The scheme is run by the state government and aimed at small and medium tourism operators: hotels, holiday parks, retreats. Applications for round one closed on 31 August 2026. A second round, again worth AU$125,000, is due to be announced in early 2027.
Roger Jaensch, Tasmania's Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events, said the first round had been "incredibly popular" and that the island's compact geography and roads suit electric road trips.
What the program funds
The grant is capped at AU$2,500 per charger, and one business can claim for at most four chargers. That puts the ceiling at AU$10,000 per property. The money is meant to complement public charging rather than replace it: the state has funded fast chargers separately since 2021.
The focus on slower AC equipment is deliberate. These are units for places where a car sits for six, eight or ten hours while the guests sleep and eat. The state is not paying for 150 kW hardware that would be idle most of the day.
Overnight AC instead of fast DC
A typical destination charger delivers 7 to 11 kW. Eight hours at that rate puts 56 to 88 kWh into the battery. In a mid-size electric car using around 17 kWh per 100 km, that is roughly 330 to 520 km of range waiting in the morning.
For a family on a two-week road trip, this is the difference between starting the day from a full battery and routing the day around chargers. It also shifts most of the cost to the accommodation tariff, which is usually cheaper per kWh than a motorway fast charger.
You can compare those two prices for your own car with our charging cost calculator, or look at the public network along a route in the charging station map.
How far AU$125,000 goes
The arithmetic is worth spelling out. Fifty points at the full AU$2,500 each comes to exactly AU$125,000. So the headline target and the round-one budget are the same number if every single point takes the maximum grant.
Spread over the 24 destinations named in the plan, round one works out to an average of about AU$5,200 per site. The second round is backed by the same amount again, and the announcement does not say how many points that round is expected to cover.
For readers outside Australia: AU$250,000 is about €142,000 at an exchange rate near AU$1 = €0.57. That is a modest budget, and it buys modest hardware.
Earlier Tasmanian schemes
This is not the first time the island has put public money into charging. In 2025 the ChargeSmart program awarded AU$567,000 to 12 projects installing or upgrading public fast chargers. In 2021 the Electric Highway Tasmania opened with twelve 50 kW points and two ultra-rapid sites.
Public funding for charging shows up in other regions too. Bucharest drew €87.44 million from the EU Modernisation Fund for 40 e-buses and 45 trolleybuses, and in North America EV Realty is planning a 27 MW truck charging hub in Ontario for 2028. Tasmania's scheme sits at the other end of the scale, one wallbox on one hotel wall.
The first four recipients
Among the first-round recipients are the Bay of Fires Bush Retreat in Binalong Bay, Low Head Tourist Park, Rosevears Hotel and Wilder Tasmania in Gowrie Park. All are accommodation providers, which matches the design of the program. Each could host up to four chargers under the cap.
What to check before you book
If you are choosing a place to stay because it advertises charging, ask four things: the power in kW, whether the point can be reserved for your arrival, whether it is metered or free, and whether the space is kept clear of petrol and diesel cars. A 3.6 kW socket plugged into a shed is not the same as an 11 kW wallbox.
On longer trips, plan the overnight stop as your main charging event and leave fast chargers for the days when you cover more ground. Our range calculator helps you work out how much you need to recover each night.
The second round of Tasmanian funding, worth the same AU$125,000, is due to be announced in early 2027. Businesses that missed the August deadline have no confirmed application date yet.
Does the grant cover the full cost of a charger?
No. The state pays up to AU$2,500 per charger and a maximum of four chargers per business, so the most any one operator can draw is AU$10,000. The rest of the hardware and the installation is paid by the business.
How much range does one night of AC charging add?
At 7 to 11 kW over eight hours, a car takes on roughly 56 to 88 kWh. That is about 330 to 520 km in a car using 17 kWh per 100 km, depending on temperature and driving style.
Who can apply for the grants?
Small and medium tourism operators in Tasmania who host overnight guests. Round one closed on 31 August 2026 and a second round of AU$125,000 is due to be announced in early 2027.
Source: https://www.electrive.com/2026/10/13/tasmania-to-fund-50-new-ev-charging-points-at-tourism-hotspots/