It's My Car Space. Why Can the Committee Say No?
An owner wants an EV charger in their parking space. The proposed cable crosses common property. Does the latest reform headline settle the approval question?
An owner books an electrician to install an EV charger in their parking space. New cabling will run through common property.
“The Bill has passed,” the owner says. “It's my space and I'm paying. Why can the committee say no?”
One committee member dislikes the proposed appearance. Another wants to approve it by email. The electrician is due next week. This is a fictional learning scenario.
What would you do?
- AProceed immediately because the Bill has passed.
- BRefuse because the committee dislikes the appearance.
- CCheck commencement, assess the works, identify current approval requirements and guide the proper decision.
- DAllow the work simply because the owner pays.
Choose your response before opening the explanation.
Reveal the practical explanation
Start with the process that operates today
Owning the space and paying for the charger do not settle what can be done to common property. A Bill passing Parliament does not automatically activate a new approval process.
At the 23 October 2026 source check, Parliament still listed this Bill as awaiting assent. Proposed sections 132D and 132E are assigned to commencement by proclamation. Their future procedure must not be used as an operating permission now.
Existing approvals: assess the actual work
Check the registered plan, parking-space rights, by-laws, electrical scope and cable route. Establish the effect on common property, supply capacity, fire safety, metering, maintenance, insurance and future access.
Current NSW Government guidance directs owners to obtain approval for charging equipment and identifies the common-property and sustainability-infrastructure pathway under sections 108 and 132B. Relevant sustainability resolutions use unit entitlement: votes against must represent less than 50% of the unit entitlement voting.
The exact approval and any by-law depend on the work and scheme documents. An individual committee member's agreement is not a substitute for the required decision. Obtain suitable technical or legal advice where the pathway is unclear.
Appearance is not a complete answer either
Existing reforms already restrict by-laws that block sustainability infrastructure because of external appearance, with heritage exceptions. The committee should assess the proposal against the applicable rules and evidence, rather than a personal preference.
Ask for the information needed to make a proper decision. Explain any genuine issue clearly and explore a workable response.
What the proposed EV procedure would change
If commenced, section 132D would require an installation notice and prescribed material, followed by a written no-objection notice or reasoned objection. Unreasonable objections could be challenged in the Tribunal.
The proposed response period is three months from receipt, or a longer prescribed period. Silence would count as no objection. Section 132E would place installation costs and specified reasonable ongoing and damage costs on the owner, subject to regulations.
For work validly using that proposed pathway, the Bill would disapply sections 108–110 and the section 132B pathway. These are proposed arrangements, not today's permission. Charger definitions, required documents and objection settings depend on regulations. Check commencement and those regulations before using the process.
Why the other responses fall short
A confuses passage with commencement. B replaces a proper assessment with personal taste. D confuses who pays with who can authorise the works.
C gives the owner a useful next step: identify the work, establish the operating rules and guide the proposal to the right decision-maker.
A usable right needs a clear process
The owner needs a fair answer. The scheme needs to understand the building impacts. Clear information and the right authority help both sides move forward.
Before the electrician starts: verify commencement, review the scope, identify the approval route and record the decision and responsibilities. Do not treat proposed deemed no-objection as current approval.
The STRATA IQ takeawayA STRONGER RIGHT STILL NEEDS THE RIGHT PROCESS. How is easy when you know the why.
Official-source review: 23 October 2026. Parliament records Bill 18845 as awaiting assent. Its passed text assigns Schedule 1[80], which would insert sections 132D and 132E, to commencement by proclamation. The proposed notice, objection, response-period, deemed no-objection and cost rules are not presented as operating law. Current NSW Government residential-strata EV guidance continues to direct owners to obtain approval and describes the sections 108 and 132B sustainability pathway. The current consolidated Act and Regulation pages were not retrievable during this check, so no claim is made that those texts or any future EV regulations were independently reviewed. Before acting, check the current Act, applicable regulations, commencement and transitional provisions. General educational information only, not legal advice.
- NSW Parliament — Bill 18845, passage and assent record ↗
- NSW Parliament — passed text: clause 2 and Schedule 1 ↗
- NSW Government — making a residential strata building EV ready ↗
- NSW Government — strata by-laws and sustainability infrastructure ↗
- NSW legislation — Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (current text reference) ↗
- NSW legislation — Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (current text reference) ↗
Turn the explanation into practice.
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