V2G in Strata Buildings: What's Ready in Australia, and What Isn't

Vehicle-to-grid charging is developing quickly in Australia. Trials are expanding, network rules are changing, and bidirectional charging is moving beyond small demonstration projects.

That does not mean it is ready to be specified as a standard solution for most apartment buildings.

Victoria's Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action says this directly in its August 2026 EV-ready guide for owners corporations.

The guide describes V2G as an emerging technology that is "not currently a viable standard option for most strata buildings" and recommends specialist technical, regulatory and commercial advice before proceeding.

The guide is written for Victorian owners corporations and should not be treated as legal guidance for NSW strata schemes. The technical issues it identifies, however, are relevant to apartment buildings more broadly. Shared electrical infrastructure, metering, ownership and building governance all make V2G more complicated than it is in a standalone home.

For owners corporations planning EV charging now, the priority is conventional charging infrastructure that can accommodate future changes without major rework.

V2L, V2H and V2G: What the Difference Means for Strata

The three terms are often grouped together, but they have different implications for a building.

Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) lets a compatible EV power individual appliances or equipment directly, either through an onboard outlet or an adaptor connected to the charging port. It does not require a connection back into the building's electrical installation. V2L is already available on many current EVs.

Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) allows electricity stored in an EV battery to supply a home or building through compatible bidirectional equipment. If the system is intended to provide backup power during an outage, additional protection, isolation and switching arrangements are required. A vehicle's ability to discharge electricity does not automatically mean it can safely supply a building during a blackout.

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) allows electricity from the EV battery to be exported into the network. Any financial benefit to the vehicle owner depends on the retailer, tariff and control arrangement.

Australian Government EV guidance notes that not every EV or charging system supports V2X, and some equipment may support one form of bidirectional operation without supporting the others. Compatibility needs to be confirmed by the manufacturer for the Australian market rather than assumed from overseas specifications.

Where V2G Stands in Australia

Australia has moved beyond purely experimental V2G projects.

SA Power Networks became the first Australian electricity distributor to allow V2G chargers to connect to its network outside trial conditions, provided the installation meets the applicable technical and network requirements.

From 1 July 2026, new electric vehicle supply-and-discharge equipment in South Australia is subject to updated demand-response requirements. OCPP 2.1 is listed as one compliance pathway alongside other approved standards.

Projects are also increasing in scale. In May 2026, ARENA announced additional funding for Amber Electric's V2G and smart-charging project, expanding its V2G component from 50 to 1,000 participating households.

Origin Energy has separately announced a 50-customer V2G subscription trial using a BYD Atto 3 and StarCharge V2G Halo charger, commencing in 2026. Origin advertised the package at under $800 per month after assumed tax savings for eligible participants.

These are defined programs with eligibility requirements. They are not standard products that a strata committee can specify across an apartment building.

Vehicle compatibility remains one of the main constraints. Federal government guidance states that very few EVs in Australia currently have V2X capability confirmed by the manufacturer.

Hyundai Australia, for example, states that none of its Australian vehicles currently support V2G and warns that unapproved bidirectional charging can create safety and warranty issues.

A vehicle supporting bidirectional charging overseas does not mean the same functionality is approved for use in Australia.

Why Strata Is More Complicated Than a Standalone House

A standalone house typically has one electricity connection, one household electrical system and a relatively simple relationship between the vehicle, charger and electricity account.

An apartment building may have a main switchboard serving dozens or hundreds of lots, common-property electrical infrastructure, multiple meters, load-management systems, communications networks, embedded networks and separately owned parking spaces.

Even conventional EV charging has to be designed around the building's electrical system rather than around an individual charger.

V2G adds electricity export to that system.

If several vehicles can charge and discharge, the building may need to control how much electricity is exported through the connection point, which vehicles are permitted to export, how charging and discharging interact with other loads, and how electricity or financial benefits are attributed to individual residents.

Rooftop solar, batteries and embedded networks can add further metering and control requirements.

There is also the approval process.

In NSW, changes involving common-property electrical infrastructure fall under the Strata Schemes Management Act and the sustainability infrastructure framework. Owners corporation approval is required before EV charging equipment is connected to shared building infrastructure.

V2G can be used in strata, but a system designed for a detached house cannot simply be duplicated across an apartment car park.

What Strata Buildings Should Design for in 2026

Most buildings do not need bidirectional chargers today to allow for V2G in the future.

Electrical capacity is a more immediate consideration.

Before selecting chargers, an owners corporation should understand the condition and capacity of the main switchboard, the incoming supply, existing building loads and expected EV demand.

Future electrification elsewhere in the building should also be considered. Using all available electrical capacity for the first group of EV chargers could limit later projects involving hot water, HVAC or other building services.

Physical infrastructure also affects how easily a system can expand.

Distribution boards, cable trays, conduits and communications infrastructure can be designed so that additional parking spaces can be connected over time without repeating major common-property works.

That does not necessarily require cabling every parking bay from the start.

Victoria's guidance recognises several approaches, including a full building-wide project, staged works, interim solutions and deferred investment depending on the building.

NSW guidance similarly describes EV charging backbones that can include high-capacity feeds, distribution infrastructure, cable trays or busways, load control and billing capability.

The design should allow later expansion without forcing the building to replace infrastructure that could reasonably have been retained.

OCPP Helps, But It Doesn't Make a Charger "V2G-Ready"

OCPP is increasingly included in EV charging specifications. It is an open communications protocol used between compatible chargers and charging-management systems. It can support load management, monitoring and billing while reducing dependence on a single software provider.

Victoria's 2026 guide requires managed Level 2 chargers to support OCPP 1.6J or a later version supported by the selected load-management system.

South Australia's newer requirements reference OCPP 2.1 for bidirectional equipment.

OCPP support alone does not mean a charger can provide V2G.

Bidirectional power electronics, vehicle-to-charger communication, inverter compliance, network approval and manufacturer support are separate requirements.

A conventional charger with good software interoperability may still need to be replaced if a building later adopts V2G.

The more important question is what else has to be replaced with it.

If the switchboards, cable routes, communications infrastructure and load-management architecture can remain in place, replacing individual chargers later is a much smaller project.

There Is No Fixed Date for V2G in Strata

V2G readiness depends on several areas developing at the same time: vehicle and charger availability, interoperability, network connection rules, strata governance, insurance and regulation.

A federal review published in 2026 identified these among the remaining barriers to broader V2H and V2G adoption.

The ARENA-backed Vehicle-Grid Network is also continuing work on standards and testing, regulatory and market barriers, and the consumer deployment pathway.

Progress is already visible. South Australia permits compliant V2G connections, residential projects are expanding, and national work on interoperability is continuing through 2026.

For a strata committee, this does not require installing V2G equipment now.

It means designing today's EV charging system with enough capacity and flexibility to accommodate new equipment later. That includes appropriate load management, expandable physical infrastructure and avoiding unnecessary dependence on proprietary systems.

Equipment marketed as bidirectional overseas should also be checked for Australian vehicle, charger and network approval before it is included in a project.

For most strata buildings in 2026, V2G is worth allowing for in the design, but it is not yet a standard equipment requirement.