The concession has prompted the Australian Council of Social Service to call for governments to offer means-tested incentives and no or low-interest loans to help poorer Australians make the switch.

While Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen wouldn't be drawn on the idea of direct subsidies for low-income earners, a spokesman said the government wanted to make electric vehicles "available, affordable and attractive to all".

"Electric vehicles are not and cannot be the preserve of the well off and urban," Mr Bowen's spokesman said.

The federal government will soon start developing the first national electric vehicle strategy as it attempts to boost the sluggish uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.

There are no electric cars priced under $45,000 in Australia, putting them out of reach for many motorists.

While the price of EVs is expected to fall as more vehicles enter the local market in the coming years, welfare advocates are concerned poorer Australians will be left behind.

In its submission to a parliamentary probe into a government bill to axe some electric vehicle taxes, the industry, science and resources department has warned of the challenges low-income earners could face as the last group able to afford electric vehicles.

"This demographic may bear an increasing burden during the transition, as combustion vehicles decline in value and refueling and mechanical support becomes scarce," the submission read.

With just 30,000 electric vehicles on the road as of last year, the department said a more than one-hundred fold increase was required in fewer than eight years to reach Labor's ambition of 3.8 million vehicles by 2030.

"This will require sales to dramatically outpace current projections," it said in the submission.

Australia Council of Social Service acting chief executive Edwina MacDonald said the peak body supported steps to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles, but stressed the transition must be "fair and inclusive".

Ms MacDonald was concerned state and territory policies to boost EV uptake mostly benefitted high-income earners who were more likely to make the shift in the next five years without government help.

The ACT government is offering a suite of incentives to get Canberrans into an electric cars, including stamp duty exemptions, two years' free registration and zero interest loans up to $15,000, as it targets a ban on new fossil fuel-powered vehicles from 2035.

But the package of sweeteners doesn't include direct subsidies based on a person's income.

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Ms MacDonald is urging governments across the country to offer means-tested incentives, as well as no or low-interest loans, to reduce the upfront cost of buying an electric car.

She also argued against measures which punished people unable to afford electric vehicles.

"We urge governments to consult widely and put people with the least at the centre of policy design. If we get the policy settings right we can rapidly cut emissions and create a safer and fairer society," she said.

Mr Bowen's office did not respond directly when asked if the federal government would consider direct subsidies for low-income earners as part of its national electric vehicle strategy.

But a spokesman said the federal government would work with states and territories to implement national settings to increase EV uptake. That would include policies to make vehicles more affordable so they are "accessible to all Australians", the spokesman said.

The government bill, which is under scrutiny from the parliamentary inquiry would, axe import tariffs and fringe benefit taxes on some vehicles.