How to Charge an EV When You Live in an Apartment or Unit in Australia

Charging an EV without a home charger is very doable for most apartment dwellers - it just requires a different mindset. Instead of the weekly petrol station routine, you shift to opportunistic charging: plugging in at work, the supermarket, or a nearby public charger as part of your normal day. For the average commuter driving around 40 kilometres daily, Australia’s public charging network is already good enough to make this work.

Does living in an apartment make EV ownership impractical?

No. The idea that you must have a home charger to own an EV is one of the most persistent myths in the Australian market. According to the Electric Vehicle Council’s EV Ownership Survey 2024 (n=1,839), 93% of EV owners are able to charge at home, and 85% had done so in the prior week. Those are high numbers - but they also mean a growing segment of owners manages without a dedicated home setup.

The practical reality depends heavily on how far you drive. If your daily distance is modest - say, under 50 kilometres - the maths works in your favour more than you might expect.

Understanding your actual charging needs

Work out how much energy you actually use. A typical EV consumes around 16kWh per 100km. At 40km per day, that is 6.4kWh to replace each day.

That is not a lot. A single 50kW DC fast-charge session delivers that in under 10 minutes. Even a slower 7kW AC charger at a shopping centre covers it in under an hour.

The key shift: you are not waiting until you are nearly empty and making a special trip. You are plugging in whenever the opportunity is in front of you, even if your battery is at 60%.

Australia’s public charging networks

Chargefox

Chargefox is the largest public charging network in Australia, with around 950 sites nationally. It covers major highways, metro areas, and an increasing number of suburban locations. DC fast charging typically costs between 40 and 58 cents per kilowatt-hour. Pay per kWh through the Chargefox app, which shows real-time availability.

JOLT

JOLT operates around 98 sites across Australia, primarily in urban areas. The chargers display advertising, which offsets the charging cost for drivers. Many JOLT sites offer a free daily kilowatt-hour allowance. For someone using 6.4kWh per day, a free JOLT session could cover an entire day’s driving at no cost.

JOLT chargers are typically AC units - slower than DC fast chargers, but if you are parked for an hour while you shop, speed is rarely a problem.

Supermarket and retail charging

Woolworths, Coles, and ALDI are progressively adding EV chargers to their car parks. This is particularly useful for apartment dwellers because it layers charging into the shopping you were already going to do. No extra stop. No extra time.

Choosing the right EV for apartment living

If you live in an apartment, range should rank higher on your priority list than it might otherwise. A larger battery is your insurance against a week where charging opportunities don’t align perfectly.

Tesla Model 3 - real-world range around 638km. At 40km/day, that means charging roughly once every 15 days. Fortnightly charging. Even if you miss a session, you have enormous headroom.

BYD Atto 1 Premium - real-world range approximately 265km. At 40km/day, a charge every six days. Still very manageable with public DC charging and top-ups throughout the week.

BYD Atto 3 - real-world range around 357km. Charge roughly every nine days at 40km/day. Good balance of price and range for apartment dwellers.

General principle: the longer the real-world range, the more forgiving your charging routine. If your schedule is unpredictable, prioritise range. Use the EV range calculator to see how different models handle your specific driving pattern.

Installing a charger in your apartment building

This option is more available than most people realise.

In New South Wales, the law specifically prevents a body corporate from unreasonably refusing a compliant EV charger installation request in a resident’s own parking space. The installation needs to meet certain conditions - compliant wiring, no shared electrical infrastructure burden, proper approvals - but “we just don’t want to” is not a valid reason to refuse.

Other states are developing similar provisions. If you own your parking space or have exclusive use of it, a formal written request to your body corporate is worth making. Engage a licensed electrician to prepare a compliant proposal.

Even a basic 7kW wall charger installed in your parking bay changes the situation entirely. Overnight, you recover around 50–60km of range per hour of charging. Your entire daily commute is replaced while you sleep.

Practical habits that make it work

Set a minimum battery threshold, not a maximum. Rather than waiting until you are at 20%, aim to always be above 40%. This gives you a larger window to find charging without urgency.

Download all the major apps before you need them. Chargefox, JOLT, Exploren, and PlugShare should all be set up with payment before your first week. Being caught without an account when you need a charge is avoidable.

Note the chargers near your three or four most-visited locations. Your workplace, supermarket, gym. Once you know those spots, your charging routine practically plans itself.

Carry a Type 2 cable. Some public AC chargers are tethered (cable attached to the post) and some are untethered (you supply your own). Having a cable in the car means you can use both.

For more on EV charger types and speeds, see the EV chargers guide.

The bottom line

Apartment living and EV ownership are compatible. It takes a short adjustment period and a small amount of route planning, but for the vast majority of commuters in Australian cities, the public charging network is already sufficient.

The shift is psychological as much as practical. Once you stop thinking of charging like filling a petrol tank and start treating it like keeping your phone topped up throughout the day, most of the friction disappears. For a detailed comparison of how long charging takes at different charger types, see our EV charging time guide. If your building is considering installing charging infrastructure, our EV charger installation cost guide covers what a common-area installation involves.