Telstra outage affects Chargefox EV charging network across Australia

A widespread outage of the Telstra mobile network has impacted electric vehicle (EV) charging across Australia.

Chargefox operates one of the country's largest EV charging networks, with approximately 2200 charging plugs nationwide, and emailed customers earlier this morning, July 8, warning of potential issues.

“Chargefox is impacted by the ongoing mobile data outage. The issue is with the provider. As a result, a small number of our public chargers may be unavailable whilst the outage continues,” the statement read.

On its website, Chargefox has an outage monitor to keep customers informed with regular updates. At the time of writing, it reported a 'partial outage' affecting both its platform and mobile application due to the Telstra issues.

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Chargefox also operates the WA EV Network in Western Australia, which may also be impacted, while the NRMA in New South Wales uses the Chargefox platform for some of its charging stations.

CarExpert has contacted Chargefox for more detail about the issues affecting its charging stations.

No other charging networks, including Tesla Superchargers, Evie, Ampol AmpCharge and BP Pulse, had reported any issues at the time of writing.

The Telstra outage became apparent in the early hours of Wednesday, July 8, when complaints surged after thousands of Australians reported problems with their devices.

“We're looking into an issue affecting some mobile calls and data connections. If you're having trouble connecting at first, try again as it may work on a retry. We're on it and will share an update as soon as it's fixed. Thanks for bearing with us,” Telstra posted on its website.

While affecting EV charging sites, the outage has also disrupted EFTPOS terminals and public transport systems that rely on the Telstra network.

It may also limit the functionality of some fuel retailer mobile apps and associated supermarket rewards programs.

The interruption to EV chargers come as EV sales have hit record levels, with the Tesla Model Y the best-selling vehicle of any fuel type for the second consecutive month in June. EVs accounted for 23.3 per cent of all new vehicle sales during the month.

The Australian Government announced $40 million to expand the country's EV charging infrastructure in September 2025 as part of its Net Zero Plan, which aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

MORE: Almost half of Australians want a hybrid or EV for their next car – study