What Australia’s new 2035 climate target means for WA Strata

The big picture, in plain English

The Commonwealth’s Net Zero Plan puts transport, buildings and electricity at the centre of the transition. It explicitly leans on the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES)—now law and in force—to shift the new-car market toward much cleaner models from 2025.

As supply changes, about half of all new light vehicles sold by 2035 will need to be electric to stay inside the 2035 economy-wide target. That’s not a fad; it’s a planning assumption that turns into car-park reality for apartments.

At the same time, the Plan flags programs to accelerate household batteries and energy performance—useful signals for strata solar and storage in common areas.

What this means for WA strata, practically

1) EV charging stops being optional infrastructure.

As EVs climb toward ~50% of new sales by 2035, apartment buildings without a plan will face lower property values, allocation disputes, unsafe “extension-lead” behaviour, or expensive ad-hoc upgrades. WA has already completed a 49-site fast-charging highway across the state; the constraint for residents is increasingly at home, in the basement.

On standards: the Australian Building Codes Board has proposed EV-readiness measures for apartments (e.g., capacity provision and safe installation pathways). Final NCC 2025 content has been delayed, but the direction is clear: build EV-ready, not EV-retrofit. Plan distribution boards, cable trays and load management now—even if you stage chargers later.

In WA planning, a Government Position Statement already guides how councils consider EV infrastructure in developments—handy context for DAs and retrofit approvals.

2) Rooftop solar and batteries move from “nice to have” to “baseline”.

Australia passed 4 million rooftop solar systems in 2024, and installations keep growing. For strata, shared solar on common property can offset lifts, lighting, ventilation—and, with storage or smart tariffs, support overnight EV charging without blowing peak demand.

When running an embedded network in WA, solar and batteries can also provide cheap electricity for residents directly.

There is also two new battery rebate schemes with both a WA Government Battery Scheme

and the Federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program available.

3) Electrification of building services becomes standard practice.

Heat-pump hot water and efficient electric appliances displace gas over time, aligning with national built-environment and energy-sector plans. For strata, the “how” matters more than the “why”: staged plant replacement schedules, capacity checks in main switchboards, and tariff optimisation (especially if you add batteries). We expect the federal government to announce an incentive scheme in time.

4) You’ll need a clean, legal path to make decisions.

WA’s Strata Titles Act s64 provides a mechanism for strata to approve and protect infrastructure on common property. The strata company may enter an infrastructure contract for utility or sustainability infrastructure and, by ordinary resolution, apply s64 to that contract. Many WA schemes use this pathway for EV chargers, shared solar/batteries and metering upgrades. Always obtain scheme-specific legal advice.

5) Embedded networks are tightening up.

WA is moving from a Voluntary Embedded Networks Code of Practice toward mandatory rules under the Alternative Electricity Services (AES) framework. Expect clearer disclosure, stronger customer protections and registration obligations—relevant for any strata operating on-supply arrangements. Getting your metering and billing right now will save pain later.

Where Bright Connect can help

Strata doesn’t need another “nice idea”; it needs a system that meters, allocates and bills fairly across electricity, hot water, cold water and EV charging—without creating admin headaches.

• Sub-metering & billing: Bright Connect’s Strata Data Hub Platform ingests meter data and produces monthly invoices across services—so EV charging and hot water usage can be recovered cleanly alongside other utilities.

• EV charging in apartments: Where chargers draw from common supply, metered EV use is added to the resident’s monthly bill. The chargers are centrally managed to ensure the total draw doesn’t exceed the building’s capacity. Our Bright Charge App allows charging at the site and hundreds of other sites around WA.

• Transparent cost recovery: For centralised hot water, our model apportions total running costs (energy + water) by each lot’s usage share and presents it clearly on the bill—reducing disputes.

In short: we help strata operate embedded networks professionally—with the metering, data, and billing mechanics already solved—so you can focus on governance and long-term value.

Bottom line

Australia’s 2035 target has turned long-term talk into near-term tasks. For WA strata, the winners will be schemes that wire once, stage sensibly, meter everything, and bill transparently. That path is compatible with where codes and policy are heading—even while some national settings (like NCC 2025) are still being finalised.

About Bright Connect: We partner with WA strata to design, meter and bill modern embedded-network services (electricity, EV charging, hot water and water) with transparent, automated cost recovery using our Strata Data Hub platform.

This article is bought to you by SCA (WA) Sponsor Bright Connect.