EV Fleets Incentive Kick-start funding FY26

Any ABN holder that operates an existing fleet, a taxi or a truck in NSW. The organisation must meet at least one of the following requirements: 

• operate at least 3 vehicles (electric or non-electric) in NSW, not including the incentivised BEV(s), or 
• be a licensed taxi driver with at least 1 taxi in NSW, or
• individual truck operators, with at least 1 truck in NSW. 

Eligible organisations include but are not limited to:

• private business organisations
• non-government and not-for-profit organisations
• local councils
• state-owned corporations
• federal government agencies operating in NSW
• car rental companies
• car subscription companies
• car rideshare companies
• taxi owners, including individuals or organisations that own one or more licensed taxis
• truck operators with at least one truck and a valid ABN

Note: Organisations may be headquartered outside NSW, but all incentivised vehicles must be registered and used predominantly in NSW. 

Any eligible organisation with an ABN can procure up to 15 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for business use, along with optional smart chargers that comply with the specifications outlined in the guidelines. Both the BEVs and smart chargers must be used within the organisation’s own fleet.

The vehicle categories that are eligible for an incentive under kick-start funding are:

• Passenger vehicle / SUV (RRP equal or above $40k)
• Light commercial vehicle up to 3.5t
• Heavy commercial vehicles up to 23t

Successful applicants are required to submit evidence of registration of the incentivised BEVs and proof of purchase of smart chargers within 100 days of receiving a funding deed. 

The project should be started by 16 December 2025 and the project must be completed by 31 December 2026.

The Kick-start funding option aims to provide eligible organisations the opportunity to test EVs before undertaking a larger transition. It also offers a streamlined option for organisations with smaller fleets to transition to BEVs.

Part of the purchase or leasing cost for eligible BEVs and optional smart chargers (one port per incentivised BEV).

Vehicle incentives:

• Passenger vehicle / SUV (RRP equal or above $40k) - $5,000
• Light commercial vehicle under 2.5t - $5,000
• Light commercial vehicle from 2.5t and up to 3.5t - $8,000
• Heavy commercial vehicles above 3.5t and up to 4.5t - $10,000
• Heavy commercial vehicles above 4.5t and up to 8t - $15,000
• Heavy commercial vehicles above 8t and up to 15t - $25,000
• Heavy commercial vehicles above 15t and up to 23t - $50,000

Charging incentives (per port installed)

An organisation must apply for a vehicle incentive to opt in for a charging incentive to support the installation of one port.

Our charger incentives vary depending on your charging strategy and our program provides AC incentives and two types of DC incentives:

• DC Tier 1 incentives for DC chargers up to 60kW and
• DC Tier 2 incentives for DC chargers above 60kW

If your charging strategy is to install either AC or DC chargers at your site(s), these are the incentives available:

AC charging:

• Up to $3,000 per port to support passenger vehicle / SUV (RRP equal or above $40k) or Light commercial vehicle up to 3.5t
• Up to $5,000 per port to support heavy vehicles up to 4.5 t
• Up to $6,000 per port to support heavy vehicles above 4.5t and up to 23t

DC charging (up to 60kW):

• 50% of costs per port installed (up to $30,000 per port)

DC charging (above 60kW) – only available for heavy vehicles:

• 50% of costs per port installed (up to $60,000)

If your charging strategy is to install a mix of AC and DC chargers at your site(s), you can apply for incentives covering 50% of costs per port installed with a maximum per port ranging between $18,000 and $30,000 depending on the vehicle(s) supported and DC charger(s) type.

Ineligible organisations include:

• original equipment manufacturers
• car dealers
• budget-dependent NSW Government
• trusts

Applicants cannot receive funding from other government agencies (including local, state or federal) for the same vehicles and chargers procured through the NSW Government EV fleets incentive program.

Procurement costs for BEVs and/or smart chargers procured before 16 December 2025 (documentation may be requested as evidence of this).

The incentive cannot be used for the procurement of:

• passenger and sports utility vehicles with a recommended retail price below $40,000
• fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs, HEVs and PHEVs
• vehicles with GVM above 23 tonnes
• second-hand BEVs or demonstrator vehicles
• new or used ICE vehicles converted to BEVs
• motorcycles (off road, road, scooters, e-bikes, mopeds, ATV/SSV – side-by-side vehicle)
• trailers and caravans
• buses with more than 20 passenger seats
• airplanes
• boats
• any vehicles not set out in the ‘vehicle— categories’ section.

Novated leasing is excluded from the incentive.

Vehicles purchased/leased exclusively for personal use are also excluded.

• A taxi owner-driver switching to a BEV. The owner may decide to opt out of the smart charger incentive, as they will instead rely more on the existing public charging network.
• A car rental business adding BEVs to its fleet to provide its customers with the option to hire one for holiday travel or as a way of undertaking an extended test drive.
• A construction, trade or delivery business adding electric vans, utes or trucks to its fleet.
• A local council procuring passenger BEVs for parking rangers to use, with smart chargers installed at the council depot.

The incentive is designed to cover part of the cost of procuring and operating BEVs and procuring and installing smart chargers.

Organisations can be headquartered in NSW or in any other State or Territory, but incentivised vehicles must be registered and used predominantly in NSW.

An individual involved in the management of multiple entities cannot submit multiple applications at the same time using multiple ABNs. The department reserves the right to disqualify an applicant if there is a situation which may impact the fairness and equity for other applicants.

Organisations that have received funding through any of the first six rounds of the Competitive Bid or the FY25 Kick-start EV fleets incentive funding options can also apply for FY26 Kick-start funding. However, if an organisation has previously received funding for fewer than 15 vehicles through the previous rounds of the EV fleets incentive, they can only apply for the remaining number of vehicles to reach a total of 15.