The most generous support package for electric vehicles in Australia have been passed into law, after the NSW parliament passed the Coalition government’s rebates and stamp duty exemptions in the first sitting week after the post Covid lockdowns.
The package includes a $3,000 rebate for new electric cars priced below $68,7500 and a stamp duty exemption for EVs below $78,000. It also allows for incentives such as the right to travel in T2 and T3 transit lanes.
The rebate and stamp duty incentives were due to come into effect from September 1, and will be back-dated to then.
The government is also spending $161 million on expanding the EV-charging network, aims to have more than 50 per cent of new car sales to be electric by 2030, and will ensure that all of the government car fleet and public buses will be electric by 2030.
“This Bill passing will be a huge step towards Australia joining the world in the EV revolution,” Electric Vehicle Council Beyhad Jafari said as the legislation moved to the upper house, where One Nation leader Mark Latham sought to stop it.
“This passed last night. Get your EV on NSW,” Jafari tweeted later.
Other states to offer EV incentives include Victoria (a $3,000 rebate), and South Australia (also a $3,000 rebate but limited to 4,000 cars). The ACT offers zero interest loans and a stamp duty exemption.
Victoria has also been vilified for introducing an EV road tax, which hits both full electric cars and plug in hybrids. South Australia is also mooting a proposal, likely after the next election, while NSW has deferred its road user tax until 2027, by which time it expects the EV industry to be well established and EVs to be at cost parity with dirty petrol and diesel cars.
Still, the growing number of rebates, and the growing offering of models – still mostly well above $50,000, has caused the sales of EVs to more than double in Australia this year, with further expansion as more and hopefully lower priced models arrive in Australia over the next 12 months.
See: All the new electric car models coming to Australia this quarter
The NSW government is expected to issue a statement on the passage of legislation later. We will keep you updated.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of The Driven, and also edits and founded the Renew Economy and One Step Off The Grid web sites. He has been a journalist for nearly 40 years, is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and owns a Tesla Model 3.
