Do you actually need it?
Three-phase earns its place when the house needs more power than a single-phase supply comfortably carries, or when your network's rules favour it. The usual triggers are a wall charger above 7 kW, a big solar system you want to export from, ducted electric heating and cooling, a pool and spa, or a workshop with heavy machines.
It isn't always the answer. Western Power says a 7 kW single-phase EV charger is allowed on a standard home connection, as long as the contractor checks the total load stays within the supply limit. A good electrician does a load assessment first, then tells you whether three-phase, a bigger single-phase supply or smarter control of your big appliances suits your plans. The physics, in plain English, is in three-phase power explained.
Single-phase or three-phase: what changes
| Single-phase | Three-phase | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply into the home | One active line | Three active lines |
| Solar export on Ausgrid's flexible option | Up to 10 kW | Up to 30 kW |
| Standard supply on Western Power's main grid | 63 amps | 32 amps per phase |
| Evoenergy's advice for a home EV charger over 7 kW | Upgrade to three-phase recommended | Already suited |
| Solar export limit on Evoenergy's network | 5 kVA | 5 kVA on each phase, which is why three-phase can soften the limit |
Who applies to the network, state by state
| How it's lodged | What to expect | |
|---|---|---|
| NSW: Endeavour Energy | Online, through Endeavour's Connections Portal | A Level 2 Accredited Service Provider usually does the service work, and your retailer sets up the meter |
| NSW: Ausgrid | A connection application, which Ausgrid recommends your electrician completes | Service line work is done by a Level 2 ASP holding Ausgrid's own authorisation, and metering changes go through your retailer |
| VIC: CitiPower and Powercor | Only by a Registered Electrical Contractor, through eConnect | All works need a Certificate of Electrical Safety |
| VIC: Jemena | Through the Jemena Electricity Portal, with an Electrical Works Request | From 1 July 2026, going to three-phase up to 100 amps counts as a basic connection alteration |
| VIC: United Energy | Through its myEnergy portal, ideally by your electrician or Registered Electrical Contractor | Every alteration goes through the same portal |
| QLD: Energex | By your licensed electrician, as an Electrical Work Request | The request also tells your retailer about the change |
| WA: Western Power | By a registered electrical contractor, after a preliminary notice | Western Power confirms three-phase is available first, then the disconnection and reconnection takes 5 to 7 weeks |
| SA: SA Power Networks | By your electrician, as a connection modification | A technical assessment and maybe a site visit, then the electrician books the work. Meter changes go through your retailer |
| TAS: TasNetworks | By a licensed electrical contractor, through the Connections Portal | The installation is brought up to current rules first, often including low service line clearances |
| ACT: Evoenergy | Through a Basic Design Application | Up to 8 to 10 business days for a design, and up to 25 for a proposed connection date |
For Essential Energy, AusNet Services, Ergon Energy, Horizon Power and Power and Water, we haven't confirmed the steps, so your electrician should check with the network before quoting.
What changes at your place
On the network side, the service line from the street may be replaced so all three phases reach your property, and the meter is swapped for one that measures three phases. On most networks your retailer arranges the meter, though CitiPower and Powercor own and manage the meters on theirs.
In the meter box, the switchboard needs a three-phase main switch and room to spread circuits across the phases so the load is balanced, and older boards are often replaced at the same time. Western Power requires a main switch circuit breaker whenever circuit capacity is added to an existing home.
In Victoria, new consumer mains (the cable from the connection point to your main switch) are prescribed work, so a licensed electrical inspector checks them before they're switched on. New South Wales issues a CCEW and Queensland a certificate of testing and compliance. In Western Australia, notifiable work also needs a notice of completion lodged with the network within 3 days of finishing.
What's on you, and what's licensed work
You can
- List every big load you're planning for the next few years: charger, solar, battery, heat pump, induction, pool.
- Call your retailer about the meter when the electrician says it's time.
- Plan around the power being off for the changeover.
- Keep trees clear of the overhead service line, using an authorised contractor near the lines.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- The load assessment and the network application.
- New consumer mains, the main switch and the switchboard.
- Moving circuits across the three phases.
- In New South Wales, the service line and connection, by a Level 2 Accredited Service Provider.
Questions to ask before you commit
- Is three-phase available at my property, and have you checked with the network?
- Would a bigger single-phase supply or load management do the job instead?
- Who lodges the application, and who books the meter change?
- In NSW, who's doing the service line work, and are they authorised for my network?
- Does my switchboard need replacing, and is that in the quote?
- How long is the network's wait, and how long will we be without power?
Our honest take
We'd only go three-phase with a load assessment in hand that shows single-phase can't carry what you're planning. If it can, a well-chosen single-phase charger and some load control is often the simpler path. If it can't, we'd have the switchboard, the charger circuit and the phase upgrade quoted as one job by an electrician who does them regularly, so the meter box is only worked on once.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.