high court ev tax Page 9

Short version: the High Court struck down Victoria’s EV road‑user charge in 2023, finding it an invalid duty of excise under Section 90 of the Constitution. Translation: states can’t levy per‑kilometre taxes on EVs; if anyone does, it must be the Commonwealth. The ruling effectively put other state plans on ice and restarted the national debate about how to fund roads without torching EV adoption. For drivers, the Victorian ZLEV charge stopped, with refund wrangling and policy chin‑stroking continuing like a country highway. Expect a federal, tech‑neutral road‑pricing model to surface eventually—because someone still has to pay for the bitumen. Until then, enjoy the quiet and the absence of per‑km invoices.