Property industry

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Long-stay agreements will often include provisions allowing for rent to be increased or varied during the term of the agreement. Different rules apply depending on the type of long-stay agreement and when it was entered into. The following types of review methods might be included: review based on...
During a tenancy
Auditors appointed to conduct audits of agents' trust accounts must be registered as an auditor under Part 9.2 of the Corporations Act 2001 . To check if an auditor is a Registered Company Auditor please search ASIC's Professional Register
Find an auditor
Settlement agents trust accounts must be audited by an approved auditor and the audit report lodged with Consumer Protection . If the agent has not held any trust funds during the year, then the agent is not required to have an audit and must instead lodge a statutory declaration to this effect...
Auditing settlement agents
Information for auditors of real estate and business agents Consumer Protection provides information to assist auditors in fulfilling their requirements under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 . The information below may also be available in a hard copy version if required. A guide to...
Auditing real estate agents
When goods fail to meet a guarantee , a consumer has a right to a ‘remedy’ – an attempt to put the situation right. Common remedies include repair , replacement or refund , and can involve action for compensation or damages . Store or s uppliers The supplier has to provide the remedy when goods do...
Returns and cancellations
Consumer Protection produces and amends legislation, codes of practice , guidelines, and general consumer information. Where public comment is being invited for state legislation, draft copies of the documents are placed on this page. Status: Closed 29 February 2012 Information on current...
Consultations
Status: Closed 17 May 2012 The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2011 was passed by the Western Australian Parliament in November 2011. The act will substantially amend existing tenancy obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 . The Act was the result of extensive research and...
Consultations
Statutory review of the Residential Parks (Long-Stay Tenants) Act 2006 Status: Closed in late 2012 UPDATE: 2015 Statutory review report Background The Department of Commerce would like to thank everyone who provided feedback in response to the discussion paper for the residential parks review. A...
Consultations
The media team is the first point of contact for journalists and other members of the media wanting information about Consumer Protection and its activities. The media team: prepares media releases and speeches arranges media interviews organises launches promoting our products and objectives...
Contact Consumer Protection
National licensing (NOLs) in Western Australia On 13 December 2013 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) decided not to proceed with national occupational licensing. Status: Closed 30 September 2013 Information session A public information session on the current status of the national...
Consultations

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Publications

30 June 2021 Increase to licensing fees From 1 July 2021 some of Consumer Protection’s licence and registration fees will be increasing. Information about the different fees is available on our...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024
30 June 2021 Increase to licensing fees From 1 July 2021 some of Consumer Protection’s licence and registration fees will be increasing. Information about the different fees is available on our...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024
30 June 2021 Increase to licensing fees From 1 July 2021 some of Consumer Protection’s licence and registration fees will be increasing. Information about the different fees is available on our...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024
24 June 2021 Limitations on rewards for referrals Consumer Protection recently became aware of some settlement agents may be using creative methods to get around the prohibition on rewards for...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
04 Dec 2023
24 June 2021 Limitations on rewards for referrals Consumer Protection recently became aware of some people in the real estate and settlement industries who are attempting to get around the...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
04 Dec 2023
11 June 2021 Increase in rental scams during 2021 Scammers are targeting tenants, who are desperate to secure a rental property in the current tight market, with fake rental listings showing up on...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
04 Dec 2023
11 June 2021 Update your employment and contact information online The department previously introduced an online gateway that allows licensed real estate agents, as well as registered sales...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024
This information sheet provides advice for people with management or control of a workplace where soil is contaminated with asbestos containing material (ACM) and those involved in inspecting,...
WorkSafe
Information
04 Jul 2024
13 April 2021 How to correctly end a tenancy Western Australia's temporary changes to renting laws due to COVID-19 ended on Sunday 28 March 2021. From Monday 29 March 2021, the usual rental laws...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024
13 April 2021 How to correctly end a tenancy Western Australia's temporary changes to renting laws due to COVID-19 ended on Sunday 28 March 2021. From Monday 29 March 2021, the usual rental laws...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
14 Aug 2024

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Announcements

Mistakes made on a property sale contract have resulted in a York real estate agency and its operator being reprimanded and fined a total of $6,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). Avon Districts Professionals Pty Ltd , trading as Westerntown & Country.com.au , and supervising agent Nicola Di Giulio were each fined $3,000 and both were ordered to pay $700 in costs for breaching the...
Consumer Protection
Media release
22 Nov 2019
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard It’s been more than 10 years since Western Australia’s tenancy laws were reviewed and times have certainly changed. So, Consumer Protection is set to review the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and we are going to want to hear from you. The high cost of owning a home means more people in WA are renting. Meanwhile people with investment...
Consumer Protection
Media release
14 Nov 2019
WA’s building regulator is urging owner-builders to ensure they fully understand their obligations after a Perth man was fined $2,400 for selling his house without the necessary home indemnity insurance. At Joondalup Magistrates Court on 1 November 2019, Jonathon Robert Reardon pleaded guilty to an offence under WA’s home building contract laws following a prosecution by Building and Energy. The...
Building and Energy
Media release
13 Nov 2019
A real estate agent has been fined $500 and ordered to pay costs of $553.90 by the Mandurah Magistrates Court for failing to cooperate with requests from the auditor during the termination audit of his previous business. Gregory James O’Farrell , former Director of O’Farrell Property Group Pty Ltd of Mandurah, did not renew the company’s triennial certificate and the business ceased to operate in...
Consumer Protection
Media release
11 Nov 2019
A real estate property manager and agency licensee have been ordered to pay a total of $9,700 by the State Administrative Tribunal after the property manager operated while her certificate of registration as a sales representative had expired. Property manager Wendy Maxine Caroline Vettler was fined $1,500 for breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act. Her employer Teevor Pty Ltd ,...
Consumer Protection
Media release
23 Oct 2019
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection Penny Lipscombe We have received complaints from tenants recently about electrical hazards and gas leaks in rental properties. Issues include faulty electrical wiring, power sockets and appliances blowing, power shortages when raining, and water leaking onto electrical points. What to do if you suspect an electrical fault? At least two RCDs must be fitted...
Consumer Protection
Media release
10 Oct 2019
A real estate sales agent who was showing a prospective tenant a rental property in Beeliar recently was surprised to discover that someone had changed the locks and had already moved in without the authority of the owner. The tenant moved in after responding to a rental accommodation advertisement on Gumtree which ended up being fake. He paid $2,000 to the scammers via a money transfer service...
Consumer Protection
Media release
01 Oct 2019
A real estate sales representative has been disqualified by the State Administrative Tribunal from holding a certificate of registration for ten years after he misappropriated two payments totalling $21,000 into his personal bank account. Matthew Piero Liscia of Dianella was fined $2,000 for two breaches of the relevant real estate industry Codes of Conduct and was also ordered to pay legal costs...
Consumer Protection
Media release
23 Sep 2019
Removing the requirement to have a licence to be an auctioneer in WA is being proposed following a review of the Auction Sales Act. However, protections will be boosted with extra conduct standards and power for the Commissioner for Consumer Protection to take action to prevent unfit persons from working in the auction industry which covers the auctioning of all types of goods, including the sale...
Consumer Protection
Media release
17 Sep 2019
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Consumer Protection is aware that contamination or damage to homes from illegal drug activity is a worry for tenants, owners and property industry professionals. But how do you identify past production, or smoking, of meth, heroin or cannabis at a property and whether there are potential health risks as a result? We’ve been working with WA’...
Consumer Protection
Media release
12 Sep 2019

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