Electrical Safety Inspections for EV Charging Infrastructure
Your chargers are the newest assets on site. Are they the least verified?
Public and workplace chargers, cables driven over in wet car parks, and supply upgrades bolted onto ageing switchboards. An installer handover is not evidence of control. Independent verification is.
The duty is continuous
Under electrical safety legislation, installations must be electrically safe at all times, including chargers used unattended, around the clock, in all weather.
It's judged in hindsight
Compliance is rarely assessed when a decision is made. It is examined after a shock, a fire or a customer complaint, on the evidence the site host can produce.
It covers other people's work
Installers, charge point operators, cleaners and car park contractors. If their work leaves an unsafe electrical situation behind, the site host may still carry the duty.
Every charger the public plugs into is part of your duty.
EV charging adds high, sustained loads to existing installations and puts heavy cables in the hands of the public, in car parks full of water, vehicles and impacts.
Public & destination chargers
Chargers used by the public unattended, day and night, often in exposed locations.
Cables & connectors
Cables left on the ground get driven over, crushed and soaked. Worn insulation and damaged connectors expose the next user.
Supply & switchboard upgrades
New chargers add sustained load to boards and sub-mains that may not have been verified for it.
Car park environment
Water, flooding, vehicle strikes and vandalism all act on chargers and their supply.
Workplace & fleet charging
Depots and workplaces with growing fleets add chargers in stages, often by different installers.
Installer and operator handover
Responsibility for inspection and maintenance often falls between the installer, the charge point operator and the site host.
What the installer handover says is not what gets investigated.
On paper
- Installer issued a certificate of compliance
- Charge point operator monitors uptime
- Chargers are under warranty
- Car park maintained by the landlord
In the car park, often
- No one owns ongoing inspection and testing
- Damaged cables and pedestals left in service
- Switchboard capacity never re-verified after additions
- RCD testing not scheduled or recorded
Regulators do not assess what the handover pack says. They assess what was actually implemented, and whether you can prove it. We close that gap before someone else finds it.
When something goes wrong at a charger, your evidence decides what happens next.
A vehicle strikes a charging pedestal.
What happened
A reversing vehicle struck a charging pedestal, damaging the enclosure and exposing live parts, and the driver did not report it. The next user received a shock. The regulator attended.
What the evidence showed
Independent, auditable records of active monitoring, inspection, contractor induction, access controls and hazard management — all aligned with regulatory expectations.
An overloaded, uninspected sub-board overheats.
What happened
Chargers were added over several years to an existing car park sub-board with no inspection regime or load review. Connections degraded until the board overheated and caught fire in the car park.
What the evidence showed
Nothing. The sub-board was part of the operator's installation and had degraded without inspection, testing or condition assessment.
Illustrative scenarios based on regulatory case patterns. Details have been generalised.
From assumed compliance to demonstrable control.
Consolidated electrical asset register
Every charger, cable, sub-board and supply upgrade across your sites, aligned with regulatory expectations.
Independent inspection & testing
Objective verification by licensed inspectors, not installer handovers or remote monitoring alone.
Risk-based maintenance program
Intervals set by usage, public exposure and environment, not warranty periods.
Documented risk matrices
Linking each regulatory obligation to the hazard and the critical control that manages it.
Contractor competency & oversight
Clear governance between site host, installer and charge point operator, so accountability is never assumed.
Auditable decision trails
Evidence behind every repair, deferral and replacement, ready for the regulator, insurer or board.
We know what investigators ask for. We used to ask for it.
Our founder spent more than a decade inside the Electrical Regulator, with direct responsibility for enforcement and prosecution decisions, incident investigation, standards development and guidance.
That means we interpret your obligations the way regulators apply them in practice, not just as they’re written. Enforcement-tested experience, not theoretical compliance knowledge.
Could your charging sites answer these today, with evidence?
- When were your chargers and cables last independently inspected, and by whom?
- Who is responsible for inspection between you, the installer and the charge point operator?
- Was switchboard and sub-main capacity verified after each charger was added?
- Are charger RCDs tested on a documented schedule, with results recorded?
- If a driver received a shock tomorrow, what would you hand the regulator?
- Can your executives demonstrate due diligence personally, not just point to the installer?
Start with one site. Then your whole charging network.
Charging site risk review
We review a representative charging site and test your arrangements against how a regulator would assess them.
Independent inspection
Licensed inspectors verify chargers, cables, connectors, sub-boards and supply capacity.
Risk & governance framework
Asset register, responsibility map, risk matrices and contractor oversight across your sites.
Ongoing assurance
Auditable records and reporting your executives and partners can rely on.
EV charging electrical safety: what site hosts ask us
Who is responsible for the electrical safety of EV chargers on my site?
It depends on who owns and controls the installation. Site hosts, installers and charge point operators often assume one another is responsible for ongoing inspection. We map responsibility asset by asset so the duty is clearly held and evidenced.
Is the installer certificate enough?
It records the installation at handover. Damage, wear, added load and environmental exposure after that are not covered, and regulators assess whether risks were actively managed over time.
How often should EV chargers be inspected?
Intervals should reflect usage, public exposure, environment and manufacturer guidance. We set a risk-based program for chargers, cables and supply equipment and document the reasoning.
What legislation applies to electrical safety in Victoria?
In Victoria the Electricity Safety Act 1998 and its regulations set the core obligations for electrical installations, alongside occupational health and safety laws that place due diligence duties on officers. We interpret these the way the regulator applies them in practice.
What do we receive at the end of a review?
A consolidated electrical asset register, independent inspection and test results, documented risk matrices, a prioritised remediation plan and an auditable decision trail you can hand to a regulator, insurer or board.
Do not wait for an incident at the charger to find the gap.
Tell us about your chargers and sites and what is prompting the question. We will come back within one business day to scope a review.
Assurance first. Done once. Done right.