Thousands of drivers are continuing to feel the pressure each time they hit the road as a sinister crime wave ramps up across the country.
EV fast chargers are being targeted, with cables deliberately destroyed or removed entirely, as opportunistic thieves attempt to cash in on the price of copper.
A recent incident in Ballarat, Victoria, highlights the extent of the issue, with scores of drivers calling it a “senseless act”.
Up to 20 ultra-fast Tesla charging stalls near a petrol station in Lucas were stripped of their cables, rendering them unusable.
It’s an emerging trend among thieves who resell the metal they contain amid the cost-of-living crisis and the rising price of copper.
According to one driver poster, the chargers all appeared “brand new”.
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20 EV chargers were destroyed in Ballarat, Victoria this weekend.
(Facebook/Kevin Soo)
“They’ve all been vanadlaised. Very sad to see this,” said one man who discovered the chargers on Saturday night.
“So many people will be affected by this, not just Tesla users but [all] EV users.”
He shared the footage on social media warning others to “plan carefully” over the long weekend in Victoria, with limited chargers now available across the Ballarat region.
EV charging cable theft on the rise across Australia
According to CarExpert, public EV charging cable theft has long been on the rise in the US, UK and Europe. Throughout 2025 and 2026, Australia has seen an uptick in charger cable thefts, too.
Hussein Dia, Professor of Transport Technology and Sustainability at Swinburne University, told Yahoo News Australia there’s no doubt EV charging cable theft “is becoming a more significant infrastructure issue in Australia”.
“We have now seen incidents reported in different states, including Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and some locations appear to have been targeted repeatedly,” he said.
Two chargers at a shopping centre in Queensland were recently targeted with photos showing all four cables, two on each charger, missing.
(Peter Wimshurst)
Last week, an EV driver from Queensland slammed the deliberate attack on two EV chargers at a shopping centre in Toowoomba.
According to Hussein, the continuous attacks on EV chargers “undermine confidence in public charging” as Australia shifts towards a more EV-centric future.
“Drivers need to know that when a charger appears on a map, it will actually be available when they arrive,” he said.
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“This is particularly important on regional routes where the next fast charger may be a considerable distance away.
“A charger that appears on the map but has had its cable cut is effectively no charger at all,” he continued.
“Australia is investing heavily in expanding the charging network, so reliability and resilience now need to receive as much attention as simply increasing the number of chargers.”
Opportunistic thieves are targeting EV charger cables for their copper, leaving them out of action.
(Facebook/Kevin Soo)
Responding to the social media post, dozens of EV users shared their frustration.
“This is so shameful and so annoying,” one said.
“Unbelievably senseless act. Typical of the world we live in today sadly,” another added.
“Very sad indeed. Such small-minded people,” a third chimes in
Some suggested more should be done to prevent theft.
What’s being done to prevent EV charger theft?
Across Victoria, better lighting, the installation of CCTV cameras and alarms, and the use of aluminium cables for public EV chargers have all been enlisted to help curb the issue, CarExpert reported.
Infrastructure providers are also coming up with their own solutions
Evie is attempting to stop copper theft with cableguard technology after spate of thefts in Victoria have taken place. Source: Facebook/David Cranks
An example of this is Evie’s CableGuard, a protective sleeve that acts as a deterrent by making it harder to cut. But thieves have still somehow managed.
“No physical protection system is necessarily theft-proof,” Hussein said.
“The important question is whether technologies such as this reduce successful thefts, increase the time and difficulty involved and improve the ability of police to identify offenders”.
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