EV stamp duty and registration concessions by state

Between 2021 and 2023, most Australian states offered a rebate, a stamp duty exemption, or both, on electric cars. Most of those have now closed. If you are reading a 2022 article — or, as it turns out, some government pages that were never updated — you may be planning around money that is no longer available.

What has closed

Purchase rebates are gone in every state and territory. What remains is concessional stamp duty and registration:

• NSW — the $3,000 rebate ended 1 January 2024, and the stamp duty exemption (up to $78,000, new or used) ended 31 December 2023.
• Queensland — the rebate, which reached $6,000, closed at 11:59pm on 2 September 2024. Battery electric only.
• South Australia — the $3,000 subsidy ended 1 January 2024.
• Western Australia — the $3,500 ZEV rebate closed on 10 May 2025, after 14,424 rebates worth about $50.5 million. New vehicles only, battery electric or hydrogen.
• Tasmania — the $2,000 grant closed when its funding was exhausted, after 375 grants. Tasmania's stamp duty exemption ended 30 June 2023, with a narrow transitional to 1 January 2024.
• ACT — the zero-emission vehicle stamp duty exemption ended 31 August 2025.

What is still available

Northern Territory — the strongest remaining concession, and it covers used cars and PHEVs. From 1 July 2022 until 30 June 2027, the NT waives the registration fee (about $91 a year — Motor Accidents Compensation charges, GST and the administration fee are still payable) and gives a stamp duty concession of up to $1,500 on vehicles valued up to $50,000 (above that, 3% duty applies to the amount over). It applies to plug-in hybrids as well as battery electric vehicles, and explicitly to vehicles "of any age", including previously registered, interstate transfers and imports. The registration concession stays with the vehicle when it is sold. Details at nt.gov.au.

Queensland — the cheapest duty band, ongoing, with no price cap. Hybrid and electric light vehicles pay $2 per $100 up to $100,000 and $4 per $100 above it, against $3 to $4 per $100 for petrol cars under $100,000 and $5 to $6 per $100 above it, depending on cylinders — so the $1 to $2 per $100 advantage holds at every value. Electric vehicles also sit in the cheapest registration band. See the Queensland duty rates.

ACT — emissions-based duty and registration. The ACT charges by measured CO2 rather than by engine type, so a zero-emission vehicle pays the lowest band rather than an exemption. From 1 September 2025 a zero-emission car pays $2.50 per $100 under $45,000. Registration is emissions-based too. Note that from 1 December 2025, a vehicle registered under a new operator for the first time in the ACT moves onto reference fees — relevant if you are buying used.

NSW — a registration concession for lower-taxed vehicles. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles with combined CO2 no higher than 150 g/km attract a motor vehicle tax concession, applied automatically.

South Australia — three years free registration, but closed to new entrants. The exemption covers new battery electric and hydrogen vehicles first registered between 28 October 2021 and 30 June 2025, under a $68,750 cap, running three years from first registration. Vehicles first registered on or after 1 July 2025 get nothing. The practical point for a used buyer: the exemption runs three years from the vehicle’s first registration, so a car first registered in, say, June 2025 still has it into 2028. SA’s published material does not say whether the balance carries to a new owner, so confirm with Service SA before you pay a premium for it.

Where an EV still costs more

Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania have no electric vehicle stamp duty concession. In Victoria an EV sits in the low-emission band at $8.40 per $200 at any value, which is the same rate an ordinary passenger car pays below the threshold, currently $80,809 and indexed each 1 July — so the concession is worth nothing under that figure and only bites above it.

The Victorian road user charge was struck down

Victoria charged electric and low-emission vehicles a distance-based road user charge from 2021. In Vanderstock v Victoria the High Court held the charging provision invalid on 18 October 2023. Drivers stopped being required to pay or to submit odometer readings from that date, and refunds — with interest — were paid, closing on 30 June 2024.

NSW has legislated a charge that has not commenced: it is scheduled for 1 July 2027, or when electric vehicles reach 30% of new vehicle sales, whichever comes first, at published 2026-27 rates of 3.095 c/km for battery electric and hydrogen vehicles and 2.476 c/km for plug-in hybrids. NSW has said it is assessing the implications of the High Court's decision.

Check before you buy, not after

Concessions in this area have changed repeatedly and often with little notice, and several of the pages describing them are out of date. Before you rely on any figure here:

• Confirm it against your own state or territory's revenue office or transport department, which is the source that binds you.
• Check whether the concession applies to used vehicles — most rebates were new-only, while duty concessions and the NT scheme generally were not.
• Check whether it applies to plug-in hybrids — most schemes excluded them; the NT is the notable exception.
• If a concession attaches to the vehicle rather than the buyer, as with SA registration and NT registration, ask the seller what remains and get it in writing.

Federal tax treatment is separate and covered in our FBT guide and luxury car tax guide.