EV Charging – Grant Funding Deadline

Owners Corporations considering installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the strata scheme should be aware of the availability of grants from the NSW State Government to assist owners corporations with at least 10 apartments to install EV charging infrastructure in a common area.

The process takes place over two steps.

Step 1 – Feasibility Assessment

Owners corporations which believe they may be eligible can make application for a feasibility assessment.  The cost for an owners corporation making an application is $2,000.00 plus GST.  The New South Wales Government will cover any other part of the cost of the assessment process.

To be eligible, your strata scheme must:

• be located in NSW;
• be a registered strata scheme under the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015;
• contain 10 or more apartments as a class 2 building;
• have a private and/or common property visitor (or shared) off-street common property parking as part of the strata scheme;
• have no more than 4 EV chargers already installed (for buildings with less than 40 apartments) or no more than 10% of the number of parking spaces for buildings over 40 apartments;
• be able to implement EV charging infrastructure upgrades that can be accessed by all residents.

Step 2 – Grant Implementation

If the Step 1 feasibility assessment report is positive then the owners corporation will be invited to apply for Step 2 of the grants.

The owners corporation  will firstly need to meet for the purpose of passing some necessary motions and to empower the strata committee to obtain quotes for the Step 2 works.  Once those quotes are obtained then they are submitted together with some other documentation to the New South Wales Government for review, and once approved then the owners corporation can proceed to installation.

The government will fund 80% (up to $80,000.00 per building) of eligible infrastructure costs and will also cover 50% (up to $1,200.00 per building) of eligible software subscription costs for two years.

Act Now – Limited EV Government Funding

There is $10 million available to assist eligible NSW strata schemes, but it is on a “first come first served” basis.

It is therefore critical that if your owners corporation is considering undertaking works of this kind, that you begin to consider making application for  the funds which may be available to you as soon as possible.

If your strata scheme requires assistance in any aspect of the process, for example in drafting the necessary motions to take the matter forward, then we would be happy to assist you.

We also specialise in EV by-laws should you require a new EV by-law or a review of an existing EV by-law.

Warwick van Ede I BEc LLM I Lawyer

Since 1990, Warwick has specialised in strata law, property law and litigation. Recognised for his expertise, he is also a NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist in Property Law. In 2021 he was selected to serve on the Property Law Committee of the Law Society of NSW. Profile I LinkedIn

Contact Us

For all strata law advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact our specialist NSW and Sydney strata lawyers here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Under a plan by the City of Sydney  all new apartment blocks will need to provide EV chargers and existing apartment blocks will need to retrofit EV chargers as the Council pushes to drive the uptake of EV’s and drive net zero emissions by 2035.

Retro Fitting EV Chargers

Many older apartment blocks are struggling with the concept of installing EV chargers, a major hurdle for the following reasons:

• The significant costs
• Navigating the current building infrastructure
• Questions about who pays for the new infrastructure?
• Uncertainty over who pays for the electricity used?
• Questions about how the EV owner is charged for electricity used and whether a by-law can introduce a user pays system for electricity costs
• Lack of information about EV charger installation
• Convincing lot owners who don’t own an EV (and may never) to contribute to the cost of installing EV charging infrastructure

The NSW Government’s promise in the upcoming elections to install 30,000 public charging stations across NSW is a positive move in the right direction.

However, in Europe more than 80% and in North America 70% of EV vehicles are charged in homes overnight.

So, perhaps the Government needs to further develop ways to assist with the uptake of retrofitting EV chargers in existing apartment blocks to ensure the City of Sydney (and other areas) reach their target of zero emissions by 2035.

In that regard, the NSW Treasurer recently announced that if the NSW Government is re-elected at the upcoming election, changes will be made to strata laws in NSW to make it easier to install EV Chargers in apartment buildings. The jury is still out on that announcement but it would be a step in the right direction.

For more information refer to these media articles:

• This is evolving quickly City of Sydney accelerates switch to electric vehicles.pdf
• Sydney council pledges to plug in to electric car trend
• 30,000 EV chargers across NSW by 2026

Do You Need an Electric Vehicle (EV) By-law?

Our specialist team of strata lawyers has drafted many by-laws permitting owners to install electric vehicle chargers in strata buildings. Our EV by-law considers and covers all essentials including these key issues:

• Who’s responsible for paying the cost of electricity used to charge electric vehicles
• Any necessary upgrades to the electricity infrastructure in the building
• Overloading the existing electrical infrastructure

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE BY-LAW?

What do you need to consider in your EV Strata By-law?

EV by-law’s prepared by our team permits all owners to install electric vehicle chargers in their car spaces or garages and connect those chargers by cabling leading to the switchboard.

However, there are a number of matters an owners corporation needs to consider when adopting the by-law and permitting owners to install electric vehicle chargers.

Seven EV By-law Considerations

1. Is there sufficient room on the switchboard for additional circuit breakers to be installed for each electric vehicle charger installed by an owner?
2. Is the existing electrical infrastructure on common property sufficient to handle the additional loads generated by electrical vehicle chargers when they charge EVs? If not, who will be liable to pay for the upgrade of that infrastructure?
3. Is it possible for electric vehicle chargers to be separately metered and charged to the owner’s account instead of the owners corporation paying for the electricity that is used by the EV chargers?
4. Do the EV chargers and their use create any risks to the health and safety of other residents?
5. Are there sufficient cable trays in place in the garage or other areas to accommodate the cabling that will need to be run between electric vehicle chargers in lot owners’ garages and the switchboard.
6. Will the electric vehicle chargers be compatible with any load management system in place and the electrical infrastructure that exists in the building?
7. Is it possible for limitations to be placed on the loads drawn by electric vehicle chargers, for example, to limit electric vehicle chargers to single phase chargers drawing no more than 10amps power?

JS Mueller & Co Lawyers EV by-laws deal with some of these considerations and often is tailored to deal with most of them.

CLICK HERE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) BY-LAWS

There has been a substantial increase in the number of electric vehicles (EV) being purchased by residents of strata buildings from cars to bikes and other vehicles.

A Recent Study

A recent study of the ‘future of EV charging in Sydney apartments’ revealed that:

• 48% of respondents plan to have an electric vehicle of some kind, within the next 5 years
• 78% were in favour of installing charging facilities
• 79% would like a user-pays arrangement for individual vehicle spaces

Does an EV Charger Require Owners Corporation Approval?

The fact is that electric vehicles need charging and that means installing electric vehicle chargers in your apartment block is inevitable.

Installation of electric vehicle chargers will normally involve changes to common property that require owners corporation approval through a by-law.

But what should the by-law cover?

There are two key issues which should be covered in the by-law.

First, who pays for the cost of the electricity that will be used by the EV charger?

Second, what happens if the EV chargers requires the building’s electricity infrastructure to be upgraded (e.g. to 3 phase power)? Who pays for the upgrade?

Get your EV By-law from the Experts 

Our specialist team of strata lawyers have drafted many by-laws permitting owners to install electric vehicle chargers in strata buildings. Our EV by-law covers all essentials including:

• Who is responsible for paying for the cost of electricity used to charge electric vehicles
• Any necessary upgrades to the electricity infrastructure in the building

GET YOUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) BY-LAW NOW!

For all strata law advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact our specialist NSW and Sydney strata lawyers here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist