,” he said.

“Illegal bikes will become twisted wrecks and will not be able to rejoin the road. We will ensure that e-bikes behave like bicycles, not motorcycles.”

Graham said the NSW government, Transport for NSW and NSW Police would develop the laws but would try to emulate the laws currently in place in Western Australia, where police have seized and crushed dozens of bikes.

“We model our laws on the Western Australian model; they allow for a much quicker process, a much more streamlined process; the police will find it much easier,” he said.

“If you engage in the kind of heavy-handed behavior we see on the golf courses across the Harbor Bridge, your bike will be crushed.”

He said the changes were the “start” of a wider package of reforms to ensure e-bikes are “safe, legal and suitable for use on public roads and paths”, with further measures to be announced in the coming weeks. Graham said the NSW government had previously committed to reducing the maximum legal power output of e-bikes to 250 watts.

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

“Illegal high-powered e-bikes are not a harmless pastime and anyone who thinks they might slip through the cracks should consider this their final warning. If your bike doesn’t comply with the rules it will be destroyed,” he said.

Parents also have a role in ensuring their children are riding legal e-bikes, Catley said.

“If you buy a high-powered e-bike that doesn’t comply with the rules, or allow a child to ride it, you’re not only gambling with their safety, you’re gambling with the bike itself and there will be no exceptions,” he said.

Deputy Opposition leader and Coalition transport spokesperson Natalie Ward described the announcement as a “slow, reactive and bureaucracy-first approach” to a growing problem that does not address driver behaviour.

“E-bikes don’t ride on their own,” he said. “The community wants accountability for driver behavior and enforcement of road rules.”

He said a Liberal government would “deliver license plates, enforcement and accountability while Labor continues to fix it”.