Physical Disability Australia is calling for urgent action to fix inaccessible charging infrastructure before inequality is further embedded into the nation’s transport system.
As petrol prices climb and fuel security becomes more volatile, Australia’s move to electric vehicles is accelerating. But for many people with disability, the nation’s EV charging network remains inaccessible, unreliable, and unequal.
The recent Austroads’ “Enabling Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging” report confirms what drivers with disability already know: accessible charging is still not being treated as essential. A “minimum bays” approach may meet basic requirements on paper, but in practice it leaves people with disabilities facing longer waits, fewer options, and greater uncertainty every time they need to recharge.
Physical Disability Australia says that must change.
“If Australia is serious about an electric future, it must be a future that includes everyone,” said Suzanne Gearing, CEO of Physical Disability Australia. “Accessible charging cannot be an afterthought. It is essential infrastructure. When disabled drivers are forced to rely on one bay being available, and not misused, that is not equality. It is exclusion by design.”
Physical Disability Australia is calling on governments, councils, developers, and charging operators to adopt an equity-first approach by making universal design the standard, retrofitting existing sites, and introducing enforceable measures to protect access.
“This is a chance to build the right system from the start,” Ms Gearing said. “We need leadership, urgency, and a commitment to dignity, safety, and equal access. This innovation will, like the curb cut, become a welcome addition to recharging stations, and benefit not just to people with disability, but a significant portion of the community.”
As Australia builds the transport network of the future, accessibility must be built in, not bolted on.
