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So I’ve supplied all info and today body corp(in vic) wants me to contact local council to see if there are any issues with installation of EV charger on lot (also a Starlink dish now), any potential problems?
I don't think there's anywhere in australia where you need council approval to install a basic private AC wall charger.

When you enquire, be very clear that this is a standard domestic charger, and NOT a public fast charger (which DO fall under council regulation).

Don't mention the starlink dish at all.
 
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I don't think there's anywhere in australia where you need council approval to install a basic private AC wall charger.

When you enquire, be very clear that this is a standard domestic charger, and NOT a public fast charger (which DO fall under council regulation).

Don't mention the starlink dish at all.
Best to write letter that will lead a lazy public comms person into giving you an instant response.

Dear Council,

I live in a block of flats in (suburb) and I intend to install a standard electric vehicle wall charger at my allocated parking space. I’ve arranged a suitably licensed electrician. The body corporate said they were OK with running power through common areas, but they wondered if council approval was required first.

Would you please advise whether council approval is required for standard EV wall connector intended for private use?
 
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So I’ve supplied all info and today body corp(in vic) wants me to contact local council to see if there are any issues with installation of EV charger on lot (also a Starlink dish now), any potential problems?
If you go into the Council Office and ask to speak to a “Duty Planner” they can answer your question. I doubt you will be required to submit a Development Application or similar but if you do you will likely need a letter from your OC giving you permission to do so.
 
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So I’ve supplied all info and today body corp(in vic) wants me to contact local council to see if there are any issues with installation of EV charger on lot (also a Starlink dish now), any potential problems?

I’m not the expert in this area (and I’m not in VIC) but installing an AC EV charger should be exempt from needing Council approval if my reading of this is correct:


See page 3 Alterations to a Building:

Alterations to a building are exempt from requiring a building permit provided the building work:
  • will not adversely affect the structural soundness of the building, and does not include:
  • an increase or decrease in the floor area or height of the building; or
  • underpinning or replacement of footings; or
  • the removal or alteration of any element of the building that is contributing to the support of any other element of the building; and
  • will not project beyond the street alignment; and
  • will not adversely affect the safety of the public or occupiers of the building; and
  • is not work carried out on, or in connection with, a building included on the Heritage Register within the meaning of the Heritage Act 2017; and
  • is not work in relation to, and will not adversely affect, an essential safety measure relating to the building.

I can’t see how an EV charger installed by a licenced electrician would not comply with all of those clauses and would therefore be exempt, unless you live in a heritage building in which case you might to to ask Council. An EV charger in a garage would likely still be fine, but an EV charger installed on an outside wall of a heritage building might not be.
 
Best to write letter that will lead a lazy public comms person into giving you an instant response.

Dear Council,

I live in a block of flats in (suburb) and I intend to install a standard electric vehicle wall charger at my allocated parking space. I’ve arranged a suitably licensed electrician. The body corporate said they were OK with running power through common areas, but they wondered if council approval was required first.
Instant response? When did that ever happen?
 
Got approval a few days ago so all good. In terms of Starlink dish, plan is to put it in the image below. Anyone think the placement might be a bit risky due to tree?
 

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Having ordered a Tesla Y for a November to Feb delivery I figured i should get motivated and organise a charging system for my Basement EUA Carpark. I had previously done a lot of research into various ways to accomplish this.

This is my sorry saga trying to get my EV charge point in my Apartment Basement EUA Carpark. We are a 5YO 7 story standard plan residential only building, in the outer bayside suburbs of SE QLD. There are several Tesla's and an electric Porsche in the area.

The pertinent part of my application letter
The options that I see available to the Body Corporate Committee are.
  • At my expense, have a dedicated 3-phase line run from my electrical meter to the car park.
  • At my expense, have a 3-phase power meter installed in the basement that is connected to the common area power circuit. This will then allow the BC to on-sell Solar Energy from the panels on the roof and gain a greater return. This power meter will need to be read by Basil or one of the committee members and calculate the amount of kWh’s consumed by an amount mutually agreeable to get the quarterly chargeable amount.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial charger in the visitor’s ground floor carpark so that I and others’ may enter our credit card details and charge their cars. From looking at the internet I envisage the cost of this to be somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 to $5,000.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial multiple charging system (with power control hub) in the basement, which can be rolled out, as and when residents purchase an electric vehicle. From initial research I would envisage the cost of this system to be north of $10,000
Given the need to gain further quotes for whichever system is approved, from a suitably qualified tradesperson. I see this as a first step in the process as to see which of the above options is the way forward for the committee.

Their Response

Charging of the vehicle in the basement car park: Items 1 & 2

Whilst we understand that this is your preferred option the Body Corporate has the following concerns with respect to safety, and there exists considerable information that highlights the hazards involved if an electric vehicle catches fire during charging -
1. Unlike an internal combustion engine it is virtually impossible to extinguish a fire in an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles apparently burn at a far greater heat than a standard ICE vehicle.
2. An electric vehicle when it burns will emit toxic fumes that could leach into the residential areas of the building.
3. Due to the high heat from an electric vehicle surrounding vehicles would almost certainly be severely affected.
4. The QFES advises that the installation of EV chargers into basements represent a special hazard for firefighters as they cannot get their equipment into basements to attend the fire.
5. Going forward with a precedent having been established, if more residents requested EV
chargers on this site we would be increasing our safety risk.
6. It is considered just a matter of time that insurance premiums will be affected by basement charging of electric vehicles.
7. The recent discussion with Mr XXXX regarding Hutchinson's decision to cease placement of chargers in new buildings for the foreseeable future, is based on most of the issues above, and overseas trends.

The Body Corporate recognizes there may be a growing take-up of electric vehicles in the community, and if this also occurs in One Fitzroy then the Body Corporate may have to seek professional advice as to the best way to provide charging facilities to residents. This may or may not include options for basement EV charging, dependent upon how technologies subsequently evolve.

However, at this current point in time the Body Corporate Committee believes that potential risks to residents outweighs any immediate need for charging facilities in the confines of the basement.

Under these circumstances the Body Corporate Committee is unable to approve either Item 1 or Item 2.

Proposed items 3 & 4

Both these items require considerable investment by the Body Corporate. As you will be aware the BC funds at the moment are limited to expenditure on essential items only, and as the issue of EV charging does not currently affect all residents, it is not seen as justifiable expenditure at this point in time. Similar to the above, the Body Corporate is unable to approve either Item 3 or Item 4.

Going forward - alternative paths

To date, as you will be aware, you are the only resident who has expressed an interest in an EV charging facility, and the Body Corporate is not aware of any other resident moving, or considering moving, in this direction.

Taking into account that the Body Corporate is unable to approve any of the items submitted in your original application, it is recommended that you consider re-submitting your proposal within the following parameters:

1. The placement of the EV charging facility be located in an outside area and well away from the building.

2. The BC would prefer a Level 2 single phase outlet rather than a 3-phase outlet.

3. As you would be the only user of this facility at this time it must be understood that all installation and maintenance costs must be met by yourself.

4. The facility should be considered as a donation to the Body Corporate from the time of installation, and would be under the control of the BC, and furthermore, would be available to all residents to use, should there be further take-up of electric vehicles in the block.

5. The facility be properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and use.

6. Any increase in Body Corporate insurance premiums attributed to EV Charging is to be borne by you.

7. The facility be protected from damage by cars.

8. The facility must utilize a manner of accounting and payment for the electricity used that does not incur additional ongoing costs

9. Full comprehensive insurance on any vehicle/vehicles using the facility is required to cover the impact of any adverse events.

10. Should the facility need repair or replacement at any stage the full costs must be borne by the user / users.
11. Any increase in the Body Corporate Insurance due to EV charging is to be borne by you.

The way forward ATM
After robust discussion and many emails to and fro, thrashing out a suitable plan. I am requesting a quote from an EV charge point installer for a 3-phase charge point (if he recommends it) in the visitor's outside carpark. The power is to come off the Common Area supply via some sort of facility to work out costs to me and other owners in the future. This is to be housed within a freestanding circuit breaker box of suitable size to allow the charge cord to be stored within. This is to stop vandalism of the charge point and a requirement of BC to stop other's from using it.

If this plan is refused, then I see a Qcat case in my future. We have 30Kw of top tier Solar Panels on the roof, which I did the research and organised the panels to go before a previous AGM for approval. My belief is that the solar PV system has a much greater chance of fire than the EV charging in a basement.

BTW I am currently the Secretary of Said BCC, but not for long.
 
Having ordered a Tesla Y for a November to Feb delivery I figured i should get motivated and organise a charging system for my Basement EUA Carpark. I had previously done a lot of research into various ways to accomplish this.

This is my sorry saga trying to get my EV charge point in my Apartment Basement EUA Carpark. We are a 5YO 7 story standard plan residential only building, in the outer bayside suburbs of SE QLD. There are several Tesla's and an electric Porsche in the area.

The pertinent part of my application letter
The options that I see available to the Body Corporate Committee are.
  • At my expense, have a dedicated 3-phase line run from my electrical meter to the car park.
  • At my expense, have a 3-phase power meter installed in the basement that is connected to the common area power circuit. This will then allow the BC to on-sell Solar Energy from the panels on the roof and gain a greater return. This power meter will need to be read by Basil or one of the committee members and calculate the amount of kWh’s consumed by an amount mutually agreeable to get the quarterly chargeable amount.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial charger in the visitor’s ground floor carpark so that I and others’ may enter our credit card details and charge their cars. From looking at the internet I envisage the cost of this to be somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 to $5,000.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial multiple charging system (with power control hub) in the basement, which can be rolled out, as and when residents purchase an electric vehicle. From initial research I would envisage the cost of this system to be north of $10,000
Given the need to gain further quotes for whichever system is approved, from a suitably qualified tradesperson. I see this as a first step in the process as to see which of the above options is the way forward for the committee.

Their Response

Charging of the vehicle in the basement car park: Items 1 & 2

Whilst we understand that this is your preferred option the Body Corporate has the following concerns with respect to safety, and there exists considerable information that highlights the hazards involved if an electric vehicle catches fire during charging -
1. Unlike an internal combustion engine it is virtually impossible to extinguish a fire in an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles apparently burn at a far greater heat than a standard ICE vehicle.
2. An electric vehicle when it burns will emit toxic fumes that could leach into the residential areas of the building.
3. Due to the high heat from an electric vehicle surrounding vehicles would almost certainly be severely affected.
4. The QFES advises that the installation of EV chargers into basements represent a special hazard for firefighters as they cannot get their equipment into basements to attend the fire.
5. Going forward with a precedent having been established, if more residents requested EV
chargers on this site we would be increasing our safety risk.
6. It is considered just a matter of time that insurance premiums will be affected by basement charging of electric vehicles.
7. The recent discussion with Mr XXXX regarding Hutchinson's decision to cease placement of chargers in new buildings for the foreseeable future, is based on most of the issues above, and overseas trends.

The Body Corporate recognizes there may be a growing take-up of electric vehicles in the community, and if this also occurs in One Fitzroy then the Body Corporate may have to seek professional advice as to the best way to provide charging facilities to residents. This may or may not include options for basement EV charging, dependent upon how technologies subsequently evolve.

However, at this current point in time the Body Corporate Committee believes that potential risks to residents outweighs any immediate need for charging facilities in the confines of the basement.

Under these circumstances the Body Corporate Committee is unable to approve either Item 1 or Item 2.

Proposed items 3 & 4

Both these items require considerable investment by the Body Corporate. As you will be aware the BC funds at the moment are limited to expenditure on essential items only, and as the issue of EV charging does not currently affect all residents, it is not seen as justifiable expenditure at this point in time. Similar to the above, the Body Corporate is unable to approve either Item 3 or Item 4.

Going forward - alternative paths

To date, as you will be aware, you are the only resident who has expressed an interest in an EV charging facility, and the Body Corporate is not aware of any other resident moving, or considering moving, in this direction.

Taking into account that the Body Corporate is unable to approve any of the items submitted in your original application, it is recommended that you consider re-submitting your proposal within the following parameters:

1. The placement of the EV charging facility be located in an outside area and well away from the building.

2. The BC would prefer a Level 2 single phase outlet rather than a 3-phase outlet.

3. As you would be the only user of this facility at this time it must be understood that all installation and maintenance costs must be met by yourself.

4. The facility should be considered as a donation to the Body Corporate from the time of installation, and would be under the control of the BC, and furthermore, would be available to all residents to use, should there be further take-up of electric vehicles in the block.

5. The facility be properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and use.

6. Any increase in Body Corporate insurance premiums attributed to EV Charging is to be borne by you.

7. The facility be protected from damage by cars.

8. The facility must utilize a manner of accounting and payment for the electricity used that does not incur additional ongoing costs

9. Full comprehensive insurance on any vehicle/vehicles using the facility is required to cover the impact of any adverse events.

10. Should the facility need repair or replacement at any stage the full costs must be borne by the user / users.
11. Any increase in the Body Corporate Insurance due to EV charging is to be borne by you.

The way forward ATM
After robust discussion and many emails to and fro, thrashing out a suitable plan. I am requesting a quote from an EV charge point installer for a 3-phase charge point (if he recommends it) in the visitor's outside carpark. The power is to come off the Common Area supply via some sort of facility to work out costs to me and other owners in the future. This is to be housed within a freestanding circuit breaker box of suitable size to allow the charge cord to be stored within. This is to stop vandalism of the charge point and a requirement of BC to stop other's from using it.

If this plan is refused, then I see a Qcat case in my future. We have 30Kw of top tier Solar Panels on the roof, which I did the research and organised the panels to go before a previous AGM for approval. My belief is that the solar PV system has a much greater chance of fire than the EV charging in a basement.

BTW I am currently the Secretary of Said BCC, but not for long.
Good luck with your Court appeal. The response by the body corporate on what they will accept needs some work but isnt completely unreasonable. The excuses by them are silly but the outcome is surely palitable?. Unless you plan on emptying your battery every day you simply will not need 3 phase. Asking you to gift the installation to them is probably normal, but then insisting that the installation is available to everyone and anyone isn’t fair. Future users need to reimburse you for their proportion. This is actually how new mains electricity high voltage installations work.
IMO, take what you can get now, install it and give them 6 months to get over the fear, and then ask if you can upgrade to 3 phase if you really need it. You could install the appropriate cable up front. You may even find legislation for these apartment blocks catches up by then.
The alternative is your Court system, so that should resolve itself by the time you sell your EV, and cost everyone a fortune.
 
Having ordered a Tesla Y for a November to Feb delivery I figured i should get motivated and organise a charging system for my Basement EUA Carpark. I had previously done a lot of research into various ways to accomplish this.

This is my sorry saga trying to get my EV charge point in my Apartment Basement EUA Carpark. We are a 5YO 7 story standard plan residential only building, in the outer bayside suburbs of SE QLD. There are several Tesla's and an electric Porsche in the area.

The pertinent part of my application letter
The options that I see available to the Body Corporate Committee are.
  • At my expense, have a dedicated 3-phase line run from my electrical meter to the car park.
  • At my expense, have a 3-phase power meter installed in the basement that is connected to the common area power circuit. This will then allow the BC to on-sell Solar Energy from the panels on the roof and gain a greater return. This power meter will need to be read by Basil or one of the committee members and calculate the amount of kWh’s consumed by an amount mutually agreeable to get the quarterly chargeable amount.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial charger in the visitor’s ground floor carpark so that I and others’ may enter our credit card details and charge their cars. From looking at the internet I envisage the cost of this to be somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 to $5,000.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial multiple charging system (with power control hub) in the basement, which can be rolled out, as and when residents purchase an electric vehicle. From initial research I would envisage the cost of this system to be north of $10,000
Given the need to gain further quotes for whichever system is approved, from a suitably qualified tradesperson. I see this as a first step in the process as to see which of the above options is the way forward for the committee.

Their Response

Charging of the vehicle in the basement car park: Items 1 & 2

Whilst we understand that this is your preferred option the Body Corporate has the following concerns with respect to safety, and there exists considerable information that highlights the hazards involved if an electric vehicle catches fire during charging -
1. Unlike an internal combustion engine it is virtually impossible to extinguish a fire in an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles apparently burn at a far greater heat than a standard ICE vehicle.
2. An electric vehicle when it burns will emit toxic fumes that could leach into the residential areas of the building.
3. Due to the high heat from an electric vehicle surrounding vehicles would almost certainly be severely affected.
4. The QFES advises that the installation of EV chargers into basements represent a special hazard for firefighters as they cannot get their equipment into basements to attend the fire.
5. Going forward with a precedent having been established, if more residents requested EV
chargers on this site we would be increasing our safety risk.
6. It is considered just a matter of time that insurance premiums will be affected by basement charging of electric vehicles.
7. The recent discussion with Mr XXXX regarding Hutchinson's decision to cease placement of chargers in new buildings for the foreseeable future, is based on most of the issues above, and overseas trends.

The Body Corporate recognizes there may be a growing take-up of electric vehicles in the community, and if this also occurs in One Fitzroy then the Body Corporate may have to seek professional advice as to the best way to provide charging facilities to residents. This may or may not include options for basement EV charging, dependent upon how technologies subsequently evolve.

However, at this current point in time the Body Corporate Committee believes that potential risks to residents outweighs any immediate need for charging facilities in the confines of the basement.

Under these circumstances the Body Corporate Committee is unable to approve either Item 1 or Item 2.

Proposed items 3 & 4

Both these items require considerable investment by the Body Corporate. As you will be aware the BC funds at the moment are limited to expenditure on essential items only, and as the issue of EV charging does not currently affect all residents, it is not seen as justifiable expenditure at this point in time. Similar to the above, the Body Corporate is unable to approve either Item 3 or Item 4.

Going forward - alternative paths

To date, as you will be aware, you are the only resident who has expressed an interest in an EV charging facility, and the Body Corporate is not aware of any other resident moving, or considering moving, in this direction.

Taking into account that the Body Corporate is unable to approve any of the items submitted in your original application, it is recommended that you consider re-submitting your proposal within the following parameters:

1. The placement of the EV charging facility be located in an outside area and well away from the building.

2. The BC would prefer a Level 2 single phase outlet rather than a 3-phase outlet.

3. As you would be the only user of this facility at this time it must be understood that all installation and maintenance costs must be met by yourself.

4. The facility should be considered as a donation to the Body Corporate from the time of installation, and would be under the control of the BC, and furthermore, would be available to all residents to use, should there be further take-up of electric vehicles in the block.

5. The facility be properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and use.

6. Any increase in Body Corporate insurance premiums attributed to EV Charging is to be borne by you.

7. The facility be protected from damage by cars.

8. The facility must utilize a manner of accounting and payment for the electricity used that does not incur additional ongoing costs

9. Full comprehensive insurance on any vehicle/vehicles using the facility is required to cover the impact of any adverse events.

10. Should the facility need repair or replacement at any stage the full costs must be borne by the user / users.
11. Any increase in the Body Corporate Insurance due to EV charging is to be borne by you.

The way forward ATM
After robust discussion and many emails to and fro, thrashing out a suitable plan. I am requesting a quote from an EV charge point installer for a 3-phase charge point (if he recommends it) in the visitor's outside carpark. The power is to come off the Common Area supply via some sort of facility to work out costs to me and other owners in the future. This is to be housed within a freestanding circuit breaker box of suitable size to allow the charge cord to be stored within. This is to stop vandalism of the charge point and a requirement of BC to stop other's from using it.

If this plan is refused, then I see a Qcat case in my future. We have 30Kw of top tier Solar Panels on the roof, which I did the research and organised the panels to go before a previous AGM for approval. My belief is that the solar PV system has a much greater chance of fire than the EV charging in a basement.

BTW I am currently the Secretary of Said BCC, but not for long.
You have someone on the Owners Committee that is anti EV. I had a similar reaction when I wanted to install solar panels on a shared holiday house. The other owners tried to suggest that the fire brigade would not put out a fire on a house with solar panels. It took me under a minute to find proof that that was bollocks.
Your friend is selectively quoting QFES, their statement does not disallow EV charging in garages it suggests minimum safety standards including “Emergency Shutdown Controls” and “Vehicle impact protection (bollards)”. The former are generally built into the cars themselves and careful design of the installation avoids the potential from vehicle impact.
Clearly you will need some profess assistance in the design and installation of a potential EV charging system. As I am in NSW I only have contacts who may be NSW only, Wattblock and SustainabilityNow so I’m not sure if they can help in Queensland but have a look at their websites and make contact to see if they can help.
Alternately some of the larger companies will do the planning and design for you to help you persuade the owners, companies like JetCharge and Eviam more here in the Wattblock website.
I am going through a similar process with a building in central Sydney and it has taken some time to get to a point where we can even get the Owners Committee’s permission to start the process. In the mean time I would investigate public charging in your area.
Despite what has been stated above the community and government policy are moving in the direction of supporting and encouraging EV charging in apartment buildings not in banning or preventing it.
Good luck And keep posting here as you move forward, I will do the same as my project progresses.
 
You have someone on the Owners Committee that is anti EV. I had a similar reaction when I wanted to install solar panels on a shared holiday house. The other owners tried to suggest that the fire brigade would not put out a fire on a house with solar panels. It took me under a minute to find proof that that was bollocks.
Your friend is selectively quoting QFES, their statement does not disallow EV charging in garages it suggests minimum safety standards including “Emergency Shutdown Controls” and “Vehicle impact protection (bollards)”. The former are generally built into the cars themselves and careful design of the installation avoids the potential from vehicle impact.
Clearly you will need some profess assistance in the design and installation of a potential EV charging system. As I am in NSW I only have contacts who may be NSW only, Wattblock and SustainabilityNow so I’m not sure if they can help in Queensland but have a look at their websites and make contact to see if they can help.
Alternately some of the larger companies will do the planning and design for you to help you persuade the owners, companies like JetCharge and Eviam more here in the Wattblock website.
I am going through a similar process with a building in central Sydney and it has taken some time to get to a point where we can even get the Owners Committee’s permission to start the process. In the mean time I would investigate public charging in your area.
Despite what has been stated above the community and government policy are moving in the direction of supporting and encouraging EV charging in apartment buildings not in banning or preventing it.
Good luck And keep posting here as you move forward, I will do the same as my project progresses.
Do you have more than 100 car spaces? Did you see the NSW GOV announcement ?
  • $10 million to co-fund around 125 medium and large apartment buildings with more than 100 car parking spaces to make EV charging electrical upgrades.
 
Having ordered a Tesla Y for a November to Feb delivery I figured i should get motivated and organise a charging system for my Basement EUA Carpark. I had previously done a lot of research into various ways to accomplish this.

This is my sorry saga trying to get my EV charge point in my Apartment Basement EUA Carpark. We are a 5YO 7 story standard plan residential only building, in the outer bayside suburbs of SE QLD. There are several Tesla's and an electric Porsche in the area.

The pertinent part of my application letter
The options that I see available to the Body Corporate Committee are.
  • At my expense, have a dedicated 3-phase line run from my electrical meter to the car park.
  • At my expense, have a 3-phase power meter installed in the basement that is connected to the common area power circuit. This will then allow the BC to on-sell Solar Energy from the panels on the roof and gain a greater return. This power meter will need to be read by Basil or one of the committee members and calculate the amount of kWh’s consumed by an amount mutually agreeable to get the quarterly chargeable amount.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial charger in the visitor’s ground floor carpark so that I and others’ may enter our credit card details and charge their cars. From looking at the internet I envisage the cost of this to be somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000 to $5,000.
  • At the Body Corporate’s expense, install a commercial multiple charging system (with power control hub) in the basement, which can be rolled out, as and when residents purchase an electric vehicle. From initial research I would envisage the cost of this system to be north of $10,000
Given the need to gain further quotes for whichever system is approved, from a suitably qualified tradesperson. I see this as a first step in the process as to see which of the above options is the way forward for the committee.

Their Response

Charging of the vehicle in the basement car park: Items 1 & 2

Whilst we understand that this is your preferred option the Body Corporate has the following concerns with respect to safety, and there exists considerable information that highlights the hazards involved if an electric vehicle catches fire during charging -
1. Unlike an internal combustion engine it is virtually impossible to extinguish a fire in an electric vehicle. Electric vehicles apparently burn at a far greater heat than a standard ICE vehicle.
2. An electric vehicle when it burns will emit toxic fumes that could leach into the residential areas of the building.
3. Due to the high heat from an electric vehicle surrounding vehicles would almost certainly be severely affected.
4. The QFES advises that the installation of EV chargers into basements represent a special hazard for firefighters as they cannot get their equipment into basements to attend the fire.
5. Going forward with a precedent having been established, if more residents requested EV
chargers on this site we would be increasing our safety risk.
6. It is considered just a matter of time that insurance premiums will be affected by basement charging of electric vehicles.
7. The recent discussion with Mr XXXX regarding Hutchinson's decision to cease placement of chargers in new buildings for the foreseeable future, is based on most of the issues above, and overseas trends.

The Body Corporate recognizes there may be a growing take-up of electric vehicles in the community, and if this also occurs in One Fitzroy then the Body Corporate may have to seek professional advice as to the best way to provide charging facilities to residents. This may or may not include options for basement EV charging, dependent upon how technologies subsequently evolve.

However, at this current point in time the Body Corporate Committee believes that potential risks to residents outweighs any immediate need for charging facilities in the confines of the basement.

Under these circumstances the Body Corporate Committee is unable to approve either Item 1 or Item 2.

Proposed items 3 & 4

Both these items require considerable investment by the Body Corporate. As you will be aware the BC funds at the moment are limited to expenditure on essential items only, and as the issue of EV charging does not currently affect all residents, it is not seen as justifiable expenditure at this point in time. Similar to the above, the Body Corporate is unable to approve either Item 3 or Item 4.

Going forward - alternative paths

To date, as you will be aware, you are the only resident who has expressed an interest in an EV charging facility, and the Body Corporate is not aware of any other resident moving, or considering moving, in this direction.

Taking into account that the Body Corporate is unable to approve any of the items submitted in your original application, it is recommended that you consider re-submitting your proposal within the following parameters:

1. The placement of the EV charging facility be located in an outside area and well away from the building.

2. The BC would prefer a Level 2 single phase outlet rather than a 3-phase outlet.

3. As you would be the only user of this facility at this time it must be understood that all installation and maintenance costs must be met by yourself.

4. The facility should be considered as a donation to the Body Corporate from the time of installation, and would be under the control of the BC, and furthermore, would be available to all residents to use, should there be further take-up of electric vehicles in the block.

5. The facility be properly secured to prevent unauthorized access and use.

6. Any increase in Body Corporate insurance premiums attributed to EV Charging is to be borne by you.

7. The facility be protected from damage by cars.

8. The facility must utilize a manner of accounting and payment for the electricity used that does not incur additional ongoing costs

9. Full comprehensive insurance on any vehicle/vehicles using the facility is required to cover the impact of any adverse events.

10. Should the facility need repair or replacement at any stage the full costs must be borne by the user / users.
11. Any increase in the Body Corporate Insurance due to EV charging is to be borne by you.

The way forward ATM
After robust discussion and many emails to and fro, thrashing out a suitable plan. I am requesting a quote from an EV charge point installer for a 3-phase charge point (if he recommends it) in the visitor's outside carpark. The power is to come off the Common Area supply via some sort of facility to work out costs to me and other owners in the future. This is to be housed within a freestanding circuit breaker box of suitable size to allow the charge cord to be stored within. This is to stop vandalism of the charge point and a requirement of BC to stop other's from using it.

If this plan is refused, then I see a Qcat case in my future. We have 30Kw of top tier Solar Panels on the roof, which I did the research and organised the panels to go before a previous AGM for approval. My belief is that the solar PV system has a much greater chance of fire than the EV charging in a basement.

BTW I am currently the Secretary of Said BCC, but not for long.
I guess you must need the ability to charge the car fast.
I thought I needed that at home and installed a 3 phase Zappi. I’ve needed a fast charge at home just once in 2.5 years. And then I could have gone to a nearby shopping centre for half an hour.

Could you live with 10 or 15 amp charging from power to your own meter? That’s how I’m planning to handle my own charging in a new flat shortly. All I’ll get is permission to wire in a 15 amp powerpoint to the wall in my garage space.
 
Do you have more than 100 car spaces? Did you see the NSW GOV announcement ?
  • $10 million to co-fund around 125 medium and large apartment buildings with more than 100 car parking spaces to make EV charging electrical upgrades.
Yes and yes. If anyone knows how to apply, let me know.
All the NSW government websites are still not updated to include this new initiative.
 
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Electric vehicles apparently burn at a far greater heat than a standard ICE vehicle

Translation: we have no idea whether this is true or not, but we read it on a Qanon website and thought we'd toss it in.

Incredible how people are scared of the very very rare event of EVs bursting into flames (has is ever happened with a vehicle AC charging?) but not concerned by hundreds if not thousands of litres of an extremely dangerous, toxic and highly flammable liquid in the same basement, and the greater risk of fire from that.

I'm with @paulp - consider whether you really need 3-phase. I have it, but only because the Tesla HPWC came with my car and I already had 3-phase to my garage. I've charged at 11kW once in 2.5 years. I'm glad I had the option at the time because I really needed it, but once in 2.5 years is not exactly frequent.
 
Yes and yes. If anyone knows how to apply, let me know. All the NSW government websites are still not updated to include this new initiative.

I'll ask the Net Zero Transport team what the deal is around that, hopefully they can provide the details. The documentation for the fast charging grants appeared about 3 months after the policy was first announced.
 
Translation: we have no idea whether this is true or not, but we read it on a Qanon website and thought we'd toss it in.

Incredible how people are scared of the very very rare event of EVs bursting into flames (has is ever happened with a vehicle AC charging?) but not concerned by hundreds if not thousands of litres of an extremely dangerous, toxic and highly flammable liquid in the same basement, and the greater risk of fire from that.
I don't get it either. Petrol vehicles have tens of litres of flammable liquid sloshing around near a hot engine and yet we are worried about EV's?
 
@unharmed

Sorry you got that response and I do see a date with QCat in your future. I assume being on the OC you know who likely authored that response and the type of personality you are dealing with.

The response seems very much like cake and eat it. You pay for it, 'donate it', yet equally you are responsible for upkeep, insurance etc.

To address some of their other points
- underground. I'd point out the number of significantly faster chargers (superchargers and 50/350kW chargers that are in carparks owned by major shopping centre - who are all seemingly quite confident.
- lack of demand. Point out surveys like Surveys find purchase price hinders EV uptake, despite lower running costs. Being anti-EV will lose building owners buyers and renters.

I'd also point out the future for smart buildings - where a bunch of electric cars might be able to act as a battery bank for the whole building, potentially reducing everyone's electricity cost. This article probably covers it best - as I understand both standards are now approved.

@Vostok also interested in any further details as I'm in a building that likely qualifies
 
Just a thought, but do the management committee of the strata have the right to decide on significant new policy on behalf of owners? Shouldn’t EV policy be something that goes to a special meeting of owners who recieve facts about safety as well as likely future sales / rent gains mentioned by moa999, and decide how they want their building to be for the future? The management committee then manage the outcome of what owners want.
 
I saw some figures recently which showed 55 fires per 1Bn miles ICE driven in the US compared with 5 per 1Bn driven by EVs.
Not directly comparable for the charging scenario but worth mentioning to the Body Corporate. There's so much misinformation flying around. (As indeed might be my figures - I can't remember the source!)