Southbank OCs slow to adopt EV charging infrastructure

Despite electric vehicle (EV) sales reaching record highs in 2024, Southbank is lagging behind in implementing the infrastructure required for residents to easily charge their vehicles.

While there are plenty of options for public charging, there is growing concern that many owners’ corporations (OCs) have been slow to retrofit their buildings, limiting EV owners’ access to private charging.

According to EV consultant and long-time Southbank resident Dr David Hamilton, the benefits of retrofitting buildings with “state-of-the-art” facilities have not been fully appreciated by many OCs.

Dr Hamilton has conducted a large number of scoping studies across Melbourne. However, he has only completed five in Southbank. He believes this is a missed opportunity, particularly given the added value that EV charging capabilities can bring to a building.

In Australia, EV sales hit record levels in 2024, with more than 114,000 units sold, accounting for 9.7 per cent of all new car sales. Victoria alone is tracking at around 7.5 per cent of EV share in the first half of 2024, up from under one per cent in 2020.

The founder of Wattrix, Adam Farrugia, believes that while demand for EV charging is growing, uptake is still sluggish.

Wattrix specialises in retrofitting buildings to support EV charging, and Mr Farrugia has completed more than 70 feasibility and technical design studies, including 16 specifically in Southbank and Docklands.

“Many believe Southbank lacks sufficient public EV charging, but the real gap isn’t the number of chargers – it’s access to charging where residents actually live,” he said.

The public network around Southbank is growing, but apartment dwellers remain locked out of daily EV access unless their OC acts. Without leadership from OCs, EV readiness doesn’t happen.

“That disconnect is Southbank’s real infrastructure bottleneck.”

Mr Farrugia believes that misconceptions have stymied the growth of EV charging infrastructure in Southbank.

“Many OCs are held back by fearmongering about fire risks, which are not supported by the data or the ability to manage those risks. In fact, Internal combustion engine cars are 20 times more likely to catch fire in an apartment car park than EVs,” he said.

“There are misunderstandings around cost structures and the option of staged rollouts. Many also believe that EVs ‘aren’t selling’ or that mass adoption is far off – and a wait-and-see approach to government funding may never materialise.”

This poses a risk, according to Mr Farrugia, who said that delaying action on EV readiness would lead to contractor shortages as demand explodes, significantly higher retrofit costs due to urgency, and a growing risk of substandard, non-compliant installs.

“We’re already seeing poor-quality installations being rushed into buildings across Melbourne. Early action enables quality planning and long-term savings.” •