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QLD: Q&A EV Charging in your high rise. What do you need to know?

The LookUpStrata Team
EV Charging

This article is about EV charging stations in strata high rise and apartment buildings.

Table of Contents:

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Question: Can we place an EV charging station in a visitor car parking space? Alternatively, can the body corporate buy or lease a lot owner’s parking space for EV charging?

Answer: Decreasing visitor car spaces could potentially violate your development approval.

Visitor spaces are commonly designated as common property and are typically incorporated into your development consent, often with a minimum requirement. Decreasing these spaces could potentially violate your development approval (DA).

If contemplating adjustments to a lot owner’s parking space, engage in transparent communication to discuss the proposal, potentially negotiating lease terms or obtaining consent for installation. It’s important to note that altering the use of a private space to public may necessitate local government approvals.

Altogether Group E: aparker@altogethergroup.com.au

This post appears in the March 2024 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: If a lot owner’s enclosed garage has an individually metered GPO point, can they trickle feed their electric vehicle with the Level One 3-pin plug supplied with the car?

A recent article QLD: Electric vehicles states:

“Most of the time, owners will require the consent of the body corporate to install an EV charger on common property. There may be a by-law regulating the installation or it may be considered as an ‘improvement’ to common property.”

If a lot owner’s enclosed garage has an individually metered GPO point, can they trickle feed their electric vehicle with a Level One 3-pin plug supplied with the car? This requires no improvement to common property. Essentially, it is no different to plugging in a vacuum cleaner to clean the car. What situations aren’t covered by ‘most of the time’?

Answer: The situation is typically considered as falling within the rights of the lot owner.

In the scenario you described, where a lot owner possesses a private enclosed garage with an individual General Power Outlet (GPO) point that is metered independently, the situation is typically considered as falling within the rights of the lot owner. In such cases, where the installation does not involve any modification or improvement to the common property, it is akin to plugging in any other electrical device, such as a vacuum cleaner.

The mention of ‘most of the time’ in the initial statement refers to the general practice where owners seek consent from the body corporate for installing an EV charger on common property. However, individual enclosed garages with their own metered GPO points often fall outside common property regulations.

It’s important to note that circumstances may vary, and specific cases could involve unique considerations. If there are any specific by-laws or regulations applicable to your property, it’s advisable to review them to ensure compliance. Additionally, situations that might fall outside of ‘most of the time’ could include instances where there are restrictive by-laws, unique property arrangements, or specific considerations outlined by the body corporate.

Altogether Group E: eaustin@altogethergroup.com.au

This post appears in the February 2024 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: The chairman of another body corporate has told me their insurance won’t cover a fire in the building if it is started by an electric vehicle. Is this correct?

I have just been told by the chairman of another body corporate that their insurance won’t cover a fire in the building if it was started by an electric vehicle. I don’t know the precise details, but is this correct? It is a worrying time, given the growth in electric vehicles. Our body corporate has received enquiries from owners about installing electic vehicle charging facilities. How concerned should we be?

Answer: This is a potential “emerging risk” that may, in the future, attract policy exclusions, conditions, premium loadings or higher excesses in the future if insurers suffer major losses.

In the wake of a global shift towards sustainable transportation, Australia is witnessing a significant increase in electric vehicle (EV) usage. With governmental policies encouraging this shift, it’s projected that by 2040, all new vehicle sales will be electric. But what does this mean for strata insurance?

We’ve observed that most insurers have yet to implement specific exclusions or conditions related to electric vehicles and charging stations. For our clients, this means there are currently no notable insurance restrictions or compliance issues regarding EV storage or charging station installation.

While the insurance industry hasn’t yet been significantly impacted, potential risks associated with EVs are on the rise:

These factors represent ’emerging risks’ that could lead to future policy exclusions, premium adjustments, or increased excesses if major losses occur. Notwithstanding, strata buildings should be aware that these conditions may evolve, leading to possible policy exclusions, adjustments in premiums, or increased excesses, especially if significant losses are experienced by strata insurers.

To safeguard against risks, we recommend strata buildings consider the following:

As the EV landscape evolves, Strata Insurance Solutions remains committed to providing our clients with the latest information and tailored insurance solutions. Stay ahead of the curve and ensure your strata is prepared for the electric vehicle revolution.

Tyrone Shandiman Strata Insurance Solutions E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au P: 1300 554 165

This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisenent Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.

This post appears in the October 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: Our body corporate is looking at installing an EV charging station near the main switchboard. How do we charge the usage back to users?

Answer: We provide a few options plus their pros and cons for charging usage of EV chargers back to users in an apartment building.

There are a few ways the body corporate could charge the usage of the EV charging station back to users.

  1. The body corporate can install charging station metering equipment. These will record the exact amount of kWh consumed by each vehicle and can charge it back to the individual owners. This method requires a significant initial investment in metering equipment but provides the most accurate billing.

  2. Assign a flat rate or scale rate fee specific to each vehicle or owner. This method is much simpler to implement as it involves minimal to no setup cost. However, it is less accurate than metering and can result in over or undercharging users.

  3. Install access control measures such as swipe cards, keypads, or RFID systems on the charging station to prevent unauthorised use. Controlling access would allow the body corporate to charge a one-time fee or bill a common area usage fee with usage thus charged back to the offender or shared amongst all owners if unauthorised access is detected.

It is important to consider the total load demand on the building when installing an EV charging station to ensure the station doesn’t exceed the available power or overload the main switchboard. It is also important to consider the potential for future requests for additional charging stations and plan accordingly to ensure the switchboard and infrastructure can support these extra loads.

Finally, It’s important to consult with professionals such as electricians or energy consultants to ensure the charging station installation and billing system are appropriate for your community. Additionally, discuss these options with the members of your body corporate and gather their feedback. The feedback can help you determine the most suitable charging method for your specific situation.

Sarah Price Altogether Group E: sprice@altogethergroup.com.au

This post appears in the June 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: Can the body corp have a contract with an individual lot regarding power supply to a car charging port without disclosing the contract, or any approval from lot owners?

Can the body corp have a contract with an individual lot regarding power supply to a car charging port without disclosing the contract, or any approval from lot owners? As the building has mains power and solar panels, the Committee hasn’t disclosed how they would work out a contract like this. Who is responsible for the decision making since all lot owner’s payments contribute to the common property power bill?

Answer: It’s a crazy brave body corporate that enters into an agreement with a lot owner, or third party, without approval.

Fortuitously, a lot of this question is easy to answer – a body corporate cannot do anything (or virtually nothing) without making a decision. That is, in the form of a resolution passed at a general meeting or by the committee.

It’s a crazy brave body corporate that enters into an agreement with a lot owner, or third party, without approval – because what is being banked on is that approval will be given later, by the lot owners or the committee.

So, what sort of decisions may be required about these issues? Well, common property power points, supply power to the common property. Reasonable, intermittent use of them, for activities normally associated with the use of the common property is what would be expected; e.g. plugging in a phone charger when using the BBQ to ensure that Spotify keeps the tunes coming as you flip your burgers. That 500mA draw at 12v for 4 hours in the Pool / BBQ area is going to cost about as much as a single Tic Tac.

Conversely, hooking up your EV at 7.4kW per hour, overnight, in the common property basement would leave your body corporate with very little change left over from a folding lobster.

Climate consciousness is no excuse for theft, so locking up common property power points being (ab)used for EV charging is pretty reasonable I would say; whether a formal decision has been made or not (and one should be made, in due course, for completeness).

I’d love to hear the disgruntled lot owner’s argument on this one i.e. ‘Adjudicator, the body corporate locked up a power point that I was using to charge my EV in the basement. I pay my levies why can’t I use the power point?’

Well, my exalted eco warrior, because your neighbours are contributing to the cost of charging your car, through their levies. They don’t know about it and I suspect they don’t think they should have to subsidise your costs to charge your car!

As for the supply of utility services to a lot owner, a body corporate can do that subject to the lot owner’s agreement and provided that the body corporate is covering costs and not running a business.

The issues usually complained of is that one lot owner is getting preferential treatment, because they are getting the ‘cheap’ solar power during the day, or they get access to the limited infrastructure to the detriment of other owners.

Given the feed in tariff’s these days for solar, any body corporate with half a brain would be trying to sell any excess that would otherwise be exported back to the grid, if not consumed, at a rate equal to the reference rate, less an appropriate discount.

The ‘profits’ from this arrangement being rolled back into paying off the solar PV installation, and maintenance etc.

As for preferential access to power points, the solution is usually to bake a new, bigger, cake rather than fighting over the crumbs of the old one. Once that is done, the body corporate recovers the costs of the new infrastructure in the metered electricity supplied to the charging points.

To this owner I would say, jump in and search your body corporate records, find out what is going on, then propose some committee resolutions and go to a committee meeting. In other words, get informed, then get involved.

Michael Kleinschmidt Bugden Allen Graham Lawyers E: michael.kleinschmidt@bagl.com.au P: 07 5406 1280

This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: Having just ordered a Tesla, I submitted an application to the body corporate to install an EV charger in our exclusive use area basement carpark. My request has been knocked back. We have a Standard CMS. Is my only option to pursue the matter through QCAT?

Answer: Any lot owner can challenge a decision of the body corporate, but there may be a better way!

Firstly, well done for taking the leap into the next generation of transportation. Secondly, you should get legal advice, tailored to your situation.

Like most questions, this one involves so many variables that all I can offer is a ‘hypothetical’; that is, what follows is a constructed set of facts to illustrate some of the principles.

So, to the facts of my hypothetical; the area into which a charger is to be installed is an exclusive use area in a basement. Power is not too far away in the basement area, but has to cross some other exclusive use areas to get to the charger. Finally, the by-laws say nothing relevant.

In this scenario, using the principles in the Supreme Court case of Katsikalis, the lot owner needs

  1. authority to install and

  2. authority to keep the improvement in place.

If the exclusive use by-law contains a permission to install, then that is all that is needed for (a), for the charger. If not, then approval under s193 of the Standard Module would be required. If the charger is under $3000 (GST inc) installed, then committee approval is enough. Otherwise an ordinary resolution will be required. Of course, that is just for the charger.

For the cables to bring the power to the charger, an improvement is being made to the common property for the benefit of a lot; s187 of the Standard Module. If the cables are less than $3000, they don’t detract from the appearance of the common property and installation of them is not likely to promote a breach of the owners duties as an occupier, then approval can be given by the committee. Otherwise, an ordinary resolution is required.

Next, to satisfy (b), the statutory easement in s115O of the Land Title Act permits the electricity cables and the charger to stay in the common property once they are installed but only if the car is being used as a backup battery for the owners unit. Why? Because the statutory easement is in favour of a lot, against the common property, for supply of utility services (electricity) to the lot – not the supply of electricity to the common property. Now, of course, power can flow both ways if the set up permits it – the car can be charged or the car can discharge and supply power to the lot. If the supply is one way – lot to car – then the compliance pathway (and winning any challenge to a refusal for approval) becomes very hard.

On the other hand, if the charging arrangement is ‘tweaked’ so that the car is being used as a backup battery for the unit and the proposed cabling arrangement can be practically made to suit this (with cables, meters, credit arrangements etc), then the compliance pathway is much more well-trodden. It would, in my view, be very hard for a body corporate to refuse approval for such an arrangement, where, for example, the car is being charged during the day at work (from solar panels), driven home at night, connected to the charger which has a direct link back into the circuit for the lot (and is ‘behind’ the electricity meter for the lot), all of the cabling, charger and installation is top notch and performed by quality licences tradesman at the lot owners cost.

Of course, the astute reader is saying ‘but what about running the power cables through other lot owner’s exclusive use areas?’ – to that, in my view, an argument can be made that the statutory provisions about improvements and utility infrastructure easements take priority over the exclusive use by-law, which operates only as a covenant between lot owners and not a statute or statutory instrument.

In direct answer to this readers question, any lot owner can challenge a decision of the body corporate, but in my view, the battle is won or lost before the first shot is fired – the ‘set up’ is crucial, and too many lot owners seek help after things have gone the wrong way, which at best means a harder job for their lawyer (read – it costs more) and at worst means the whole process has to start again (read – it costs even more again).

Michael Kleinschmidt Stratum Legal E: info@stratumlegal.com.au P: 07 5406 1282

This post appears in the August 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Article: Principal Scheme Committee Decision Leads to Death by Electrocution in Strata

This recount has been submitted by a QLD lot owner with concerns about the way EV adoption has been managed in their building.

Not the perfect news headline to appreciate the value of any strata community, however, these may well be the words a Coroner determines appropriate to describe a terribly tragic circumstance in the event it happens.

A Brisbane Principal Scheme Committee has authorised owners to charge their electric vehicles using an untagged tested power lead laying on the floor of a large strata communities parking garage while options are explored to have common EV charges installed.

The QLD Electrical Safety Act [ESA] is directed at eliminating the human cost to individuals, families and the community of death, injury and destruction that can be caused by electricity.

On 26 February 2022, the retail level car park sprinklers of this complex triggered when a vehicle [not an EV] erupted into flames, resulting in a substantial amount of water pouring into the underground basement car park.

Car Park fires happen and although they can be a rare occurrence, this is undoubtedly why the installation of fire safety sprinklers is mandated.

The following photos of our car parking area says it all.

This post appears in Strata News #579.

Question: Is there any indication that Body Corporate insurance will increase due to EV fire danger in strata car parks?

Answer: Currently insurers are not charging extra premium for increased fire danger due to electrical vehicles in car parks.

Currently insurers are not charging extra premium for increased fire danger due to electrical vehicles in car parks.

We suspect this may happen if there is a major event due to the vehicles. This could cause insurers to review their premiums and underwriting criteria.

Tyrone Shandiman Strata Insurance Solutions E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au P: 07 3899 5129

This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisenent Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.

This post appears in Strata News #559.

Question: We are investigating EV charging and solar for our building. What is the best way to structure the installation of infrastructure to come up with a cost effective solution?

I am an owner in a strata that is billed for electricity via Altogether Solutions operating under the ‘Exemption Scheme’. We are investigating EV charging but have realised there is a lot more to this exercise e.g. smart load management.

Could Altogether Solutions (AS) setup something along the lines of a financial Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to finance, pay interest and recover the costs of upgrading our building infrastructure to prepare for electric vehicle charging and solar in our building?

Answer: It’s best to work out what’s the lowest cost structure to put in place, depending on the community.

There are no types of arrangements that we don’t consider. We absolutely would want to work with a client that’s looking for an EV or solar type solution to help them find a solution that is tailor suited to that body corporate. An SPV is a very specific type of arrangement, and it may be the most cost effective arrangement but what we will always look to do is to work out what’s the lowest cost structure to put in place depending on the community.

Typically, the main input drivers to things like cost of installing EV infrastructure and existing buildings are really the building size. How many EV chargers they want, the existing infrastructure installation, whether that needs to be upgraded or not and of course, how big the carpark is. You can’t run an extension lead out, you’ve got to instal this additional infrastructure. So, it is dependant on the number of lots that are available. It is dependant on how many EV chargers they want, and dependant on what the current infrastructure is. That will dictate the cost. Once we know what the cost is, and as every site is very, very unique, we can work on some type of funding arrangement.

What we typically look to do is fund the infrastructure ourselves, but not through an SPV. What we would look to do is say you’ve got your electricity rates. There’s a delta between what the market is charging and what the cost is in an embedded network. We always aim to make sure the customer is getting the best possible deal and far lower than what they can get on the on the market. If we can take an amount of that delta, it could be a relatively small amount, and spread that over a period of time, essentially that can be used to fund these infrastructure upgrades.

The reason that’s attractive to body corporates is because it means they don’t have to raise special levies. We will fund it, and we’ll recover that cost over a term from the users themselves. It’s always a user pays system. That’s always advantageous because user pays always gives you far more efficient outcomes. When the users paying for their infrastructure, there will always use that infrastructure far more wisely. If the body corporate or an investor or owner, or a special levy has to be raised to pay for infrastructure, people’s usage tends to be a little bit more ad hoc, so you don’t always get the best commercial outcome.

Drew McKillican Altogether Group E: DMcKillican@altogethergroup.com.au

This post appears in the March 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: I believe our high rise should be getting ahead of the EV charging curve. We have questions regarding EV charging and EV parking.

Our complex is a 21 unit high rise like many others with single-storey car parking below the building. I believe we should be trying to get ahead of the EV charging curve and have questions regarding EV charging and EV parking.

  1. With the danger of battery fires associated with electric vehicles, can EV’s be banned by BC Committee from parking in the car park.

  2. If the BC allows EV’s to park and recharge in the car park, does the BC pay for the engineering review to advise size of allowable charger outlets for every unit. I believe we must supply all units if we supply one, and if so, would the BC be responsible for the ‘skeleton’ ducting and distribution board, and each owner responsible for the cost of the electrical installation.

  3. Could a couple of open area visitor’s car parks be converted, (with council approval~ we have 8 visitor spots for 21 units), to be serviced by a commercial provider for EV charger bays for EV owners.

Answer: As many BC’s are shifting towards investment in renewables and a net zero future, as part of this journey we must ensure our buildings can accommodate EV charging into the future.

Should Body Corporate be Concerned About EV Battery Fires in Car Parks?

Whilst the exact data is quite early on this hot topic, recent studies into the North American market by Tesla, and based on the data from the National Fire Protection Association – have found EV’s 11 times less likely to catch fire compared to petrol (ICE) cars.

Given the popularity with the EV revolution as the new kid on the block, any incident involving EV’s grab a lot of attention and is often exaggerated and scrutinised heavily in the media. Whilst there have been EV fires, there are also petrol car fires every day of the week, yet we hear very little in the media about these. It’s also worth noting that battery technology with EV’s is in a constant state of evolution and new battery chemistry is seeing an enormous reduction in volatile compounds used.

Therefore, with reference to the risk in car parks, EV’s in fact pose a lower risk when one may consider for many years we have parked petrol cars, have diesel backup generators and have on site large electrical transformers often oil filled or featuring volatile components.

Banning EV’s from basement car parks would see – in time – virtually all vehicles parked out in the street without the right to their own car park or charging facilities.

Who pays for the engineering review to advise size of allowable charger outlets for each unit?

The key here is a strategic pathway that clearly outlines responsibilities of the BC and that of the apartment owner. This is created by an independent assessment relevant to your complex.

For example, many (most) strata’s it is often impractical to run an EV charger off their own apartment power supply or meter due to physical distance, or not enough power capacity is available. This also means that all the EV chargers cannot be optimised to be managed as a group and take advantage of benefits like cheaper tariff’s, on site renewables, consistent billing and a unified maintenance program etc

The best way for a strata to manage EV charging is engaging a holistic strategy by an EV infrastructure specialist. This identifies the BC responsibilities for ensuring the building common power supply and ultimately it’s backbone of switchboards, distribution boards, cable containment pathways and a crucial EV energy management system is put in place to enable 100% of residents of access to EV charging. This ensures fairness across all owners and futureproofs the building and maps out an easy regimented process (or by-law) for the adoption of EV chargers by residents.

The apartment owner then is responsible for purchasing a pre-defined EV charging package set by the BC which often includes the charger, circuit protection and the electrical works to run it back to the EV distribution board. The resident or BC may also be responsible for the ongoing operational software fees associated with the system administration or billing. Size and model of EV charger must be compatible and appropriate for the power supply, management system and billing platforms installed in the building.

BC’s should be forward planning now to provide the required upgrades to their sites and carving a policy to avoid ad-hoc procurement of EV chargers by residents. If residents are left to do their own thing, put simply the building infrastructure will not cope when EV adoption increases.

Converting visitor car parks to EV charger bays

This is possible, and companies such as Chargefox and JET Charge can provide this shared charging service, which is a common starting point for many BC’s if they can afford the space. However, it is a short-term measure that ultimately will give away to residents demanding their own charger in their own car bay due to aspects such as running out of space when more cars are EV’s, security concerns and the consumption of visitor bays. If you invested in a brand-new shiny EV, would you be happy parking your car overnight, every night, in a public shared space to charge up – as opposed to your own personal secured car bay?

The EV revolution is a generational change with many new learnings associated with ownership and how we manage the uptake in our homes and businesses. It’s important to understand how EV drivers charge their vehicle too which is more akin to a mobile phone being topped up regularly, compared to a petrol car where it’s a once a week thing, so regular access to a charger is important.

What we do know however is this is happening, faster than we think and that 90% of all EV charging in Australian cities will happen at home overnight or at work during the day.

As many BC’s are doing with solar and shifting towards investment in renewables and a net zero future, part of this journey is we must ensure our buildings can accommodate EV charging into the future.

Mark Jeisman JET Charge E: mark@jetcharge.com.au P: 1300 856 328

This post appears in Strata News #533.

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