Charging forward: understanding OC responsibilities with regards to Electric Vehicles

If there is one thing to get unit owners in apartment buildings fired up, it is the issue of electric vehicles in strata schemes.

In Canberra, 28% of people live in multi-unit apartment buildings[1], a number which is only set to grow. At the same time, EV ownership is also rising nationally, but especially amongst Canberrans who are benefiting from the ACT Government’s pro-EV policies. These clashing trends stand to create difficulties for Unit Owners and Owners Corporations alike when many apartment buildings lack the physical and administrative capacity to deal with EVs.

Electric vehicles, including cars, bikes and scooters, can create problems for apartment buildings with regards to safety and appropriate electrical infrastructure. These personal electric vehicles would, in theory, be parked and charged in the allocated parking spots of the Unit owners they belong to, most likely in building basements. However, many apartment buildings, especially older buildings, lack the electrical capability to charge multiple EVs.

Many have also raised concerns about fire risks from the lithium-ion batteries that charge EVs. In June 2024, the ABC reported that Australia’s waste management facilities are dealing with up to 12,000 fires a year caused by lithium-ion batteries.[2] In 2022 the Hume recycling centre was damaged significantly by a lithium-ion battery fire.[3] Given this context, it is plain to see how hysteria surrounding these batteries can arise. It is important to remember that the batteries in cars are generally of a much better quality than cheaper e-bikes and e-scooters, therefore being much less likely spontaneously combust. In fact, between 2010 and September 2023 only 6 EVs caught fire in Australia, making EVs statistically less likely to combust than petrol vehicles.[4] This being said, ensuring the safety of such EVs should still be a priority for Owners Corporations.

The National Construction Code requires new buildings to be built ‘EV-ready’ and have electric vehicle charging capability as of 2022.[5] Older buildings also have to retrofit electrical infrastructure to meet this standard. [6] Currently, the NCC only requires buildings to have the electric capability to install EV chargers and doesn’t actually mandate their installation.

What does this mean for Owners Corporations?

As more and more Unit Owners expect to be able to charge their vehicle on the common property, all Owners Corporations should consider what ‘EV-ready’ looks like for their strata scheme. There have been amendments to the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (‘UTMA’)[7] in 2023 that update the processes for installing sustainability infrastructure by Owners Corporations. Now, an OC cannot unreasonably withhold consent for the approval of the installation of sustainability infrastructure on the common property or a unit and also cannot make a rule prohibiting the installation, operation or maintenance of this sustainability infrastructure. This provision in the Unit Titles Legislation Amendment Act 2023[8] promotes the planning for ‘EV ready’ buildings by Owners Corporations and reduces red tape in the installation of EV chargers.

V2G, the process where energy generated from the battery of an EV can be sold back to the grid during peak demand, was trialled in Canberra in one of the world’s largest tests of the technology in the ACT Governments’ REVS 2020 project. [9]The federal government has now announced that the first V2G chargers will be approved for use by Christmas 2024.[10] The wider introduction of V2G could give rise to thoughtful and productive charging systems in apartment buildings, helping save on electricity consumption.

How EVs can be compatible with Owners Corporations is a complex and emerging question. Please contact Proctor Legal if you wish to discuss an issue regarding Strata and EVs.

[1] ACT Government, ‘EV Charging in multi-unit buildings’, Everyday Climate Choices (Webpage) <https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/transport-and-travel/zero-emissions-vehicles/ev-charging-in-multi-unit-buildings>.

[2] Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ‘Lithium-ion batteries are causing more than 10,000 fires a year in Australia. Waste chiefs say an 'urgent' management plan is needed’, Newspaper (online, 20 June 2024) < https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-20/lithium-ion-batteries-10000-fires-australia-waste-management/104002912>.

[3] ACT Government, ‘Investigation released into fire at Hume recycling facility’, ACT Government City Services (Webpage) < https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/news/news-and-events-items/april-2023/fire-at-hume-recycling-facility#:~:text=of%20the%20fire%3F-,What%20was%20the%20cause%20of%20the%20fire%3F,report%20specifically%20listed%20lithium%20batteries>.

[4] Queensland Government, ‘Electric vehicles fact check’, Department of Energy and Climate (Webpage) <https://www.energyandclimate.qld.gov.au/energy/vehicles-and-energy/electric-vehicles/fact-check>.

[5] ACT Government, ‘Making your strata building EV ready’, Everyday Climate Choices (Information Sheet, 2022) < https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2155498/2022-Making-your-strata-building-EV-ready.pdf>.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (ACT).

[8] Unit Titles Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (ACT).

[9] ACT Government, ‘The future of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) in Australia’, Everyday Climate Choices (Webpage, 31 March 2023) < https://www.climatechoices.act.gov.au/events-news/news/the-future-of-vehicle-to-grid-v2g-in-australia>

[10] James Purtill, ‘V2G, which can turn EVs into giant home batteries, is coming to some cars in 2025’ Australian Broadcasting Corporation (online, 15 November 2024) <https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-11-15/vehicle-to-grid-v2g-electric-vehicle-technology-soon-here/104498552>