The average cost of unleaded petrol is set to increase by around 20 cents per litre (cpl) to 156.2 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Tuesday 3 December 2019, most branded retailers are hiking their ULP price - Caltex hiking by up to 30 cpl up to 165.9 cpl, Coles Express to 164.9 cpl, BP to 163.9 cpl, Caltex Woolworths...

Taking substantial deposits from two consumers and then not starting or finishing the jobs has cost a Kingsley handyman $10,000 in fines after he pleaded guilty in the Perth Magistrates Court on 22 November 2019. Walter Steven Vermeulen , trading as Ratio Design , was fined $8,000 on one charge and $2,000 on a second charge of accepting payment for goods and services but failing to supply them in...

The Christmas/ New Year period is fast approaching and it is important to understand public holiday obligations for the festive season. This season's public holidays are: Christmas Day, Wednesday 25 December 2019 Boxing Day, Thursday 26 December 2019 New Year's Day, Wednesday 1 January 2020 Employers and employees should be aware of their employment obligations on these public holidays. The...

The Building Services Board has fined a Mount Pleasant building practitioner and his company $6,000 in total for starting construction of a two-storey house in Doubleview without the required home indemnity insurance (HII) or building permit. Compass Building Pty Ltd (BC33514, expired) was fined $3,500 for negligence under WA’s building registration laws. The company’s director and nominated...

The State Government today tabled the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Bill in Parliament, paving the way for more modern workplace safety laws that apply to all industries. For more information Media statement - Hon Bill Johnston MLA Work Health and Safety Bill 2019

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...

With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Seeing the recent bushfires is horrifying for most of us and we just want to help somehow. But unfortunately scammers see it as an opportunity to impersonate charities, or create fake charities. This can happen online, via social media or website pop-ups, or in person, such as at your front door or on the street. It’s doubly cruel because...

Summer, school holidays and Christmas should be times of fun and relaxation and Consumer Protection wants to make sure that they are also safe times for everyone. In the 12 months from July 2018 to June 2019, there were 276 drowning deaths in Australia with 31 of them occurring in swimming pools*. Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard is concerned that these figures are higher than...

A former building practitioner who provided false or misleading information in his registration application has been fined $2,500 by the Building Services Board and has voluntarily cancelled his registration. David James Shaw (BP102430, cancelled) was granted building practitioner registration in March 2017 after submitting an application that included information to support the criteria of...

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...

A registered gas fitter has been ordered to pay more than $10,000 for his potentially deadly connection of a natural gas cooker to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply, which caused a fireball to erupt when the appliance was used. Following a prosecution by Building and Energy (formerly Energy Safety ), the gas fitter pleaded guilty at Perth Magistrates Court to two breaches of WA’s gas...