Installing EV Charging in Your Apartment Building: How to Get Strata Approval

Across Australia

EV charging approval is moving at different speeds around the country. NSW has a specific sustainability infrastructure pathway. Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT still rely more heavily on their own owners corporation, body corporate, strata company or corporation approval rules, plus electrical capacity and fire-safety requirements.

The strongest proposal is state-neutral: get a feasibility study, show the electrical load, explain who pays, deal with common property works, and use the voting threshold that applies in your jurisdiction.

What matters first

• The easiest EV approval is the one framed as a building-wide infrastructure plan, not a single-owner favour.
• Load management, fire safety, billing and future capacity matter more than the charger brand.
• Start with a feasibility study before the politics harden.

EV charging tends to stall when the request sounds like a private upgrade. It gets further when it is framed as building infrastructure with a staged plan.

An apartment owner cannot install EV charging by running a cable from the garage wall. More than 2.5 million Australians, or 10.3% of the population, live in apartments, and charging infrastructure is not keeping pace with EV demand.

Recent legislative changes in several states have simplified the approval process. Start with the rules, then follow the approval pathway.

The legislative shift

Strata committee resistance has long delayed EV charging in apartments. Committees could block installations through special-resolution requirements or by refusing to engage. New approval pathways have lowered that barrier in some states.

State	Key Legislation	Approval Threshold	Key Feature
NSW	Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Sustainability Infrastructure) Act 2021	Simple majority (50%+); passes unless 50%+ of votes are against	EV charging classified as "sustainability infrastructure" with lower voting threshold
Victoria	2025 Exclusive Use By-law guidelines	Special resolution (75%) for common property changes, but streamlined process for individual installations	Owners can pay for own charger and wiring; committee simply permits use of common property conduits
Queensland	BCCM Act 2025 updates	Committee can approve installations under $3,000 directly without a general meeting	Transparency-focused: committees encouraged to be proactive
ACT	Unit Titles (Management) Act	Ordinary resolution for sustainability infrastructure	OC rules cannot prohibit sustainability infrastructure
WA	Strata Titles Act approval pathway	Usually standard common property modification rules	Check strata company authority and electrical capacity
SA	Strata or community corporation approval pathway	Usually standard common property modification rules	Check corporation rules and common property authority
TAS	Strata title approval pathway	Usually standard common property modification rules	Check body corporate authority and local electrical requirements
NT	Unit title scheme approval pathway	Usually standard common property modification rules	Check body corporate authority and local electrical requirements

For NSW owners, the Sustainability Infrastructure Act means a committee cannot simply veto an EV charger installation. The motion requires a simple majority vote, rather than the 75% special resolution that previously applied to common property modifications.

Start with a feasibility study

An individual request for a charger gives the committee no information about building capacity or future demand. A feasibility study supplies the data needed to assess electrical overload and a staged installation.

A feasibility study (also called a Load Management Study or LMS) assesses your building's existing electrical capacity, identifies spare capacity available for EV charging, maps the car park layout and optimal cable routing, recommends the appropriate charging technology and load management system, and provides a staged rollout plan that scales as more residents adopt EVs.

The study alone typically costs $5,000–$10,000. In NSW, the EV Ready Buildings Grant program co-funds these studies: the owners corporation pays a fixed $2,000 (ex GST) and the government covers the rest.

The NSW EV Ready Buildings Grant

The NSW Government's EV Ready Buildings program, run by Energy NSW, provides substantial funding support:

Component	What's Covered	OC Cost	Government Funding
Feasibility Study	Electrical assessment, car park mapping, load management plan	$2,000 (fixed)	Covers the remainder (typically $5,000–$10,000)
Infrastructure Upgrade	"Behind-the-meter" electrical backbone: switchboards, cabling, load management systems	20% of costs	80% of costs, up to $80,000 per building

The first major funding round was exhausted in late 2025, but the pathway remains active in 2026 through the EV Site Host EOI and future funding cycles.

Charging technology for apartments

These are the main options for strata buildings:

Charging Level	Power Output	Typical Charge Time (0–80%)	Installation Cost (Per Point)	Best For
Level 1 (Standard Socket)	2.3 kW (10A) to 3.6 kW (15A)	20–40 hours	$500–$1,500	Overnight charging where time isn't critical
Level 2 (Dedicated EVSE)	7.4 kW (single phase) to 22 kW (three phase)	3–8 hours	$2,000–$5,000	Most apartment buildings: the sweet spot of speed and cost
DC Fast Charging	50+ kW	30–60 minutes	$50,000–$100,000+	Generally not practical or cost-effective for residential strata

Path	Time	Approval
Owner-funded point	8–16 weeks	Medium
Shared common chargers	4–9 months	High
Embedded-network add-on	Contract-led	High

Dynamic load management

The biggest concern for strata committees is electrical capacity. Most apartment buildings weren't designed with dozens of EV chargers in mind. Dynamic Load Management (DLM) solves this by intelligently sharing the building's available electrical capacity across all connected chargers.

During evening peak demand, the system slows or pauses charging. When overall building demand drops (typically overnight), charging rates increase automatically. This means a building that might only have capacity for five simultaneous full-speed chargers can safely support 20 or more chargers using DLM, because not all cars need to charge at maximum speed simultaneously.

Charging without a deeded parking spot

Owners without a deeded parking spot, or with a spot that is difficult to cable, may need shared charging. Many buildings are converting one or two visitor bays into EV charging zones with high-speed (22kW) chargers. Residents use an app to book and pay per kilowatt-hour. Some buildings set a small markup on electricity, creating a modest revenue stream for the owners corporation.

Fire safety

Fire safety is a legitimate concern, though EV fire risk is often overstated. The National Construction Code advisory note provides guidance for EV charging installations in both new and existing buildings. Best practice includes installing a master isolation switch accessible from the fire panel, placing chargers where fire department access is straightforward, using collision protection bollards, and following AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules for all installations.

Insurance implications are minimal: most strata insurers have not added EV-specific exclusions, though it's worth confirming with your insurer before installation.

Getting approval in your building

This is the practical pathway:

1. 01
   Survey resident EV interest
2. 02
   Feasibility and load study
3. 03
   Draft sustainability motion
4. 04
   General meeting vote
5. 05
   Licensed install with load management
6. 06
   By-law, billing and monitoring

1. Gauge interest. Survey residents to understand current and future EV ownership. Even a handful of interested owners creates momentum.

2. Get the data. Apply for the NSW EV Ready Buildings Grant (or equivalent in your state) to fund a feasibility study. Present the study results rather than only your desire for a charger.

3. Prepare a motion. Draft a sustainability infrastructure resolution for the next general meeting. Include the feasibility study, proposed costs, user-pays billing model and staged rollout plan.

4. Vote. In NSW, the resolution passes unless 50% or more of the votes cast are against it. That is a lower bar than a special resolution.

5. Install. Engage a licensed electrician experienced in EV installations. Ensure compliance with all NCC requirements and Australian standards.

6. Manage. Set up smart charging software for billing, load management and usage monitoring. Create a by-law governing charger use, maintenance responsibilities and cost recovery.

How UnitBuddy supports the work

UnitBuddy's sustainability assessment includes EV readiness in the building's wellness score. Installed EV infrastructure raises that score and records whether the building can support electric transport.

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Treat EV charging as building infrastructure. A feasibility study, cost model and staged plan give owners something concrete to vote on.

Further reading

• NAT: What should the committee consider if a lot owner wishes to install an EV charger?, via LookUpStrata
• NSW: Has NSW Fire & Rescue issued EV charging guidance for strata?, via LookUpStrata

Keep the scheme file in one place the committee and the manager can both open. Features, pricing, or book a tour.