ARENA Backs $7.4 Million Program to Unlock EV Charging in Apartments

Charging an electric vehicle at home is straightforward if you have a private garage or driveway, but for millions of Australians living in apartments, getting approval from a strata committee can feel like navigating an obstacle course. That barrier has just received major federal backing, with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announcing $2 million in funding towards a $7.4 million program designed to resolve apartment charging headaches.

The funding, awarded under ARENA's Driving the Nation initiative, backs the Strata Assist program developed by Sydney firm Alchemy Charge. The program pairs specialised charging hardware with a streamlined digital platform to guide apartment residents, body corporates and strata managers through the entire approval and installation journey.

Unclogging strata bottlenecks

For many apartment owners and renters, the hurdle has never been the car itself, but the red tape of multi-unit buildings. Common roadblocks include disputes over shared power capacity, disputes over who pays for electrical upgrades, and convoluted voting procedures among owners corporations.

The Strata Assist initiative addresses these hurdles directly by offering load-managed hardware alongside administrative tools that clarify electrical assessments, manage billing transparency, and handle committee voting. The goal is to make installing a charger in a basement bay as hassle-free as installing one in a detached suburban home.

This funding arrives alongside broader national efforts to expand access to charging infrastructure, including coordinated planning through the Electric Vehicle Council to ensure residential, metropolitan kerbside and regional charging networks keep up with surging electric car adoption.

What this means for your novated lease

If you have considered taking advantage of the federal electric car fringe benefits tax exemption through salary packaging, home charging access is often the deciding factor. Public fast chargers are convenient on road trips, but overnight home charging remains the cheapest and most practical way to recharge your car.

Programs like this one make novated leasing an electric vehicle significantly more viable for apartment dwellers:

• Bundle your home charger: When establishing a novated lease on an eligible electric vehicle, you can typically bundle home charging equipment and installation costs directly into your salary packaging budget, paying for them out of your pre-tax income.
• Easier employer and strata alignment: As strata approval pathways become standardised, employees face far less uncertainty when timing vehicle deliveries and arranging charger installations.
• Cheaper running costs: Powering your lease vehicle from home electricity—especially under dedicated overnight EV energy tariffs—keeps running costs drastically lower than commercial charging hubs, maximising the weekly savings delivered by your lease arrangement.