Question – Government Vehicle Fleet Electrification
Ms WEBB question to LEADER for the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Ms RATTRAY
[2.52 p.m.]
My question goes to the ramifications of remaining fossil fuel-dependent, and the urgent need for Tasmania to genuinely move to a zero-carbon future.
The Tasmanian government has a policy to transition its passenger and light commercial vehicle fleet to 100 per cent electric by 2030; yet by early 2025, only 1 per cent of the fleet had been converted to EVs with four years to go to meet the 2030 deadline. My questions are: what percentage of the state vehicle fleet is currently 100 per cent electric? What is the projected EV uptake required annually for the state to meet its 2030 deadline?
The second question again goes to the state’s electrification of the government passenger and light commercial vehicle fleet by 2030. The stated sustainability goal of the policy is the creation of a vibrant and accessible second-hand EV market to facilitate Tasmanians being able to also transition to electric vehicles. So, the question is: what monitoring is occurring of the rate of second-hand EV fleet vehicles uptake by the public? Is the availability of former EV fleet vehicles actively promoted to the community to encourage uptake, and how many used EV and/or hybrid fleet vehicles have been placed on sale for public usage to date?
ANSWER
Mr President, it’s a very appropriate time to be asking those questions and providing some answers.
The government set a target to transition its vehicle fleet to 100 per cent electric by 2030, and they set that in 2020. The target includes both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Progress over the period since the target announcement has been limited due to a range of factors, including: the price of vehicles compared to internal combustion equivalents; the availability of vehicles that meet operational safety and cost requirements, particularly for light vehicles like commercial vehicles and specialty need vehicles; and availability and cost of supporting charging infrastructure.
Some of these barriers remain to varying extents, while other barriers have eased. The Climate Change Office in Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania has worked collaboratively with the Department of Treasury and Finance to support the transition. A range of policies and initiatives to support the fleet transition have been or continue to be implemented, including: a new whole-of-government contract for purchasing passenger and light commercial vehicles; education resources for staff, including fact sheets and short instructional videos; assessing 110 government parking sites across the state for EV charging infrastructure suitability; providing advice to agencies about installing charging infrastructure on their sites; updating operational fleet management policies; a procurement process for a panel of charging infrastructure suppliers; and financial support for agencies to purchase EVs and charging infrastructure.
As of 28 February 2026, there were 35 battery-electric vehicles and 36 plug-in hybrid vehicles in the government fleet, representing 2.5 per cent of the total fleet. Hybrid vehicles represented 31.1 per cent of the fleet in the same period. The target remains at 2030 and fleet vehicles typically have a three-year lease schedule for replacement. At the end of lease, all vehicles are available for purchase through public auctions. The process is managed by Pickles. The government does not actively promote the sale of any of its ex-fleet vehicles. I do myself, if I think it’s a good one. Members of the public can access information on all ex-fleet vehicles for sale at any time via the Pickles website. Since November 2020 when the target was announced, 19 battery-electric vehicles, 25 plug-in hybrid and 594 hybrid ex-fleet vehicles have been disposed of through the public auction process.
View Meg’s Question and the response provided by the Minister on 15 April 2026 here or below:
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