Joint Statement from the EV Industry - Australia Can Reduce Fuel Vulnerability by Accelerating EV Charging Infrastructure
Evie, EVX, Energy Australia, AGL, Smart Energy Council, NECA, Australian Energy Council, Nexa
23 April 2026
Australia’s recurring fuel shocks are a warning. They show how exposed households, businesses, and the broader economy remain to imported fuel, global price volatility, and supply chain disruption. This is not just a transport issue. It is an energy security issue, a cost-of-living issue, and an economic resilience issue.
As businesses in Australia’s EV sector and key industry stakeholders, we are committed to helping solve it.
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. 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, and create the skilled jobs needed for building and maintaining this critical infrastructure and services.
Australia now needs a clearly defined partnership between government, regulators, networks, and industry.
We congratulate the Victorian Government for becoming the first jurisdiction to explicitly commit to removing barriers so the competitive market can deliver, a step all governments - state, federal and territory - should follow. The NSW Government’s recently announced EV Strategy is also a welcome initial step.
We are committed to doing our part.
Our commitment
As charging operators and service providers, we collectively commit to:
- Investing at scale in public charging infrastructure across metropolitan, suburban, regional and highway locations, with a focus on reliable, accessible and affordable services.
- Building a competitive market that drives innovation, improves customer experience and delivers better long-term outcomes for consumers.
- Working with governments, local councils, communities and industry on site identification and deployment, including support for reserved bays and place-based rollout planning.
- Supporting open access and interoperability, including establishing roaming models and consumer-friendly charging experiences.
- Helping deliver the scale of infrastructure Australia needs, including a major expansion of both fast and destination charging to support EV uptake this decade.
- Partnering in good faith with government and regulators to enable a coordinated approach across government, local councils, and industry that preserves contestability, unlocks private capital and ensures charging is available where Australians need it most.
What we need from government
To turn this commitment into delivery, we need government and regulators to focus on enabling the market, not replacing it.
We call on the Commonwealth, state, and territory governments, and energy regulators to:
- Provide policy certainty and protect competition
Maintain a clear separation between regulated monopoly network businesses and the competitive public charging market. This includes a moratorium on ring-fencing waivers and rule changes that allow monopoly DNSPs to own or operate public charging assets. This is essential to preserve investor confidence and avoid crowding out private capital. - Enable a coordinated, partnership-led rollout of EV charging infrastructure
Lead a nationally aligned, partnership-based approach with local government, councils, industry, and electricity networks to coordinate EV charging deployment. This should be supported by shared data and transparent planning, ensuring infrastructure is delivered efficiently where it is most needed, including across regional and remote communities. - Fix grid connection bottlenecks
Streamline, standardise, and innovate connection processes across DNSPs, require transparent service standards and timelines, improve data transparency, and treat EV charging connections as a service with fit-for-purpose standards. A “make ready” connection service would address slow, costly and unpredictable connections, which are one of the biggest barriers to rollout today. - Reform tariffs and technical settings
Enable tariffs that recognise the value of smart, flexible charging infrastructure, including pricing models that support low-utilisation sites, solar soak, and efficient network use. - Unlock private investment through competition to reduce the cost burden on Australians
Enable large-scale private investment in EV charging infrastructure by removing regulatory barriers, to ensure a stable and competitive market. Unlocking private capital will accelerate deployment while avoiding additional costs being passed on to households and businesses already facing high fuel and energy prices.
Why this matters now
Australia has already shown how consumers respond when they are given a pathway to escape high and volatile energy costs. Millions of households invested in rooftop solar to take control of their bills, and battery uptake is now following the same pattern. Transport is the next frontier. EVs allow Australians to shift away from imported, price-volatile fuel and toward locally generated electricity, especially when paired with solar and smart charging.
But EV adoption will only accelerate if charging infrastructure keeps pace.
That is why this is a practical energy security response to the fuel crisis. A well-functioning charging market will reduce exposure to oil shocks, lower transport costs over time, improve resilience and support Australia’s broader energy transition.
The private sector is ready to do the heavy lifting. What we need from government is certainty, delivered via a clear policy framework and program that removes bottlenecks, unlocks investment, and ensures networks enable the transition through timely connections, proactive engagement, transparent processes and efficient tariffs.
If we get this right, Australia can build a world-class EV charging network quickly, competitively, and at least cost to consumers. If we get it wrong, we risk slower rollout, weaker investment, and higher long-term costs borne by taxpayers and electricity users.
Our message is simple: the fuel crisis should be a catalyst for action. Industry is ready to invest. Government now needs to provide the policy settings that allow Australia’s EV charging network to be built bigger, faster and better.
ENDS
Please see the below quotes:
Stephanie Bashir, CEO Nexa Advisory
“EVs are the next frontier for Australians wanting to take control of their cost of living, now the we have shown the world what gets people investing in rooftop solar and batteries. To make that a real possibility for everyone, charging infrastructure has to roll out - everywhere, fast.
"The industry that this would take stands ready to make it happen. The government has to do its part. That is about policy not dollars. It's about political will not budgets. 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.”
Chris Mills, CEO Evie Networks
"Evie has invested over $100 million in public charging across Australia. With BEV numbers up 40% year on year and usage on our network surging, Australia needs significantly more charging infrastructure of all types. A thriving competitive market is essential to deliver the infrastructure and service that Consumers need. Evie is ready to continue investing at scale, provided policy and regulatory settings address the current barriers to deployment and support fair competition."
Sean McGinty, Chair of EVX
"EVX has delivered over $10m worth of kerbside chargers in the last few years. The Victorian Governments in the recent announcement will help us deliver at least that again in Victoria alone, if we get the settings right.
"DNSP monopolies control 90% of the costs to the EV charging market, and for good reason they are currently not allowed to own charging infrastructure in competition. The private sector has delivered kerbside charging in NSW in spades, and can do the same in Victoria if the DNSPs work with us rather than being obstructive.
"The spectre of monopoly DNSPs, which control 90% of the input costs of EV charging, entering the competitive EV charging market is slowing investment in EV infrastructure. Perversely creating the problem they’re spruiking to be saviour of.
"The French Competition regulator has published warnings about allowing DNSPs entering the EV charging market, and the allowance of creating a middle man. We need to learn from the failures from other markets."
Jane Butler, GM Electrification and Innovation, AGL:
“AGL sees the growth in EVs as an enormous opportunity for Australia. To capture the EV opportunity, we need the right policy settings to support timely and effective development of charging infrastructure that keeps cost to consumers as a central tenet.
Supplying around 4.7 million customer services means retailers like AGL have a unique perspective and relationship with our customers and we are committed to consider their experience and cost.”
Jackie Trad, CEO Clean Energy Council
“The Clean Energy Council supports the EV charging industry and is calling on governments to adopt nationally clear policies that make it easier to build and expand charging networks. Reliable, widely available charging gives people the confidence to purchase electric vehicles, helping Australians make the switch. Support for the charging industry will drive investment, create jobs, support local energy use and improves the nation’s resilience to withstand global fuel supply disruptions”.
David McElrea, Chief Advocacy Officer Smart Energy Council:
“Right now, the biggest barrier to rolling out EV charging at scale isn’t demand or technology — it’s the basic plumbing of the system. We’re seeing wildly inconsistent connection costs and delays of up to two years, which is holding back investment that’s ready to go. If we fix connections, tariffs and pricing signals, private capital will do the heavy lifting — delivering charging faster and at lower cost to taxpayers and energy consumers.”
Tesla comments provided:
"If there is a market insufficiency, it lies not in a lack of commercial interest, but rather in DNSP-controlled barriers: limited visibility of hosting capacity, delays in connection approvals, and inconsistent or unaffordable access charges.
"Addressing these root causes through regulatory reform is where DNSPs can most constructively support EV uptake... DNSPs have a vital role to play as enablers of market-led solutions. They should not be permitted to act as default providers in the absence of proven market failure."
Click here to view a submission by Tesla to the AER on the application by CPU for a waiver under the Ring-fencing Guideline (Electricity Distribution).
Contact details:
Stephanie Bashir, CEO Nexa Advisory
Mobile: 0402060120