As electric vehicle uptake accelerates and community expectations rise, councils across Australia are grappling with the same question: Should local government step into the role of Charge Point Operator (CPO) and own EV charging infrastructure — or leave it to the private sector?
At the Fleet EV Expo for Local Government in November, three leading experts — Claire Painter (Jet Charge), Christopher Munnings (Exploren), and Charlie Richardson (Knox Energy) — offered rare, candid insight into the opportunities and pitfalls facing councils.
Their discussion laid out a clear roadmap for both sides of the argument.
THE CASE FOR COUNCIL-OWNED CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
1. Equity and Access for Local Residents
One of the strongest arguments in favour of council ownership is equitable access — especially for residents without off-street parking.
Christopher Munnings framed the role clearly: “A council has a different motivation to a private charge point operator… councils will generally focus on their own lands… it’s going to be there for the community.”
Where private operators target profitable locations — shopping centres, highways, busy precincts — councils can fill gaps for people who rely on kerbside or local public charging.
For many municipalities, this aligns perfectly with sustainability, transport and social equity objectives.
2. Councils Can Use Charging to Stimulate Local Economies
Public charging drives visitation, dwell time and local spend. Painter noted that public charging “supports local economic activity” and gives confidence to those considering buying an EV.
For smaller towns or local centres trying to attract trade, owning a charger could be the difference between being EV-friendly and being bypassed.
3. New Business Models Reduce Operational and Financial Risk
Historically, councils avoided becoming CPOs due to cost, complexity and maintenance responsibilities.
But Claire Painter highlighted emerging subscription or shared-risk models that make ownership more feasible: “There are newer models coming out… where it allows you to pass on operational risk but also attract some of the revenue stream.”
These models allow councils to:
- avoid large upfront capex
- outsource operations and maintenance
- still share in revenue
- deploy chargers strategically rather than waiting for private investment
It’s a “third way” — not fully hands-off, not fully responsible.
4. Councils Control Prime Community Land
Not all good charging sites are commercial. Some of the best are:
- libraries
- sports facilities
- community hubs
- council car parks
- municipal swimming pools
- local shopping strips
As Munnings noted, “councils do have control of some very good charging areas.”
If the private sector is slow to act, councils are sometimes the only realistic option to ensure infrastructure gets built where it’s genuinely needed.
THE CASE AGAINST COUNCIL-OWNED CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
1. Councils Risk Overbuilding or “Gold-Plating”
Moderator John Ravlic highlighted a persistent issue: “Councils are very good at gold plating, at over specifying… while small and simple gets the job done.”
This is a real risk.
Many councils instinctively plan expensive DC fast chargers even when AC charging is sufficient. Overbuilt infrastructure can create:
- unnecessary grid upgrades
- ongoing maintenance loads
- stranded assets as technology evolves
- slow deployment timelines
Given limited budgets, misalignment can quickly derail EV transition plans.
2. Private Operators Already Dominate Key Sites
Munnings explained that private CPOs will always choose areas with strong commercial returns:
“The private sector will look for the very popular areas… lots of foot traffic, people going through car parks… whereas councils will generally focus on their own lands.”
This means councils may end up owning the least profitable sites — and may never achieve sustainable utilisation or revenue recovery.
In the worst case, ratepayers subsidise charging for visitors from neighbouring council areas.
3. Utilisation Risk: Council Chargers May Remain Underused
Council-run chargers often sit in quiet community car parks, not retail precincts or major destinations.
Munnings warned this explicitly: “The council charger will probably not be as busy as the charger in Chadstone or the Glen.”
Low utilisation means:
- slower payback
- lower revenue
- little environmental impact per dollar invested
- ongoing O&M costs with minimal benefit
For councils with tight budgets, this is a serious consideration.
4. Pricing Complexity and Market Distortion
Councils often want to price charging cheaply for residents — but this can unintentionally distort the market.
One attendee raised exactly this concern: “Do we put a disservice on the market because our pricing may be different to the private industry?”
If council charging is too cheap:
- private investment may be discouraged
- operators may avoid the area entirely
- local businesses may argue “unfair competition”
If it’s too expensive, residents complain. Councils must balance community service with commercial logic — a difficult line to walk.
5. Operational Complexity Can Be Higher Than Expected
Being a CPO involves:
- uptime management
- repairs
- software updates
- customer support
- asset management
- billing
- energy management
- data reporting
- electrical compliance
Painter emphasised that for many councils, “the challenge isn’t the hardware… it’s the internal time required by the team.”
Most councils do not have dedicated EV infrastructure teams — making full ownership challenging unless outsourced.
A MIDDLE GROUND? ENABLER, NOT OPERATOR
The panel repeatedly came back to one idea: councils don’t need to be CPOs to support the transition.
Painter was clear: “You don’t need to have all the expertise… you can partner with people to support on that.”
Munnings reinforced councils’ true long-term role: “Planning permission… ensuring new housing, new shopping centres… have sufficient electrical capacity… to allow EV charging.”
This suggests councils can make the biggest impact by:
- setting good planning rules
- facilitating private investment
- making council land available via EOI
- supporting workplace charging
- enabling after-hours use of fleet chargers
- focusing on equity-based locations
Without taking on the full burden of being a CPO.
SO… SHOULD COUNCILS BE CPOs?
YES — If the goal is equity, community access, and filling market gaps.
Especially where the private sector will not deliver.
NO — If the goal is to run a commercial charging network or generate revenue.
Private operators will always be better resourced and more data-driven.
Act as strategic enabler, landholder, and policy setter, while partnering with private CPOs or subscription-based service providers to minimise risk. As the panel agreed, EV charging is not a one-size-fits-all solution — but councils don’t have to own everything to shape the transition.
