NSW Treasurer Matt Keen hopes electric vehicle fans will vote Liberal in next month’s state election, promising to install 30,000 chargers in NSW by 2026 if they win the election.

More importantly, the coalition government promises to reform a major pain point for urban EV users by reforming strata laws to make it easier to install chargers in apartment blocks.

For public transport users, the Perrottet government is planning EV chargers in commuter car parks at train, bus and ferry stations, in addition to streamlining planning laws to make it easier to install chargers on utility poles and parking meters

Kean said more than a million electric cars are expected to be on NSW roads by 2030, so the government is already investing $209 million in the state’s charging network.

“We want all drivers to be able to charge whenever and wherever they want, whether it’s on a road trip, to work or at home,” said Mr. Kean.

The 30,000 EV chargers will more than double the number of existing petrol stations in NSW. Currently there are about 1000.

Planning and Home Affairs Minister Anthony Roberts said 30% of motorists cannot access on-street parking and will rely on public chargers, while Fair Trade Minister Victor Dominello said they want to develop “Right to Charge” strata reforms , so where apartment owners are willing to pay the cost, requests to install EV chargers cannot be unreasonably denied.

“These reforms will make it as easy as possible for people living in any of NSW’s 84,000 apartment buildings to install a charger, without passing unfair costs on to other residents,” he said.

Other current NSW government incentives for potential EV owners include no stamp duty on EVs under $78,000, $3,000 rebates for EVs under $68,750, and allowing EVs to drive in transit lanes

Behyad Jafari, CEO of the Electric Vehicle Council, endorsed the government’s plans, saying they made NSW one of the countries for EV users.

“We know that new apartment buildings will support EV charging, but we also need to consider the hundreds of thousands of existing apartments and this is where ‘Right To Charge’ laws are vital. Apartment owners willing to pay the installation fee should not have their requests easily rejected by strata commissions,” he said.

“The Electric Vehicle Council’s most recent policy report card rated NSW as the top performing state for EV-supporting policies and we are very pleased to see the trajectory continuing.”

NSW voters head to the polls on Saturday, March 25.