Laws to allow renters to fix furniture to walls to prevent death or injury to children from toppling furniture have passed through State Parliament. The Consumer Protection Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 amends the Residential Tenancies Act and means landlords must allow tenants, who submit a request form, to attach furniture to a wall to prevent a child, or a person with a disability, from...

A building company has been fined $47,500 (and ordered to pay $1519 in costs) over an incident in which a 3.88-tonne tilt-up panel fell from a building under construction onto a neighbouring car park. Hanssen Pty. Ltd. was found guilty of failing to ensure that work was directly supervised by a person who had completed an approved course for managers and supervisors on a site where tilt-up work...

The hunt is on for people who have contributed to raising community awareness of consumer rights, either as an advocate or educator, to nominate for the Consumer Protection Awards 2020. Nominations have now opened for the awards which were won last year by a consumer researcher, a community legal centre, a family lobbying for toppling furniture laws and an ABC reporter. Each was presented with a...

Building and Energy wishes to advise owners of caravans, motor homes or camper trailers that there is a potential safety risk while operating certain Suburban Recreational Vehicle Water Heater appliances on LP Gas. Under certain conditions, the water heaters can generate elevated levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO) which, in some instances, may spill into the caravan, motor home or camper trailer. For...

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...

WorkSafe has issued a warning to guard against the effects of extreme temperatures in work environments following a forecast of above-average temperatures this summer. The Bureau of Meteorology last week issued their summer outlook, forecasting daytime temperatures that are very likely to be above average across Australia. WorkSafe WA Commissioner Darren Kavanagh today reminded employers and...

The average price of unleaded petrol is set to increase by around 19 cents per litre (cpl) to 154.6 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Tuesday 8 October 2019, many Coles Express sites are increasing their ULP price to 167.9 cpl (hiking by 33 cpl). Many BP sites are increasing their ULP price to 163.9 cpl, most 7-Eleven...

Consumer Protection has been unable to secure refunds for more than 200 complainants who have paid over $200,000 between them for cheap flights or holiday deals from a Facebook travel agency. Affected consumers either could not get plane tickets for their desired dates or were asked to pay extra money and some flew to their destination but found they were not booked on return flights as expected...

With Commissioner for Consumer Protection Penny Lipscombe Gift cards are big money in Australia, both for their convenience and flexibility. Unfortunately an estimated $70 million is lost each year due to uncertainty about expiry dates. Consumer Protection Western Australia received 116 gift card related complaints in the last year (September 2018–September 2019) with 26% of complaints about...

The first issue of Building and Energy's Electrical Focus newsletter is now available online .

The average cost of unleaded petrol (ULP) is set to increase by around 17 cents per litre (cpl) to 156.4 cpl tomorrow, so FuelWatch is encouraging Perth drivers to fill up today to save money. FuelWatch advises that on Tuesday 1 October 2019, most Caltex and Coles Express sites are increasing their ULP price to 167.9 cpl (increasing by between 28 cpl and 29 cpl). Many BP sites are increasing...