DRIVEN Program 2026–27: Federal EV Charging Rebates Open Until 30 April 2027

The Dealership and Repairer Initiative for Vehicle Electrification Nationally—DRIVEN—forms part of the Australian Government's Driving the Nation Fund. Round 3 has $18.8 million available nationally for eligible automotive dealerships and EV repairers.

Fixed smart charger

Up to $3,000 per eligible plug

Portable DC charger

Up to $3,000 per eligible unit

Charging infrastructure

$21,000 maximum per site

Workshop equipment

Up to 80% of eligible costs

Combined site rebate

$50,000 maximum

Minimum eligible spend

$5,000 per site per claim

The $21,000 limit applies to charging infrastructure. The $50,000 limit applies to the combined site claim when eligible workshop equipment is included. Funding is not automatic: applicants must satisfy the current guidelines and retain evidence of expenditure.

Eligible fixed chargers must have been purchased and installed by a licensed electrician on or after 26 March 2024. Eligible EV-specific workshop equipment, tools, personal protective equipment and lifting equipment must have been purchased on or after 12 May 2026. Relevant charging equipment must comply with AS 5732:2022.

Before lodging a claim, retain:

1. Tax invoices and payment records.
2. Charger model, serial number and technical documentation.
3. Electrical installation and commissioning evidence.
4. Licensed electrician details and evidence of purchase dates.
5. Workshop equipment specifications and compliance information.
6. A clear allocation of costs to each site and claim.

Applications are scheduled to close at 5pm AEST on 30 April 2027, unless the annual funding allocation is exhausted earlier. Check the official guidelines before purchasing equipment or submitting a claim.

More EVs mean more demonstration, customer handover, service-bay and staff charging for dealerships. Repairers need compliant isolation procedures, lifting systems, protective equipment and trained personnel. Fleets face an additional constraint: every vehicle must receive enough energy before its next duty cycle without exceeding the site's available network capacity.

Charging infrastructure is therefore an energy asset. Performance depends on connection design, load management, tariff selection, software connectivity and maintenance—not simply the maximum output of each charger.

For many households, the lowest-cost charging strategy combines rooftop solar, a solar-aware smart charger, a suitable electricity tariff and automatic scheduling based on vehicle availability.

These examples exclude supply charges, demand charges and plan conditions. Compare the whole electricity plan—including standard usage rates, feed-in tariff, charging windows and connectivity requirements—not only the advertised EV rate. Solar charging also has an opportunity cost equal to the export credit forgone.

Public charging prices can combine energy, session, idle, parking and membership fees. Compare the total session cost rather than only the advertised cents-per-kilowatt-hour rate.

Commercial and fleet sites have different priorities. Public charging requires payment processing, customer access, uptime monitoring and revenue reconciliation. Fleet charging requires vehicle prioritisation, depot scheduling, energy management and operational availability.

OCPP-connected infrastructure can enforce site demand limits, prioritise vehicles, shift charging into solar windows, meter usage and support remote fault diagnosis. ESQ uses network-agnostic charging architecture, dynamic load management and solar-aware dispatch.

Several high-power chargers can create a material new site peak. A fleet depot may require a network study, transformer upgrade, protection coordination, switchboard works or a revised connection agreement. Three controls can reduce that impact:

• Dynamic load management limits charging demand to available site capacity.
• Solar integration directs daytime generation into vehicles.
• Battery storage shifts lower-cost or solar energy into charging peaks and can reduce demand charges.

Correct sizing depends on interval data, charger output, vehicle dwell time, tariffs and network constraints. Installing storage without modelling those factors is not an energy strategy.

1. Advisory — site assessment, duty-cycle modelling, tariff review and feasibility.
2. Engineering — charger selection, load modelling, connection design and protection studies.
3. Delivery — electrical and civil works, commissioning and payment configuration.
4. Optimisation — solar integration, smart charging and battery dispatch.
5. Operations — remote monitoring, maintenance, reporting and lifecycle management.

Where appropriate, ESQ can assess PPA and zero-upfront-capital pathways for eligible commercial projects. Project suitability depends on load, credit, contract and technical requirements.