Telstra outage prompts calls for mandatory EV charger standards

The Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) said the recent Telstra network outage, which impacted the ability of some electric vehicle (EV) owners to use public charging stations, is a wake-up call for higher regulatory standards.

On Wednesday, July 8, disruptions to Telstra's data network affected thousands of users across Australia, interrupting phone calls, mobile data and broader services including EFTPOS payments, while also limiting taxi operations.

Public transport systems in both Victoria and New South Wales were also affected, as were some emergency service calls.

Australia's largest public EV charging network, Chargefox – which has charging partnerships with the NRMA, RACV and Woolworths – saw its stations impacted as access to its smartphone app was disrupted by the Telstra outage, prompting the AEVA to renew calls for higher national standards for charging infrastructure.

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"Simply put, a network outage shouldn't disrupt the lives of EV owners the way it did this week," AEVA vice president Jo Oddie told CarExpert.

"As an advocacy body pushing for greater standards for EV owners nationwide, we ask that all public electric vehicle chargers have clear fallback pathways if connectivity drops."

"This is particularly true for those funded by government, where the use of multiple carriers or more robust connectivity design should be considered. In any instance, chargers should default to a free charge in the event of lost connectivity."

"These chargers were often in key regional places where there aren't alternative options, leaving EV owners high and dry in some instances."

In addition to disrupting access to charging smartphone apps, the Telstra outage also interrupted EFTPOS payments at some charging stations, which the AEVA said highlighted the need for stronger safeguards.

"Tap-and-go payment systems, which queue authorised payments until a new connection is made, would also ensure drivers can never be stranded and also avoid the challenges of accessing app-based payment systems when mobile reception is down."

The outage came after EV sales hit a record high in Australia, with electric vehicles accounting for 23.3 per cent of all new-vehicle sales in June 2026 — almost level with petrol-powered vehicles, whose market share fell to 24.8 per cent.

With the Tesla Model Y the best-selling vehicle across all fuel types in June, every model in the top 20 was available with either an electric, hybrid or diesel powertrain. None was offered exclusively with a petrol engine.

That means this week's mobile data outage likely affected more motorists than previous network disruptions, such as the November 2023 Optus outage, which limited access to some Evie Networks charging stations to drivers carrying an RFID card.

"The recent widespread Telstra outage reminds us how much we live and work in a very connected world, highlighting the associated risks and the need for us all to focus on connectivity resilience in both business and consumer life," said Ms Oddie.

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