The State Government has approved extended trading hours for general retail stores in the Perth metropolitan area for the next two public holidays on Monday 1 June 2020 (Western Australia Day) and Monday 28 September 2020 (Queen’s Birthday). These stores will be allowed to open from 8am to 6pm. Normal trading hours for these public holidays are 11am to 5pm. Retailers holding small shop...

Jobseekers wanting to work in the WA construction industry may be misled by a company offering “introductory” online safety training courses. It is a requirement for people working on a construction site in Australia to have what is known as a “white card” which indicates they have undertaken and passed a safety induction course delivered by a registered training provider. Consumer Protection and...

Jobseekers wanting to work in the WA construction industry may be misled by a company offering “introductory” online safety training courses. It is a requirement for people working on a construction site in Australia to have what is known as a “white card” which indicates they have undertaken and passed a safety induction course delivered by a registered training provider. Consumer Protection and...

A Perth tradesman has pleaded guilty to carrying out work that requires builder registration when he undertook a $40,000 roof and patio project, which also resulted in workmanship issues and months of delays. At Midland Magistrates Court on 11 May 2020, Ross Zedric Newbold of Alfresco Living WA was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay costs of $953.50 for breaching WA’s building registration laws...

WA’s Commissioner for Consumer Protection is advising travel-buyers to read terms and conditions very carefully and be wary of ‘pay now/book later’ deals when purchasing holidays during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Lanie Chopping said that while regional border restrictions continue to ease in Western Australia, interstate and international travel restrictions are a different story and that...

Heating appliances will soon be emerging from hibernation as cooler weather sets in, particularly with many of us working from home this winter. If you are using a gas heater, our colleagues at Building and Energy have issued a timely warning about the dangers of exposure to carbon monoxide, which can leak from faulty, poorly maintained or misused gas appliances. Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘...

The average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) is set to increase by over 25 cents per litre (cpl) to 115.8 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers, if they can, to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Wednesday 13 May 2020, most branded retailers are hiking their ULP price: Coles Express hiking by 34 cpl up to 125.9 cpl; Puma up to 125.7 cpl; Caltex...

A Palmyra electrician has been fined $20,000 for a potentially deadly wiring error that caused objects at a Connolly home to become live with dangerous levels of electricity, resulting in $3,700 damage to appliances. Licensed electrical worker Dryden Peter Adams (EW150729) was sentenced on 28 April 2020 at Joondalup Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to breaching WA’s electricity licensing...

If you’re a tenant who’s lost their job in the coronavirus crunch, you may be wondering how to afford what’s likely the household’s biggest weekly expense – the rent. To relieve some of the burden, the State Government has announced a $30 million residential rental relief scheme, which will see payments equivalent of four weeks’ rent up to a maximum of $2000 granted to landlords on behalf of...

The average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) is set to increase by over 25 cents per litre (cpl) to 111.9 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers, if they can, to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Wednesday 6 May 2020, most branded retailers are hiking their ULP price: Coles Express hiking by 34 cpl up to 121.9 cpl; 7-Eleven, Caltex Woolworths, Caltex...

The Industrial Magistrates Court has ordered chartered accountancy firm Hall Chadwick (WA) Pty Ltd to pay a former tax accountant $21,604.79 for unpaid long service leave entitlements plus $3,500 in interest. The tax accountant had been employed by Hall Chadwick for more than 10 years but did not receive payment for accrued long service leave when she resigned in 2017. Private Sector Labour...

Keeping a roof over everyone’s head has never been more important as thousands of people suffer job losses due to the economic fall-out of COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions. New laws are now in place to ensure renters can stay in their homes and businesses won’t have to leave their premises, while recognising that landlords shouldn’t be unnecessarily burdened. The emergency residential tenancy...