Gardiners Creek does more than drain the valley. In Glen Iris it is also the line between two councils, so the first thing we check on any EV charger installation Glen Iris job is which bank of the creek the house sits on. North and east of the water you are in the City of Boroondara. South and west, you are in the City of Stonnington. The wiring is the simpler half of the story, because one electricity network serves the whole suburb.
Glen Iris is served from our South Yarra premises at 128 Toorak Rd, roughly 7 km west of the suburb’s centre. We are a Victorian Registered Electrical Contractor (REC 35838). We can supply and fit a charger, or install one you already own, including a unit that came with the car from the dealer.
EV charger installation Glen Iris: two councils, one network
The state’s address data shows how even the split is. Vicmap lists 7,390 Glen Iris addresses in Boroondara and 7,362 in Stonnington, and when we laid the council boundary over the creek, the two lines run together almost exactly. Victorian Places records the same history: Glen Iris belonged to both the old Camberwell and Malvern councils, and the split carried straight into Boroondara and Stonnington when those councils were formed.
The network side does not change at the creek. For postcode 3146, CitiPower’s lookup returns United Energy alone, and the Victorian Government’s distribution-area map places every corner of Glen Iris inside United Energy’s area. United Energy’s electric vehicle guidance says wall and fast chargers must be installed by a REC and registered through its myEnergy portal. We lodge that registration as part of the job.
| Side of the creek | Council | Streets with the most addresses (Vicmap) | Heritage precincts, for example |
|---|---|---|---|
| North and east | City of Boroondara | Toorak Road, Glen Iris Road, High Street | Summerhill Estate, Glen Iris Heights and Cherry’s Hill Estates |
| South and west | City of Stonnington | Malvern Road, Edgar Street, High Street | Dorrington Estate, Finch Street North |
In practice, the creek matters more to your paperwork than to your wiring. The circuit, the protection and the testing are identical on both banks.
North of the creek: Boroondara’s estates and long driveways
The Boroondara half takes in Toorak Road, Glen Iris Road, Summerhill Road and the streets that run out towards Ashburton. Victorian Places describes Glen Iris as an area dominated by middle-class housing on generous allotments. On a generous block, a common arrangement is a meter box near the front and a garage or carport somewhere behind the house.
That layout is good news for charging and slightly harder work for cabling. A typical Boroondara-side house with the switchboard on the front wall and a garage at the back of the block needs a longer cable run than a terrace would. The route might follow the side fence, cross under a concrete path or travel through the roof space before dropping into the garage. Each option changes the labour involved, so we walk the route with you before we price it.
Heritage is the other check. Boroondara’s planning scheme lists several precincts here, including the Summerhill Estate Precinct (HO905), the Violet Farm Estate Precinct (HO908), the Glen Iris Heights and Cherry’s Hill Estates Precinct (HO895), Toorak Estate and Environs (HO230) around Burke Road and Howitt Street, and the Tower Hill Estate Precinct (HO958) that runs over into Ashburton. Under Clause 43.01, an EV charging station in one of these precincts needs a planning permit if it would be visible from a street (other than a lane) or a public park. A charger inside the garage or on a wall facing the back garden usually avoids that trigger. You can check a property on Boroondara’s heritage overlay and grading map.
South of the creek: Stonnington, Malvern Road units and a kerbside trial
The Stonnington half developed first. By 1917 trams ran along Malvern Road, Wattletree Road and High Street, and Victorian Places credits the trains and trams with making this side suitable for schools such as Sacre Coeur, Korowa and a campus of Caulfield Grammar. Today it holds most of the suburb’s units. Vicmap counts 3,812 unit addresses south of the creek against 1,738 to the north, and 808 of the 1,203 addresses on Malvern Road alone carry a unit number. That is a lot of households parking in a shared car park or on the street.
Stonnington’s own heritage precincts are scattered through these streets: the Dorrington Estate Precinct (HO351), Finch Street North (HO633), Gardiner Park Estate (HO387), the Glen Iris Shopping Centre Precinct (HO352) and the Malvern and Tooronga Roads retail precinct (HO399). The council’s EV charging infrastructure policy states that a privately used charger at a private residence will not necessarily need council advice or approval, but a charger the street can see may have implications for a heritage streetscape, so the policy points you to the Statutory Planning Unit for advice.
For unit owners, the path usually runs through the owners corporation, because the cable crosses common property. Our owners corporation EV charging service page covers the approvals and the metering choices.
Stonnington has also looked at chargers on power poles. In late 2025 it consulted on a pole-mounted EV charger trial that listed Glen Iris among the trial areas, with drivers bringing their own cable so footpaths stay clear. As at October 2026, no decision had been posted. We think it is a sensible idea for unit owners without a car space, but nobody with a driveway should hold off waiting for it.
What decides the cost of a Glen Iris charger
We don’t publish prices, because two houses on the same street can need very different work. These are the factors that move a quote:
- Cable run length. Front meter box to rear garage is the classic long run on the Boroondara side.
- Switchboard capacity and protection. An older board may have no room for a new circuit, and Type AC safety switches can no longer be installed in new work. We fit Type A or Type B protection to suit the charger. Our switchboard upgrades for EV chargers page explains when a board needs replacing.
- Supply type. A single-phase supply suits a 7 kW wall charger. A 22 kW unit needs three-phase, and it only helps if the car can accept that rate.
- Trenching and coring. Concrete driveways, brick walls and paved paths add time.
- Network steps. Registration with United Energy is routine. A supply upgrade takes longer.
- The charger itself. Tethered or socket-only, app control, and solar-aware scheduling all differ between models. If you have panels, see our solar EV charger installation options.
From first call to certificate
A Glen Iris job follows the same steps on either side of the creek. The paperwork is the only part that changes.
- You tell us the car, where it parks and where the switchboard and meter box are.
- We visit, measure the cable route, check the board’s capacity and look at whether the charger position is visible from the street.
- You get a written quote that names the cost drivers above.
- We sort any council question and lodge the United Energy registration at the stage its process requires.
- On install day we run a dedicated circuit, fit the protection and mount the charger.
- We test the work, issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety and set up charging times in the app with you.
If your plan has cheaper overnight or solar hours, we set the charging schedule to match before we leave. It saves a follow-up call. For the wider picture, our guide to home EV charger installation across Melbourne goes through charger types in more detail.
Frequently asked questions about EV charger installation in Glen Iris
Which council do I deal with for a charger in Glen Iris?
It depends on which side of Gardiners Creek you live. North and east of the creek is the City of Boroondara, and south and west is the City of Stonnington. A planning property report from VicPlan confirms it. Many installs need nothing from either council, because the charger is not in a Heritage Overlay or is not visible from the street.
Is my Glen Iris home on United Energy or CitiPower?
United Energy. Both CitiPower’s postcode lookup and the Victorian Government’s distribution map put all of Glen Iris on the United Energy network. We still check the meter details on site.
Do I need a planning permit if my house is in the Dorrington Estate or Summerhill Estate precinct?
Only if the charger would be visible from a street (other than a lane) or a public park. If it is, the application goes through VicSmart and is not advertised to the neighbours. We will usually suggest a garage wall or rear position that avoids the issue altogether.
I own a Malvern Road unit with a basement car space. Can I still get a charger?
Usually, yes. The owners corporation needs to approve work on common property, and we can help prepare the information it asks for, such as the cable route, the supply source and how the electricity will be metered.
Can I just charge from a normal power point?
You can, and some drivers manage for a while. Solar Victoria puts a standard 10 amp socket at about 2.3 kW, and CitiPower describes trickle charging as adding roughly 10 to 15 kilometres of range per hour. United Energy pitches it at drivers doing up to about 200 km a week. Beyond that, a dedicated wall charger is the practical answer.
Will my switchboard need replacing?
Not always. We check spare capacity, the main switch rating and the type of safety switches. Some boards only need a new circuit and protection. Others are full and need an upgrade first, and we will tell you which before any work starts.
If you are weighing up a charger for a house near Summerhill Road or a unit off Malvern Road, we can usually tell you a lot from a short description of the house and the parking. Send it through our contact page, or talk to us on 1300 003 853 (lines open 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday). Neighbours in Ashburton can read about EV charger installation in Ashburton, and our home base is covered on the EV charger installation in South Yarra page.