EV charging safety guidelines updated

WorkSafe has reissued guidelines for safe installation of EV charging equipment.

An alert to the automotive industry has been issued by the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (VIA) about the guidelines.

As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road increases, so too does the infrastructure needed to charge them and keep them safe, WorkSafe says.

WorkSafe has created the guidelines to ensure electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is installed safely and in line with regulations.

What’s considered unsafe for the supply of electricity to an EV, or the use of EVSE, includes use of any EV adaptor not specifically supplied by the vehicle manufacturer or by the EVSE manufacturer, use of a socket-outlet adaptor, cascading of two or more supply leads, use of an extension lead, use of portable socket-outlets including EPOD and PSOA, use of a single socket-outlet for the supply of more than one vehicle at a time, use of EVSE that is not labelled by the manufacturer as being compatible with a 230v, 50Hz supply; use of a charging station for public charging without the periodic assessment tag referenced in section 2.7 of the guidelines, and supply of electricity to anything other than an EV from an IC-CPD or a charging station.

Any charging station or EVSE that is found to be unsafe at any time or which is involved in an electric shock event should be taken out of service immediately and not used or returned to service until verified as safe, WorkSafe continues.

Read the new EV charging safety guidelines here.