Vehicle-to-home in Australia: which EVs can power your house

Only a small group of vehicles in Australia is officially approved to power a house through vehicle-to-home (V2H). The ones you can buy new with manufacturer-backed bidirectional charging are the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross PHEV, used with an approved bidirectional charger. Existing Nissan Leafs also have factory-backed vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home over CHAdeMO, but the Leaf is no longer sold as a new car here.

Many more EVs can run a kettle, fridge or tools from a socket or adaptor. That is vehicle-to-load (V2L). It is not the same as feeding your switchboard. Tesla does not offer official V2H in Australia. New Model 3 and Model Y cars can do V2L, and a late-2026 software update has been reported to cut off some third-party home-discharge set-ups. For wallbox costs and installation, see our EV home charging guide.

V2H, V2L and V2G are not the same

• V2L powers individual appliances plugged into the car, usually at about 1.5 kW to 3.6 kW. It does not connect to your home switchboard or export to the grid.

• V2H sends energy from the car into the household electrical system, which can cover home loads and, on some systems, provide backup in a blackout.

• V2G can export energy to the electricity network, subject to your charger, energy retailer and distributor.

The Australian Government treats these as separate vehicle-to-everything functions. A V2L socket does not make a car one step away from V2H. The two use different hardware paths, and very few makers have confirmed V2H for Australian customers.

Which cars can officially power a house

You still need a compatible bidirectional charger and, for grid export, network approval. The older Wallbox Quasar (CHAdeMO) used in early South Australian Leaf connections has been discontinued. Australian-made V2Grid Numbat chargers can be specified with a CHAdeMO or CCS2 plug, which matters for these cars.

In trials, not a customer feature yet

Several brands are validating bidirectional charging in Australian programs, but that is not the same as a feature you can switch on at home with the maker’s warranty behind it.

• Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6: under evaluation. Hyundai Australia currently says no Hyundai in this market supports V2G, and it does not permit unapproved bidirectional equipment because of safety, vehicle and warranty implications.

• Kia EV3, EV6 and EV9: named in local trials, with the brands talking about enabling V2G and V2H by software. Nothing is a customer feature yet.

• BYD Atto 3 and Sealion 7: used in retailer programs (including Origin, AGL and Amber). The Sealion 7 joined Amber’s program in September 2026 with BYD saying the battery warranty is retained for V2G use in that program. It is not a general customer V2H setting.

Do not buy any of these this year on the assumption that official home discharge will be switched on by a set date. Industry timing discussed in Australian coverage has pointed towards a broader 2027 rollout, and the makers have not published a firm customer start date.

Tesla’s 2026.38 update and home power

Tesla Australia does not offer official vehicle-to-home on existing or new cars here. Powershare home backup, which is available on some Model 3 and Model Y cars in North America with a Powerwall, has not been announced for Australia. Tesla has also said Powershare cannot be retrofitted to existing vehicles.

What Australia did get, from October 2026 production, is Powershare V2L on new Model 3 and Model Y cars, using Tesla’s separately sold outlet adaptor to run appliances. Older Teslas sold here have no V2L socket.

In early November 2026, The Driven and then WhichCar reported that Tesla software from the 2026.38 branch, rolling out since October, is cutting third-party discharge after about three minutes or 15 to 20 minutes. The reports name equipment from Sigenergy, EleJoy and Tlyard. Tesla’s release notes referred to security improvements and minor fixes, and Tesla has not publicly confirmed the reason for the change. Treat this as owner and media reporting, not a Tesla Australia product announcement.

Tesla’s Australian owner’s manual warns against using the battery as a stationary power source and says doing so voids the warranty. Tesla’s warranty page is narrower, excluding damage caused by third-party adaptors or chargers. Australian Consumer Law guarantees cannot simply be signed away by a line in a manual, but using unapproved discharge gear is still a warranty and technical risk. This is not legal advice.

Chargers, plugs and approvals

Bidirectional charging in Australia is a DC job. The Type 2 AC wallbox used for everyday charging cannot send power back from the car. New EVs here use CCS2 for DC. The Leaf and Mitsubishi PHEVs use CHAdeMO, so they need a CHAdeMO charger or a carefully specified adaptor path, not a typical CCS2-only unit.

Standards Australia’s November 2024 amendment to AS/NZS 4777.2 is the grid-connection standard distributors use for bidirectional EV chargers. In practice you need a unit on the Clean Energy Council approved inverter list, a licensed installer, and an embedded-generation application with your distribution network service provider (DNSP). Export limits and blackout-backup behaviour depend on the exact listed configuration and your network. The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program does not apply to EV chargers.

Budget about $2,000 to $4,000 extra for a typical installation, depending on the switchboard. All of these prices are indicative retailer or maker figures from 2025–2026 and should be re-quoted. Independent charger-maker “compatibility” lists are not the same as the carmaker approving discharge.

Warranty

The Australian Government’s energy site says you should check the maker’s Australian documents for V2X capability and battery-warranty cover, and that using V2X without that confirmation may affect warranty or servicing support. Mitsubishi and Nissan have publicly supported bidirectional use of the models above with approved equipment. Hyundai currently does not permit it on Australian cars. Tesla warns against stationary power use. BYD has retained battery warranty for V2G inside a named trial program, not as a general aftermarket approval. If a charger company says a car “passed a discharge test”, that is not manufacturer approval.

V2L: cars that can power appliances, not the house

These models have confirmed Australian V2L, or official local brochure / maker claims for it. Outputs are typically around 3.3–3.6 kW, except the Toyota bZ4X, which Toyota rates at up to 1,500 W from a boot socket. Some grades have dropped an interior outlet or limit an external adaptor to higher trims, so check the brochure for the exact car.

If powering the house is the reason you are buying, start with a car the maker actually supports for V2H in Australia, then confirm the exact charger, CEC listing and DNSP rules before you spend. For everything else, V2L is useful camping and blackout power for individual appliances, not a substitute for a home battery or an approved bidirectional system.