Australia has 85 per cent more EV fast chargers than two years ago

A new report has revealed there are 85 per cent more electric vehicle fast chargers in Australia than there were two years ago, and 700 more are on their way over the next five years.

With the EV debate consistently focused on two things: driving range and infrastructure, online financial broker Savvy has assessed the national picture – breaking down state by state how many chargers there are now, and how many are expected in the years to come.

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How many public charging stations are there in Australia?

As of January 2022, there are 293 fast charging locations (50kW or above) around Australia – an increase of 85 per cent compared to August 2020 – and 1580 regular charging stations (below 50kW), up 29 per cent since the same time.

"People have gotten used to not having to wait for anything,” said Bill Tsouvalas, Savvy’s Managing Director. “When we fill up our regular cars at the pump, it takes five minutes max, in and out. Who is going to be willing to spend an hour charging their car on a long journey? What if you get there and all the bays are full?

“I'm still not convinced this problem has been solved. We are seeing inroads now however, with the increase in 350kW ultra-rapid chargers and cars coming out that can take advantage of that. So, my prediction is that when prices drop below $50k and charging times drop below 15 minutes, you can expect a real EV boom."

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How many are planned for the future?

According to the Electric Vehicle Council, based on estimates of funding from state and federal governments, 700 new fast charging locations will be added across Australia over the next five years. Each location will have multiple charging points to accommodate many vehicles.

Other state government programs will increase the density of fast charging equipment currently in use, so more cars can take advantage of charging at the same time.

The previous Coalition government pledged $24.55 million to co-funding 400 fast-chargers across approximately 200 sites, mainly in metropolitan locations.

The new Labor Government announced a pre-election policy of a $39.3 million investment in a national electric vehicle charging network to establish charging stations every 150 kilometres on Australia’s major transport routes – with the amount set to be matched by the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA).

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Where are they now, and where will new ones be located?

Currently there are 93 fast chargers in NSW, 67 in VIC and 63 in QLD. WA has 31, TAS has 18 and SA 14. At the back of the pack are the ACT with five and NT with just two.

Meanwhile, when it comes to slower chargers, NSW has 463, VIC 363, and QLD 262. WA is next with 202, followed by SA with 180, TAS with 67, ACT with 29 and NT with 14.

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In the coming years, NSW will commit $131m to co-fund 1000 fast charging bays across 250 locations, ACT will do the same for 20 new fast chargers and QLD’s “Queensland Electric Superhighway” will see 18 new fast-charging sites added at a cost of $2.75m.

The NT has committed to funding fast-chargers, with details still to come, while SA has pledged $13.4m to add 28 new regional fast charging stations.

TAS, meanwhile, will provide $600,000 to build additional fast charging stations in the state, and WA has pledged $20 million to fund points across 45 sites in regional areas.

The Victorian Government has promised $6 million to co-fund fast charging stations across 50 regional locations.