Electric Vehicle Incentives Australia
Federal and state governments are planning to reach the zero-emission goal by 2050. To accelerate the process, governments are looking to increase Electric Vehicle (EV) sales up to 50% by 2030. Federal and local governments have set in place a series of subsidies, grants, rebates, and EV incentives to increase the accessibility of EVs to Australians. This is why many homeowners are beginning to learn more about electric vehicles and EV chargers while searching for incentives that they can use to make their home EV charging project more feasible. To assist you with this we have compiled a list below which will include the most recent grants and incentives by State/Territory.
Australian Capital Territory
Zero Emissions Vehicle Strategy (Stamp duty exemption)
New and used Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) bought after 1 August 2022 are entirely exempt from paying motor vehicle duty (stamp duty). ZEVs are the Battery EVs (BEVs) and Fuel Cell EVs (FCEVs), with the latter being better known as hydrogen vehicles.
Free vehicle registration
Free registration will be granted for two years to all EVs bought in the period from 24 May 2021 to 30 June 2024. To verify eligibility and instructions to apply to this EV incentive you will need to access the official Access Canberra site.
Sustainable household scheme (interest-free loan)
The Sustainable Household Scheme is an interest-free loan program granting $2,000 up to $15,000 for a payment program of 10 years. This scheme can be accessed by homeowners to improve energy efficiency at home by performing a series of improvements that include, among other things, buying an EV or offset their EV charger costs from models like the Ocular LTE, the Zappi, or the Tesla. The scheme is available until 2026.
New South Wales
$3,000 incentive
People living in NSW purchasing a new BEV or FCEV can opt for a $3,000 incentive if the vehicle is worth $68,750 or less. These electric vehicle rebates will be given to the first 25,000 EVs bought by people applying for this incentive. EV owners that have bought their vehicle after 1 September 2021, can claim the rebate.
Stamp duty exemption
All new and used light EVs (under 4.5-tonne gross vehicle mass) costing $78,000 or less are entirely exempt from paying stamp duty. EV owners buying their EVs after 1 September 2021 can apply for this incentive, while the incentive is automatically applied to EVs registered after 15 August 2022. Considering this and the $3,000 incentive, EV purchasers can save up to $5,540.
Queensland
$3,000 incentive
The Queensland Government will be subsidising new EV owners with a $3,000 electric car rebate for new Zero Emission Vehicles acquired after 16 March 2022 featuring a market value of $58,000 or less. The program is available until the $45 million in funds for EV programs have run out. You can check more about eligibility and instructions at the Queensland Government's official website.
Vehicle Registration Duty Savings (Reduced registration)
Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs) and BEVs feature some of the lowest registration costs in Queensland. Traditional ICE vehicles featuring 4 cylinders have to pay a registration fee of 3% or more, while PHEVs and BEVs have a registration fee of 2%.
Victoria
Zero Emissions Vehicle Subsidy ($3,000 incentive)
The Victoria State Government is giving electric vehicle rebates of $3,000 to new EV owners purchasing a BEV or FCEV featuring a market value of $68,740 or less. The program started with 20,000 spots for vehicles purchased after 2 May 2021, but as of 29 September 2022, only 3,699 places are left.
Flat rate for stamp duty
ICE vehicles with a market value of $68,740 are considered luxurious and have to pay a high cost for stamp duty. EVs instead are subsidised and pay a flat-rate tariff of $8.40 for every $200 of market value.
Registration discount
BEVs and FCEVs are eligible for a $100 discount for their annual registration. PHEVs were subsidised in the past by this program, but they have been excluded as of 1 July 2021.
South Australia
$3,000 incentive
The Department of Treasury and Finance is supporting EV owners with a $3,000 incentive for newly bought BEVs and FCEVs registered since 28 October 2021. This subsidy started with 7,000 spots and as of 5 August 2022 there were only 6,745 government incentives for electric cars left. To be eligible the vehicle has to fall under the category of ZEV (BEV or FCEV) and have a market value of $68,740.
Free registration
EVs that are eligible for the $3,000 electric vehicle rebates will automatically be eligible for the Free Registration incentive. This subsidy exempts EV owners from paying the mandatory yearly registration for their vehicle for up to 3 years.
Western Australia
$3,500 incentive
The WA government is encouraging EV uptake with a $3,500 incentive on newly bought ZEVs. This incentive will be available to the first 10,000 EVs registered or for up to three years, whichever comes first. To learn more about available Government incentives for electric cars in Western Australia you can check out the official website of the Department of Transport of WA.
Tasmania
Stamp Duty Waiver for EVs
As of 1 June 2021, the Tasmanian Government has announced its Stamp Duty Waiver for EVs. This subsidy is estimated to reduce purchasing costs by up to $2,000 for new and used EVs bought within 2 years from the announcement of the waiver.
Northern Territory
Stamp Duty Waiver
The Northern Territory Government has also set in place a waiver for the Stamp Duty for all EVs, including PHEVs. This EV incentive exempts the payment fee for selling a new EV featuring a market cost of up to $50,000. The incentive is expected to save $1,500 for EV owners and it is active from 1 July 2022 (when it was launched) up to 30 June 2027.
Registration Waiver
The Northern Territory Government has placed a Registration Waiver for all EVs. This incentive can save up to $91 per year for EV owners registering their vehicles.
Electric Vehicle Charger Grants Scheme
To incentivise EV owners to upgrade their homes with an EV charging station such as the Tesla Gen 3, the Northern Territory Government has created the Electric Vehicle Charger Grants Scheme. This scheme includes 100 residential grants for a value of $1,000. The only requirement is proof of EV ownership.
Future investments in the Australian charging infrastructure
The Australian EV uptake is not only composed of rebates and EV incentives. The federal and state governments are working together to create a suitable EV charging infrastructure to suit the power needs of all EV drivers in the country. This section briefly explains the invested amount and if publicly available, the plan to create this EV charging infrastructure.
- Australian Capital Territory: The ACT government is investing $1.4 million to create 77 new public charging stations.
- New South Wales: The NSW government is budgeting $171 million to create a world-class EV charging infrastructure.
- Queensland: The QLD government is committing $10 million to its EV charging infrastructure scheme, co-founding several proposed charging sites.
- Victoria: The Victoria government is budgeting $19 million to accelerate the creation of a suitable EV charging infrastructure across the region. The government is also funding other ZEV programs.
- South Australia: The SA government is granting $12.35 million to the RAA. The goal is to install 140 charging stations featuring 530 EV chargers in total over 50 different locations.
- Western Australia: the WA government announced its plan to budget $21 million to fund 45 charging sites featuring 90 DC stations in total.
- Tasmanian: The TAS government is funding a charging infrastructure including 20 stations across regional routes and 23 stations in populated and visited areas. The subsidy is currently at $750,000, but the investment could be stimulated up to $1.7 million.
- Northern Territory: The NT Government is currently working on creating a suitable EV charging infrastructure. There are few public details about the amount of funding for this project.
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Carlos is an Electrical Engineer with a background in solar PV designs for residential and commercial projects as well as power systems development. Carlos is a fan of new green technologies and electric cars, and is a technical writer for papers, articles and research in topics related to sustainability and the electric vehicle industry.
