All Posts, EV Charging
Fines for Parking in EV Charging Bays in Australia
Jun
Fines for Parking in EV charging bay without charging is up to $3,200 depending on your location in Australia.
To accelerate the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) across Australia, all levels of Government have made it a priority to provide adequate EV charging infrastructure. So Australian drivers can charge their EVs easily and regularly without worry. The whole idea is to eliminate what we call “range anxiety”. The term “range anxiety” refers to a driver’s concern that their battery will run out of power before they reach their destination, or they can’t find a charging spot somewhere in their journey. Which means their EV won’t have enough “range” to get them to their endpoint.
While some people are looking into solar and battery packages so they can charge up at home, this isn’t viable for everyone.
Range anxiety is one of the biggest factors holding back more wide scale EV adoption in Australia. Australia’s EV charging infrastructure is still playing catch up to the number of EVs on the road, and this deficit creates what’s known as a “charging capacity gap”. So it’s seriously vital to make sure that those EV chargers are available for EVs to charge at.
With limited parking bays available at so many sites where EV chargers are starting to pop up, drivers are unfortunately parking in designated EV charging spots. This patters pattern of driver behaviour is called “ICE’ing”. It’s where drivers of Internal Combustion Engine (“ICE” or traditional petrol or deisel vehicles) park in EV charging bays and don’t use them for charging. This also happens when EVs also park in those charging bays but are not actually charging. And not only is this behaviour is very frustrating, it’s also making it harder to access charge in public bays.
The EV Council report from October last year revealed 3,700 public chargers in 2,100 locations across Australia.
However this is only a small number and supply of public EV chargers currently exceeds demand. And while Australia continues to playing catch up, we will still experience the “charging capacity gap”.
To tackle ICEing, several Australian State Governments have recently adopted hefy fines for occupying EV charging bays without actively charging. These penalties have been enacted in NSW, ACT, Queensland and WA. While the fines differ in dollar amount across each state, they are very significant. Typically, the financial penalties are about 4 times the dollar penalty amount for parking in a disabled parking bay. So these governments are treating ICE’ing very seriously.
Minister Bailey in Queensland also clearly explained why the fines should apply, when the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads implemented the fine in January 2022:
“You can’t leave your car parked at a petrol pump, so why should EV charging bays be any different?”
GET A FREE INSTALLATION QUOTEHow big are the fines for parking in each state?
Let’s start with the biggest and baddest fine!
EV charging penalties in the ACT:
The Australian Capital Territory leading the charge on EV adoption. By 2030 the ACT Government plans to have 80-90% of its new vehicle sales to be zero-emission. In fact, they plan to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035. So it comes as no surprise that they have the highest fine at $3,200.
EV charging fines for parking in Queensland:
The sunny state ranks second, imposing a substantial $2,875 penalty for parking in an inactive EV charging bay. The Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 (QLD) and the Regulation 2009 (QLD) outline the specific fine and legislation.
New South Wales and EV charging penalties:
In NSW the fine is also very significant, coming in at $2,200. The Road Rules 2014 (NSW) contains the specific fine amount and legislation related to parking offences. Specifically Sections 203B and 203C New South Road Rules.
Victorian fines for parking in an EV charging bay:
In VIC, parking in EV charging bays without actively charging the vehicle could lead to a penalty notice OF $370. The Road Safety Act 1986 (VIC) and the Road Safety Road Rules 2017 (VIC) outline the specific fine and legislation.
South Australia (SA)penalties for ICE’ing an EV charging spot:
In SA, parking in an EV charging bay without actively charging the EV is a fine of $250. SA aims to deter “ICE’ing,” where non-charging vehicles occupy EV charging bays, regardless if they are EVs or ICE vehicles.
Western Australia (WA):
In WA, parking in EV charging bays without actively charging the vehicle could lead to a penalty of $100. This penalty applies to both petrol-powered and electric vehicles. The Road Traffic Code 2000 (WA) includes the exact fine amount and legislation regarding parking offenses.
Tasmania:
The penalty for parking in an EV charging bay without actively charging the vehicle is a fine of $63. While this fine may low, it serves as a reminder to motorists about respecting and properly utilizing EV charging infrastructure.
Northern Territory
The penalty for parking in an EV charging bay without actively charging the electric vehicle is a fine of $50. The penalty seem less severe, but it reminds to adhere and respect the availability of EV charging infrastructure.
So in public charging bays, the fines can work to penalise and deter “ICEholes” from parking in EV charging bays.
But what do you do on private property, where you can’t enforce with fines and penalties. What if people ICE charging bays in commercial office or residential strata buildings? How can this issue be addressed? You can’t enforce a fine there unless you’ve got a contractual arrangement with a council authority to enforce penalties.
What alternatives are there?
This is where automated parking bollards can solve ICE’ing on private property. Installing smart parking bollards which stop ICE vehicles from using the EV charging bays as a parking bay solves this pain point.
Smartphone parking bollards allow authorised EV drivers to access the EV charging bay for a reserved booking window. That way the building management or strata manager knows who has registered as an EV driver, and they can give them access to those bays to charge.
This minimises the stress and impact of ICEing on private property.
Our innovative smartphone parking bollards provide a simple and effective solution to prevent ICE’ing of your EV charging bays in your building. With easy-to-use features and minimal impact on the building, these bollards make parking and EV charging a seamless and stress-free experience. To learn more contact us.
