News / Transport
Kerbside EV charger could be a game changer for inner city residents
Merri-bek is the first council in Australia to trial the overhead boom charger
Mark Phillips
Friday, April 10, 2026
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WHEN Declan Kelly moved to Brunswick earlier this year, he had one major concern: how to charge his electric car.
Living previously on the New South Wales central coast, Kelly had the luxury of off-street parking which meant he could recharge the battery of his Tesla 3 whenever he wished.
But the early 20th century terrace house he and wife Gabrielle bought in a narrow Brunswick Street only had kerbside parking so he faced the challenge of having to find a public EV charger every time the battery was low.
The problem has been solved by an innovative retractable overhead boom that allows a cable to run from Kelly’s home power supply above the footpath to the car parked in the street out the front.
It takes Kelly just a couple of minutes to swing the boom out from its position near his front gate and plug the cable into his car. Looming 2.5 metres above the ground, it is high enough that some pedestrians walking on the footpath outside his house don’t even notice it is there.
And when he is finished, all Kelly has to do is fold the boom back into place until next time.
The boom and cable rig was installed at Kelly’s house as part of a trial of the new system being conducted by Merri-bek Council.
If successful, it could provide a solution to overcome one of the biggest barriers preventing EV uptake in the inner city.
The council was approached last year by Vehicle Charging Solutions Australia, a Melbourne-based company, about trialling its boom-mounted technology.
Since the trial began in September, nine chargers have been installed with another five to be operational soon. Ninety-three EV owners have lodged expressions of interest in being part of the trial.
To take part in the trial, EV owners must obtain a permit from the council and pay for the installation of the charger and the boom out of their own pocket.
The first stage of the trial is restricted to properties that do not fall inside a heritage overlay.
The council says the advantage of the overhead boom is it avoids the risk of power cables strewn across a footpath, which can be a trip hazard, and requires virtually no public infrastructure upgrades.
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Declan Kelly has driven a Tesla for about three years but admits to being worried about how he would charge it after he and Gabrielle bought their house in Brunswick.
Their weatherboard terrace house is typical in having no off-street parking.
But Kelly said the boom system was ideal for his situation where he parked his car close to the front of his house.
It took only a couple of hours for the entire unit to be installed and connected to his power supply, and it had worked perfectly from the start, he said.
Having opted for a slow charging system, whenever his battery gets low, he plugs it into the boom unit and leaves it overnight.
Currently his house is powered from the grid, but Kelly is looking forward to having solar panels fitted to his roof so he can charge the car directly from them.
“We’re chuffed with it,” Kelly said.
“Neither of us drive to work, so we use it [the charger] maybe once a week. This is so convenient for us because otherwise we would have to go and find a public charger but now we don’t have to think about it anymore.”
Kelly’s father-in-law had also used the unit to charge his car during a recent visit from interstate.
The overhead boom solution may have arrived just in time.
The global fuel crisis caused by the US-Israel war on Iran has led to a surge in sales of EVs in Australia. In March, 15,839 battery powered cars were sold – twice the amount 12 months previously. This was one-in-seven of all car sales that month.
But charging infrastructure is not keeping up with the increase in demand.
In Merri-bek, there are 26 publicly available EV charging stations, capable of charging 31 electric vehicles at the same time, which are powered by renewable energy from a windfarm.
These include the EV hub at the Edwards Street car park in Brunswick which has two fast charge DC bays and is one of the busiest stations in Australia.
Originally free to use, they now carry a small fee. Some public underground car parks – such as at the East Brunswick Village or Pentridge shopping centres – also have chargers anyone can use.
The VCS One unit being trialed in Merri-bek was designed by two neighbours who live in Moonee Ponds who say they were looking for something that would balance the needs of EV owners with amenity for people using public footpaths.
The design has been inspired by the iconic Hills Hoist with a counterweight to maintain stability and a 15-metre cable. It comes with a two-year warranty.
Merri-bek is the first council in Australia to trial the new unit. The trial will take nine months after which the council expects it will be able to make an assessment of its suitability as a long-term solution for on-street EV charging.
Kelly is confident about the potential of the boom charger and believes the $4000 cost of installation and connection to his household power supply is worth it as it will increase the value of his house.
He also believes it provides a solution to overcome the uncertainty about how to charge their car that is holding people back from buying an EV.
“My hope is that by the end of the trial it’s proven to be a non-intrusive solution that gives people the ability to charge their car in front of their house,” he said.
The boom charger is one of two options being investigated by Merri-bek to allow EV owners to charge their cars while parked on the street.
The second trial, which has only just begun, is of pole-mounted chargers.
These consist of small boxes attached to power poles with a charging cable running from the box to a car parked in a dedicated space adjacent to the pole. Each charger is able to charge two vehicles at a time.
The chargers are operated by private companies and for a fee can supply power up to a speed of 22 kW.
They are being trialled at 19 locations throughout Merri-bek, including 16 south of Moreland Road.
More than 100 of these pole-mounted chargers have already been installed in NSW.
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Depressing though it may be, I am certain this will soon be vandalised.