The Electric Vehicle Council said delaying the introduction of EV charging provisions for new residential buildings such as houses and townhouses under the National Construction Code (NCC) undermines Australia’s efforts to electrify transport and reach climate targets.
Commonwealth, State and Territory Building Ministers have agreed to pause and streamline the NCC until at least mid-2029.
As part of this decision, EV charging provisions and residential energy efficiency changes will not be introduced at this time.
Electric Vehicle Council CEO Julie Delvecchio said hitting the brakes on requirements that make it easier and more affordable for new homeowners to have smarter EV chargers at home undermines Australia’s efforts to electrify households to reach climate targets.
“This is a missed opportunity to embed practical, low-cost electrification measures into our building standards at a time when urgent action is needed to achieve the nation’s 2035 emissions reduction goals,” she said.
“Simple measures like a dedicated circuit for EV charging at homes which would add only $200 to the cost of a new home while making it easier for Australians to charge their cars at home and escape the eye-watering cost of petrol have been left out of the updated Code.
"Every home built without these provisions will be more expensive to retrofit later, creating unnecessary barriers for Australian families wanting to make the switch to electric vehicles.
After considering advice from the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), building ministers discussed the proposed provisions in NCC 2025 and agreed no further residential changes to the NCC, except for essential quality and safety measures, will be made until mid‑2029.
Exemptions will only apply to serious issues and changes that can’t be deferred until the next edition of the code. Other changes will be held over.
Ministers did support mandatory onsite solar photovoltaic systems to support net zero ambitions, condensation mitigation, car park fire safety provisions for commercial and apartment buildings and water management in commercial and apartment buildings to prevent water ingress.
Building ministers agreed that there is potential to improve and modernise the NCC, ensuring a fit‑for‑purpose regulatory environment that supports the industry to build more homes.
They agreed on work underway including removing barriers to the uptake of modern methods of construction and to consider ways to streamline and use AI to improve useability of the NCC for trades, small businesses and households.