EV road trip planning in Australia: chargers, apps and long-distance tips

This EV road trip planning guide for Australia covers how to plan charging stops, which apps to use, and real charging towns on three of the most popular drives, taken from the 1,619 public chargers on our EV charging stations map.

How to plan an EV road trip in Australia

1. Know your real highway range. WLTP range figures (on our EV prices page) are higher than what you’ll get at 100–110 km/h, especially into a headwind, in the cold, with a full car or towing. Plan with a buffer.
2. Plan legs from charger to charger, aiming to arrive with 10–20% left and charge to around 80%. Charging above 80% is slow, so shorter, more frequent stops are usually quicker overall.
3. Pick stops with more than one charger, or two networks in the same town, so a single fault doesn’t strand you.
4. Have a backup for every stop. Before each leg, check that the next charger and the one after it are within range.
5. Check live status before you leave each stop, in the network’s app. Our map can’t show live status because Australian networks don’t publish open real-time data.
6. Charge where you sleep. Hotels, caravan parks and holiday rentals with an AC charger (or even a standard powerpoint overnight) mean you start each day full.

Which EV charging apps do you need in Australia?

• A route planner: A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) plans charging stops for your model and lets you set arrival charge, speed and weather. Many cars have good built-in planners too, including Tesla navigation.
• PlugShare: recent check-ins from other drivers are the best way to spot a broken or slow site.
• The network apps: Chargefox, Evie, Tesla (for Superchargers), My NRMA, bp pulse, Ampol AmpCharge and JOLT. Set them up and add a payment card before you leave home, because mobile coverage can be patchy at regional sites.
• Our charger map: every network on one map, with filters for 150 kW+, plug type and Tesla Superchargers. It works offline once you’ve opened it, if you install the EV Aussie app.
• Traffic and road closures: Live Traffic NSW, VicTraffic, Traffic SA and QLDTraffic.

Melbourne to Sydney EV charging stops (Hume Highway)

About 865 km and around 9–10 hours of driving via the Hume (OSRM). It’s one of Australia’s best-served EV corridors. In a snap audit on 31 May 2026, AEVA volunteers tested the chargers from Ingleburn to Epping and found only 12 of 195 CCS2 plugs out of service, with working plugs at every site (AEVA).

* Approximate driving distance when you call at each stop in turn (OSRM on OpenStreetMap data), so detours into towns add a little. “Open to other EVs” is from supercharge.info (18 Oct 2026); confirm in the Tesla app. Charger data snapshot: 17 Oct 2026. Power is only shown where it’s listed. Always check live status in the network’s app.

Example plan for a car with about 350 km of real highway range: leave Melbourne full, charge at Wangaratta (~245 km), then Gundagai or Coolac (~260–270 km on), then Goulburn (~165–175 km on), arriving in Sydney with plenty to spare. Albury–Wodonga, Holbrook, Yass and Campbelltown are good alternatives or backups, and Albury, Coolac, Yass, Goulburn (Lockyer St) and Campbelltown are Supercharger sites flagged as open to other EVs.

Melbourne to Adelaide EV charging stops (Western and Dukes highways)

About 726 km and around 9 hours of driving via Ballarat, Horsham and Bordertown (OSRM). Chargers are a little further apart in western Victoria and the Upper South East of SA, so plan your backups carefully.

* Approximate driving distance when you call at each stop in turn (OSRM on OpenStreetMap data), so detours into towns add a little. “Open to other EVs” is from supercharge.info (18 Oct 2026); confirm in the Tesla app. Charger data snapshot: 17 Oct 2026. Power is only shown where it’s listed. Always check live status in the network’s app.

Example plan: charge at Stawell (~240 km), then Kaniva or Bordertown (~180–225 km on), then Tailem Bend (~165–210 km on) if you need it, about 110 km from Adelaide. Stawell, Nhill, Kaniva and Tailem Bend are Supercharger sites flagged as open to other EVs. Horsham, Murray Bridge and Bordertown also have non-Tesla fast chargers.

Sydney to Brisbane EV charging stops (Pacific Highway)

About 908 km and around 10–11 hours of driving on the Pacific Motorway and Pacific Highway (OSRM). There are lots of charging towns, but holiday weekends can bring queues at popular coastal sites.

* Approximate driving distance when you call at each stop in turn (OSRM on OpenStreetMap data), so detours into towns add a little. “Open to other EVs” is from supercharge.info (18 Oct 2026); confirm in the Tesla app. Charger data snapshot: 17 Oct 2026. Power is only shown where it’s listed. Always check live status in the network’s app.

Example plan: charge at Taree or Kew (~325–370 km, or stop earlier at Raymond Terrace or Karuah), then Coffs Harbour (~185–230 km on), then Tweed Heads or Byron Bay (~245–310 km on), and on to Brisbane. Taree, Kew, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay are Supercharger sites flagged as open to other EVs. Karuah (Chargefox) and Macksville (Evie) list chargers of up to 350 kW. Distances to coastal towns like Port Macquarie, Ballina and Byron include a short detour off the highway.

Long-distance EV driving tips

• Speed matters most. Driving at 100 km/h instead of 110 km/h uses noticeably less energy and can save a whole stop on a long day.
• Avoid peak times at popular sites. Easter, school holidays and long weekends bring queues. Charging early in the morning or at less-used sites one town earlier or later helps.
• Precondition the battery on the way to a DC charger if your car supports it. A warm battery charges much faster.
• Carry your portable charger (the cable that plugs into a standard powerpoint) for overnight top-ups at farm stays, family homes and caravan parks.
• Be ready for faults. If a charger won’t start, try another plug or stall, restart the session in the app, or call the number on the unit. Then report it on PlugShare to help the next driver.
• Towing or carrying a roof box can cut range a lot. Plan much shorter legs and choose pull-through bays where they exist.
• Remote trips (Nullarbor, outback, Top End) need far more planning than the eastern capitals: bigger gaps, fewer backups and long waits on slow chargers. Check each leg carefully before you commit.

What does an EV road trip cost?

On the highway, a typical EV might use around 18 kWh/100 km. Melbourne to Sydney (865 km) is then about 156 kWh. All charged at 60c/kWh public prices, that’s about $93, compared with about $156 in our example petrol car (7.5 L/100 km at $2.40/L). Start the trip fully charged at home and the EV costs even less. Our EV charging cost guide has prices by network, and you can model your own driving in the running-cost calculator.