zlev high court decision Page 606

In October 2023, the High Court in Vanderstock v Victoria knocked out Victoria’s Zero and Low Emission Vehicle (ZLEV) per‑kilometre charge as an unconstitutional excise under section 90.

Translation: states can’t levy per‑km road‑user taxes on EVs; that’s Canberra’s sandbox.

The charge stopped, Victoria moved to refund amounts collected, and other states quietly holstered similar plans.

It doesn’t kill road‑user charging entirely, but any workable scheme now has to come from the Commonwealth.

For EV owners, keep the odometer pics for the family chat, not the revenue office.

Policy will keep evolving, but the ZLEV levy is currently parked—firmly in the “do not start” bay.