WorkSafe updates EV charging guidance for corporate fleets

WorkSafe has amended its electric vehicle (EV) charging guidance, removing references to employee homes being treated as workplaces and addressing compliance concerns raised by businesses operating employer-owned EV fleets.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says the change follows feedback from industry stakeholders who warned the previous guidance was creating uncertainty and discouraging fleet electrification.

“Crucially, employee homes are no longer referred to as workplaces in the new guidelines,” van Velden says.

Under the earlier guidance, employers were discouraged from allowing staff to charge employer-owned EVs at home using Mode 2 chargers, because businesses could not rely on the safety of an employee’s home wiring. The addendum also stated that an employee’s garage could be considered a workplace for safety purposes.

Van Velden says it was this wording that triggered concern among employers.

“These guidelines discouraged employer-owned EVs being charged at home,” she says.

“It was that wording that raised concerns. If an employee’s garage became a workplace any time an employer provided them an electric work vehicle, that introduces questions about what the employer’s obligations are around risk assessments, monitoring, and liability if there were issues with a charger in an employee’s home.”

She says businesses warned the guidance risked slowing EV uptake in corporate fleets.

“I was told that these guidelines were making employers hesitant to provide EVs to employees for fear of unlimited compliance and liability risk, which would ultimately mean less employers choosing to electrify their fleet for employees, and less choice in the market for businesses.”

Van Velden says she asked WorkSafe to engage with stakeholders and review the 2020 addendum after receiving feedback from the sector.

“Following these issues being brought to my attention, I asked WorkSafe to get in contact with stakeholders about their concerns and subsequently met with some myself. Given the amount of feedback I heard, I asked WorkSafe to expedite amending the 2020 Addendum that contained these guidelines to clarify the situation.”

The updated addendum removes references to treating the home as a workplace and no longer states that charging must occur in a garage.

“Now, I’m pleased to say that the issue has been addressed with the release of an updated addendum.

“This is a positive example of removing unnecessary red tape holding back businesses and sectors.

“I expect this to free up the employer-owned EV landscape and give businesses more confidence to choose EVs for their organisations,” van Velden says.