Origin’s innovative benefit program hits key milestone

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Major Australian energy provider achieves subscription target as employees embrace flexible EV benefit scheme

ELECTRIC VEHICLES look great on paper. The fuel savings are real. And yet the questions start to creep in: What if the range isn’t enough? What if charging becomes a hassle? What if, after all that, you simply chose the wrong car? Origin Energy set out to dissolve those doubts entirely. Through its Electric Employee Benefits Program, launched in 2023, the company offers workers a suite of benefits designed to ease cost of living pressures: exclusive electricity and gas plans, discounted internet rates, offers on home solar and battery installations, access to partner discounts and, at the centre of it all, a flexible EV subscription.

Origin’s Electric Employee Benefits Program delivers everyday value for employees at no cost to employers. Employees gain access to savings on essential services like energy and the internet, plus future-focused benefits that support long-term energy-efficiency goals – including solar, battery, electric vehicle (EV) charging and the company’s innovative EV subscription program. Visit Origin’s website to discover how the program works.

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“We know buying a car is a big commitment, and the jump to an EV can feel like an even bigger one”

Ricky Fung, Origin Energy

That subscription lets employees drive electric vehicles without the financial weight of ownership, swap to a different model if the first doesn’t suit, and eventually buy the vehicle once they’ve found the right fit. Salary packaging arrangements add further financial appeal. The program has now reached 2,000 vehicles under management across subscription and fleet, covering a growing number of Australian organisations and their workforces. A benefit built around real hesitation The program’s design began with a question rather than an assumption. Origin surveys 1,500 working Australians each year for its Employee Insights Report, and the findings are unambiguous. Nine in 10 employees are feeling the cost of living pressure, regardless of age or tax bracket; 61% think their employer could be doing more to help. The number one perk request is support with daily costs, with utilities ranking first. Origin’s team also spoke directly to workers who were interested in EVs but not yet ready to commit. What they heard shaped everything that followed. “We know buying a car is a big commitment, and the jump to an EV can feel like an even bigger one,” says Ricky Fung, Origin’s e-mobility head of innovation. “Our aim was to build a flexible benefit where employees could subscribe to an EV on a monthly basis, switch the EV if it doesn’t suit their needs, and buy the EV when they’re sure they’ve found the right one – all while taking advantage of potential tax savings.”

Fung says the research confirmed what many suspected: employees are curious about EVs, but their hesitation is specific and addressable. Concerns about battery longevity affect 30% of those uncertain about making the switch, while 29% worry about driving range and 26% about public charging infrastructure. A further 24% consider EVs too expensive. Yet many find, once they try one, that home charging is simpler than a weekly petrol station visit, and running costs drop in ways that feel immediately real. As Fung puts it, once someone experiences an EV in their daily routine, they rarely want to go back. Each concern maps directly onto a feature of the subscription model. Range anxiety becomes manageable when an employee can test a vehicle before committing. Battery concerns ease when switching is an option. Cost anxiety eases when monthly payments replace a large upfront purchase and salary packaging reduces taxable income along the way. “The subscription model changes the risk equation entirely,” adds Fung. “Employees can discover whether an EV suits their lifestyle before making a long-term financial commitment, and that confidence translates into higher adoption rates.”

Designed to be easy for employers One of the considerations in building the program was ensuring it didn’t create a new administrative burden for HR teams. “We wanted to make it as easy as possible for organisations to get involved,” says Fung. “We take care of the administration, it’s free for organisations to participate, and once it’s set up it runs automatically. We also provide content for HR teams to use in their internal communications channels, so they’re not starting from scratch when it comes to explaining the benefit to their people.” A benefit that requires significant ongoing effort from a stretched HR team is one that quietly falls off the agenda. By handling the operational side and supplying ready-made communications material, Origin has positioned the program as something organisations can offer with confidence rather than complexity. Corporations leading the way Mantel Group, a technology and digital consultancy, is among the organisations to embrace the program. “The Origin program is now one of the most popular benefits we offer, despite being available for the shortest time,” says Caroline Henshaw, chief people officer at Mantel.

“The subscription model changes the risk equation entirely. Employees can discover whether an EV suits their lifestyle before making a long-term financial commitment”

For HR teams, the program provides a clear financial story. Most employees will be in the market for a new vehicle within five years, and many say tax savings would accelerate their switch to an electric vehicle. Salary packaging lets employees access vehicles through pre-tax income, reducing taxable earnings while upgrading transport. Combined with EV tax incentives and lower maintenance costs, electric vehicles become financially competitive even at higher sticker prices. For organisations competing for talent, the implications are clear. A third of employees who say they’ve ruled out an EV are actually waiting for a structure that makes it worthwhile. The longer-term nature of vehicle subscriptions, plus the option to eventually purchase, creates a level of commitment few benefits programs can match.

What this means for HR Electric employee benefits programs ask relatively little of the organisations that offer them, while returning something increasingly hard to manufacture: evidence that an employer’s stated values and its actual offerings point in the same direction. Origin’s program is free to join, requires no ongoing cost to employers, and covers a range of benefits well beyond the EV subscription. Once set up, Origin manages employee engagement and provides reporting on uptake, so HR teams are not left carrying the administrative load. With 2,000 vehicles under management and demand continuing to build, Origin’s program offers Australian workplaces a practical route into the transition to EVs, one that addresses employee hesitation and finds solutions to problems in employee lives that go well beyond the car park.

The tax case that changes minds

Published 23 Mar 2026

Ricky Fung, Origin Energy

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Why employees would consider an EV (top reasons):

60%

Government incentives and tax benefits

67%

Cost savings on fuel and maintenance

23%

Look and feel/driving experience

22%

It’s innovative and cutting-edge

Why they would not consider an EV (top barriers):

30%

Concerns about battery longevity or replacement

29%

Limited driving range/battery life concerns

26%

Lack of public charging infrastructure

24%

Too expensive/not affordable

22%

Petrol or diesel vehicles preferred

Henshaw says the program appealed to staff right across the organisation rather than to a particular type of employee. The ability to experience different EV models before deciding on a purchase was especially attractive to those who wanted to approach ownership with confidence rather than guesswork. That breadth of appeal is partly a function of how the subscription model fits into the way younger professionals already think about access and ownership. A generation accustomed to subscribing to software, streaming and workspaces sees a vehicle subscription as logical rather than unusual.

Source: Origin Energy

To EV or not to EV?

Source: Origin Energy

The importance of tax

One third of those not considering an EV would reconsider it if there were more tax savings ora salary package available to reduce taxable income

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Environmental impact and sustainability benefits

67%