Lack of chargers stalls grand plans for electric cars

As electric vehicle uptake surges, Australia’s charging network is failing to keep up with growing demand, leaving drivers queuing at charging stations and the industry demanding governments clear “lumbering monopolies” in the energy sector.

In Australia, there are 45 electric cars for every charging point compared with a global average of 11, according to the International Energy Agency. Some in the industry claim the rollout is being slowed down by the electricity network providers, which own the grid’s poles and wires, and which are seeking to expand into the charging market.

“Industry stands ready to support Australians who urgently want more electric vehicle charging infrastructure as part of the EV boom,” said David McElrea, the Smart Energy Council’s acting chief executive. “However, it can take up to two years and $350,000 for networks to connect new chargers to the grid.”

His comments were echoed by a Tesla spokesperson, who said the rollout of kerbside chargers was being slowed by high fees and long connection ties imposed by the network owners.

Sean McGinty, whose company EVX builds and operates kerbside chargers, said the network monopolies control 90 per cent of the costs to the EV charging market, and there was “good reason” that they were not allowed to own charging infrastructure in competition.

“The spectre of monopoly DNSPs [distribution network service providers] entering the competitive EV charging market is slowing investment in EV infrastructure. Perversely, they are creating the problem they’re spruiking to be saviour of.”

EVX is one of a dozen companies and industry organisations to sign a joint statement calling for Australian governments to establish clear rules preventing energy networks from entering the charging sector and requiring them to improve connection times and provide clear fee structures.

“We stand ready to invest, build and operate the public charging infrastructure Australia needs to support the shift away from volatile imported fuels and toward locally powered transport,” says that statement, whose signatories include the Australian Energy Council, the Smart Energy Council as well as Tesla and AGL.

”Under the right policy settings, the private sector is ready to deploy billions of dollars of cumulative investment by 2030 to expand Australia’s charging network at speed and scale. Australia now needs a clearly defined partnership between government, regulators, networks and industry.“

Stephanie Bashir, chief executive of the industry consultancy Nexa Advisory, said the sector had the capacity to rapidly expand Australia’s network of chargers if governments provided certainty. “Bottom line – private sector investment will come if competition is enabled and protected. Innovation at speed and scale is not a place for lumbering monopolies or political interference and vested interests.”

Energy Networks Australia, whose members include giants such as Ausgrid, Essential Energy and Transgrid, agrees EV charger deployment is lagging in Australia, but argues that it would be accelerated if its members were allowed to fully enter the market.

It has submitted a rule change request to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to help accelerate the process, while in NSW the networks are lobbying the Minns government to scrap rules preventing them from expanding into EV charging.

Emma Shanks, chief external affairs officer for Energy Networks Australia, said the networks were not seeking to enter the fast-charging market, but were focused on pole-mounted chargers commonly seen in urban areas, which ENA believes should be treated like any other electricity infrastructure. Shanks said its members wanted to be allowed to install and maintain the chargers, but not to act as retailers selling electricity from them.

She said the high costs and wait times referred to in the public statement probably referred to larger fast-charging stations, which in some cases needed as much power as a 12-storey apartment building and required upgrades to grid infrastructure.

Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the government was looking closely at the charging network.

“Australia’s EV charging network increased by 20 per cent in 2025 – it’s clear that the private sector is entering this market as more and more Australians take up cheaper to run, cleaner cars,” Bowen said.

“There remains work to do in the more remote and regional areas – this is some of the most challenging areas and the government sees it as an important public service.”

The war in Iran has prompted a surge in demand for EVs in Australia. One in seven cars sold in March was electric, while EV sales around the world leapt by 20 per cent last year, with around 21 million cars sold.

Over Easter, the popularity of the vehicles left many drivers in queues for charging stations on the road between Sydney and Melbourne.

Dr Stephen Lightfoot, a vice president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, said he had been “feeling pretty smug” about driving between NSW and Victoria over the long weekend, knowing he would save money by avoiding fuel costs in his EV.

But the drive was complicated by long waits for chargers along the highway from Sydney to Melbourne, exacerbated by faulty charging equipment and the need to download different phone apps to access power at different charge sites.

The difficulty in accessing chargers added to range anxiety and slowed electrification of the fleet despite the savings offered by EVs, he said.

“Emissions for light vehicles is 10 per cent of our total emissions and we have to get that down. At present, queues like the ones we saw at Easter are playing on people’s minds.”

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