After Council voted to press the accelerator on public EV charging in 2023, the first of this new generation of chargers could be operating later this year — maybe.
Anyone who owns an EV knows about range anxiety. This is especially true for residents without a private space to recharge their whisper‑quiet but charge‑hungry vehicle.
Here’s the sticky, tricky bit: fast chargers require high‑powered electrical connections, and that means lengthy negotiations with power grid companies that are state‑sanctioned monopolies. Not so easy. Not so quick.
Add layers of other permissions, profit‑seeking, rapidly advancing technical standards, community sensitivity about the use of street car parking, and it’s easy to see why nothing in public charging happens fast.
And to make matters worse, early installations, such as the chargers at South Melbourne Market, are no longer state of the art — and are consequently sometimes out of service.
Three years from go to flow
After voting to speed up charging infrastructure in November 2023, Council signed a licence in June 2025 with Evie Networks for the installation of public fast charging at 228–234 Park Street, South Melbourne. Installation is anticipated in mid‑2026 — three years from go to flow — if all goes according to plan.
Council and Evie Networks have now identified a further four locations suitable for fast chargers, with installation planned over the next two years (see location details):
- Marlborough Street, Balaclava (Marlborough Street car park)
- Centre Avenue, Garden City (adjacent to the Garden City Shops)
- Spring Street North, Port Melbourne (outside Port Melbourne Town Hall)
- Dundas Place, Albert Park (outside the Albert Park Library).
Pole‑mounted EV chargers popping up
Not‑so‑fast 22 kWh pole‑mounted chargers servicing street parking are also beginning to appear locally.
Council has worked with EVX Australia to install pole‑mounted chargers in Herbert Street, Elwood; Chaucer Street, St Kilda; and Liardet Street, Port Melbourne.
Each pole‑mounted site provides two parking bays for electric vehicles while charging. No parking fee applies while an EV is charging, and the charge rate is 50 cents per kilowatt‑hour.
