EV fleets incentive
Grants help NSW fleet operators buy new battery electric vehicles and install smart charging, through a small-fleet trial option or competitive bids for larger fleets.
Kick-start funding helps you buy up to 15 new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and matched charging ports across all applications, allocations and related entities. Earlier competitive-bid awards count towards that limit. BEVs run entirely on electricity; the programme supports replacing existing vehicles or expanding your fleet.
Kick-start vehicle incentives are A$5,000 for eligible passenger cars/SUVs and commercial vehicles below 2.5 tonnes; A$8,000 for commercial vehicles from 2.5 up to 3.5 tonnes; A$10,000 above 3.5 up to 4.5 tonnes; A$15,000 above 4.5 up to 8 tonnes; A$25,000 above 8 up to 15 tonnes; and A$50,000 above 15 up to 23 tonnes. These bands use gross vehicle mass: the vehicle's maximum loaded weight.
For a site using only AC charging, kick-start pays eligible invoiced costs up to A$3,000 per port for cars/SUVs and commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, A$5,000 above 3.5 up to 4.5 tonnes, or A$6,000 above 4.5 up to 23 tonnes. For DC-only sites it pays 50% of eligible costs per port: up to A$30,000 for DC up to 60 kW, or A$60,000 for DC above 60 kW, with the latter available only for heavy commercial vehicles above 3.5 tonnes. At mixed AC/DC sites, each port instead receives 50% of eligible costs, capped at A$18,000 for AC plus DC up to 60 kW, or A$30,000 for heavy-vehicle sites combining AC with DC above 60 kW, with or without lower-power DC. Cost per port is total eligible invoiced costs at the site divided by all installed ports.
You must request a vehicle incentive to claim a charging incentive, with at most one funded port per funded BEV and 15 ports in total. Across all rounds, DC up to 60 kW is limited to four incentives for cars/SUVs/light commercial vehicles or six for heavy commercial vehicles; DC above 60 kW is limited to four for heavy commercial vehicles. A charge-as-a-service contract can qualify: you pay a regular fee to use charging equipment owned or managed by a third party at the funded vehicles’ garaging location. Its market value must exceed the charging incentive per BEV.
Competitive Round 7 partly covers the extra total cost of owning a BEV compared with an equivalent petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicle. That calculation includes vehicle ownership and operation, rather than just its purchase price. Individual fleets must request less than the calculated cost gap, except that a gap below A$3,000 can be funded in full. Aggregators must request an average incentive below the estimated average cost gap and pass all vehicle and charging funding to their customers through lease discounts or cashback.
Each competitive bid needs at least 11 vehicles. Bids are ranked separately by stream and vehicle category, with the lowest funding request per tonne of greenhouse-gas emissions reduced most competitive. The platform calculates emissions over your chosen vehicle retention term, capped at five years. Undisclosed ceiling prices can exclude bids with an excessive average vehicle incentive. Passenger-car/SUV requests are capped at A$4.5 million per entity or corporate group across both streams; that cap does not apply to light commercial bids.
Successful competitive bidders can also claim actual eligible charging costs up to A$2,000 per commercial-site AC port, A$1,200 per home AC port or A$8,000 per DC port. Total ports cannot exceed funded vehicles; DC ports cannot exceed 10% of passenger-car/SUV numbers or 50% of light-commercial numbers. Third-party installations can qualify with a declaration that chargers serve the funded vehicles and funding pays eligible installation costs.
In both options, eligible charging costs include hardware, electrical connection equipment, load management, civil/electrical installation, electrical upgrades, connection fees, energy management and site markings, or eligible charge-as-a-service fees. Charger software subscriptions, grant preparation, feasibility/business-case work, internet, energy and maintenance costs are excluded. Competitive Round 7 also excludes batteries, solar inverters and their installation, and consultant fees.
Eligibility
- You need a valid Australian Business Number (ABN). Kick-start accepts businesses, nonprofits, councils, state-owned corporations and Australian Government agencies operating in NSW, including rental, rideshare/subscription, taxi and truck operators. Your headquarters can be outside NSW. Vehicle manufacturers, dealerships and budget-dependent NSW Government agencies cannot apply; trusts are also excluded from kick-start.
- For kick-start, operate at least three NSW-registered vehicles, or own one licensed NSW taxi, or operate one NSW truck. Those vehicles must already have operated in your fleet for six months; exclude the BEVs you are seeking funding for. Existing and funded vehicles cannot be privately registered. Financial/operating leases of at least three years can count toward the existing fleet; rented or subscription vehicles cannot. Registration names must exactly match the applicant legal entity. The department expects business fleets to keep operating at least three vehicles for three to four years and may audit this.
- Competitive individual-stream applicants must operate at least 21 vehicles in NSW. Aggregators must be private businesses offering financial or operating leases to NSW customers and bid for those customers, keeping their own fleet in a separate individual-stream bid. Related entities may place only one bid per stream and vehicle category. Provide reputable-business and conflict declarations, evidence of financial capacity and plans to integrate EVs; aggregators must also demonstrate leasing experience and customer support.
- Buy brand-new BEVs, not demonstrators, used vehicles or conversions. Kick-start supports passenger cars/SUVs, light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and specified heavy commercial vans, cab-chassis/rigid trucks, waste/plant-equipment trucks and prime movers above 3.5 up to 23 tonnes. Competitive Round 7 supports cars/SUVs and eligible vans, light trucks, utility bodies, people movers and light buses up to 4.5 tonnes. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell vehicles, motorcycles/e-bikes, trailers/caravans, boats, aircraft and buses with more than 20 passenger seats are excluded.
- Kick-start passenger cars/SUVs normally need a manufacturer recommended retail price of at least A$40,000 including GST at application and no more than A$91,387. A model on the pre-filled application list is exempt from the minimum-price rule; the department can separately approve exceeding the upper cap with justification. Competitive Round 7 uses a A$91,661 GST-inclusive car/SUV cap, with a discretionary exception if the model is essential and no suitable cheaper model exists. Commercial vehicles have no price cap; kick-start commercial vehicles also have no minimum price.
- Register funded BEVs in NSW and use them predominantly there for business; occasional interstate trips and mixed business/personal use are allowed. For competitive funding, registration must be in the participating organisation’s legal entity name or registered business name. Exclusive private use, including ordinary commuting, and novated leases are excluded. A novated lease is an employee vehicle arrangement where the employer pays the lease and running costs from the employee’s salary. Outright purchase, loans and operating/financial leases qualify; buying through a subscription does not. Subscription providers can apply for vehicles they buy or lease themselves.
- Vehicles must be ordered on or after the relevant funding round opens. Buying before the funding deed is executed does not guarantee funding. No vehicle or charger can receive duplicate government support, including across these two options or competitive streams. Kick-start purchases must be arm's-length transactions with unrelated sellers; notify the department within five business days of discovering prohibited ARENA or duplicate programme support.
- Chargers must be installed in NSW for the funded fleet, by a qualified/certified electrician. They need Australian regulatory compliance marks under AS/NZS 4417.1:2020 and 4417.2:2020, Type 2 AC or at least one CCS2 DC cable, network communication for remote management/monitoring, and Australian availability/support. Minimum output per port is 7 kW single-phase AC, 22 kW three-phase AC or 24 kW DC; hardware combined with solar inverters/batteries may use 5 kW AC. Competitive chargers must be hardwired, with a tethered CCS2 DC cable; portable chargers cannot qualify. In both options, funded chargers must serve the funded fleet and cannot earn commercial profit, including from charging fees for public use.
- Keep meeting eligibility while operating funded EVs and declare conflicts. Kick-start recipients must complete usage/charging surveys within 12 months of registration, respond to departmental surveys and information requests, attend requested progress meetings and permit audits. Its deed requires at least A$5 million public liability cover per claim, legally required workers compensation and compulsory third-party/comprehensive motor insurance, with an option to self-insure comprehensive cover and repair damaged vehicles. Noncompliance can reduce or suspend payment; overpayments must be repaid within 20 business days of demand. Recoverable GST is not funded.
- Under the kick-start deed, retain project records for seven years after the deed ends, sale records for seven years after sale, and records of usual garaging locations for five years or until sale if earlier, retaining those location records for seven years from acquisition. Competitive recipients provide mileage, disposal/replacement and planned-resale reports for two consecutive years, take part in surveys and allow audits. Vehicles and chargers may later be sold, with sale records kept for at least seven years; the FAQ confirms no repayment for vehicles written off.
How to apply
- Status
- closes 30 Nov 2026
- Opens
- Closes
- Round restrictions
- Kick-start waitlist only; A$9 million allocated. Funding depends on forfeited offers and application-date priority. May close earlier; accept any offer within ten business days.
For kick-start, use the application link on the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's kick-start page and read the December 2025 guidelines with the May 2026 addendum. The current allocation is fully allocated and applications join a waitlist. Offers depend on forfeited funds and follow application-date priority; accept an offer within ten business days. The waitlist may close before 30 November 2026 and no further offers are made after it closes.
Submit your fleet evidence, requested vehicles/chargers, estimated annual mileage and a declaration that you can finance procurement. Return a signed funding deed within 30 business days of eligibility notification. Within 100 business days of receiving the deed, submit all vehicle and charger evidence together: NSW registrations, applicable operating-lease/CaaS contracts and itemised charging invoices, with costs and addresses separated by site. Invoices must not predate the round launch. Missing the deadline can forfeit funding.
Request any kick-start extension before the 100-business-day deadline. Vehicle extensions are discretionary for documented supply-chain delays beyond your control, supported by the manufacturer; a purchase order must exist and the model must have been available when you applied. Charging-evidence extensions are considered only for heavy-vehicle projects, with installers' written delivery plans/delays. Submit the payment invoice within ten business days of evidence approval, unless the department issues its own recipient-created tax invoice. Kick-start pays all approved items together, rather than in instalments. GST is added except for local government and recipients not registered for GST; costs with recoverable GST are excluded under the deed.
Finish and receive payment for one kick-start application, or withdraw it, before submitting another. To change vehicle categories or request more funding, withdraw and reapply. Charging strategies, mix and number of sites are fixed under the deed; site addresses can change or be confirmed with the evidence.
For competitive Round 7, register through the competitive-bid page's online bidding platform, prepare a cost-of-ownership/emissions calculation and submit an initial bid. Review its ranking and confirm or revise the bid in the final window. Return the signed deed within 15 business days of receipt, together with the departmental delivery-plan template. Raise purchase orders and notify the department by 25 June 2027; funding for unordered vehicles and associated chargers is forfeited.
Submit NSW registrations and charger/CaaS evidence within 150 NSW business days from notification of final bid results. Aggregators also need a cost-gap/mileage report and customer declarations confirming vehicles, chargers and the incentive passed through. A discretionary 50% vehicle-incentive advance is available after deed execution with orders/manufacturer confirmation, finance evidence and a legal representative's commitment to procure or return funds. The department may require further checks or reject the advance. Batch payments need departmental approval; final vehicle payments use the deed's average incentive.
Competitive recipients registering vehicles before 30 May 2027 may receive an extra payment of up to A$1,000 per vehicle, restricted to vehicle procurement, with funding for only 500 vehicles on a first-submitted basis. Competitive payments include GST except for local government.
Seek competitive purchase-order extensions before 25 June 2027 for evidenced unforeseeable events beyond your reasonable control. Seek evidence-delivery extensions before the 150-business-day deadline, with supplier support for vehicle delays or installers' delivery plans for charging delays. Changes to vehicle numbers/models or charger mix require departmental assessment: unclaimed funding is forfeited, replacement vehicles need a positive cost gap, and payments can fall to 95% of a smaller gap, or the full gap if A$3,000 or less. Higher funding per tonne after a variation reduces payment; changes to chargers must retain eligibility, quantity limits and approved funding caps. Notify business identity, ownership or structure changes immediately. The department may exclude applicants who previously failed to deliver more than 75% of the vehicles specified in a deed. False information can lead to repayment.