Short answer
Yes — EV chargers can be installed in NSW strata, but because a charger usually draws on common property (the car park, the wiring and the building’s electrical supply), it needs the owners corporation’s approval. That approval often comes with a by-law covering installation, metering and maintenance. Importantly, EV charging counts as sustainability infrastructure, so a scheme-wide charging proposal can be approved at a lower voting threshold than the special resolution normally required for changes to common property.
Why approval is needed
Fitting a charger in a strata car park generally means running power across or through common property and drawing on the building’s shared electrical supply. Because that touches common property, an individual owner can’t simply install one — the owners corporation has to approve it. In practice the approval is usually granted alongside a by-law that spells out who installs the charger, how the electricity it uses is metered and paid for, and who is responsible for maintaining it.
The easier approval path
EV charging is treated as sustainability infrastructure under NSW law. That matters because a change to common property would normally need a special resolution (75% support), which is hard to reach. A sustainability infrastructure resolution instead passes unless more than half the votes cast are against it — a much lower bar, designed so a few objectors can’t block a sensible upgrade. Many schemes now use this route to plan building-wide EV readiness rather than approving chargers one at a time.
Metering, cost and by-laws
Who pays for the charger and the power it draws is usually settled in the approval and the by-law, not left to chance — but the exact metering and cost arrangements vary by building and are a matter for each scheme to set. As a general principle, the owner or user of the charger bears the running cost, and a common-property rights by-law is commonly used where one owner gets exclusive use of a charging point. Confirm the specific arrangements and any by-law wording for your scheme before you commit.
Running the approval properly
Getting a charger approved means putting the right motion, at a validly convened meeting, and recording the decision and any by-law correctly. A self-managed scheme can run the whole EV-charging approval through Straita — preparing the resolution, putting it to the vote, and keeping the record of what was approved and by whom — so the installation rests on a clean, defensible decision.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — common property changes, by-laws and sustainability infrastructure.
- NSW Fair Trading — Sustainability infrastructure in strata — installation, financing and by-laws.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes — general strata guidance.