Are you an individual or organisation that helps consumers or promotes their rights through education and advocacy? If so, you are the type of person who is eligible to nominate for the Consumer Protection Awards 2019 with the chance of receiving a framed certificate and a cash prize. With nominations now open, likely candidates or their nominators are urged to put in their submissions before the...

The owner-operators of a plumbing and gas fitting business in the Perth Hills have been fined $22,000 for underpaying their apprentice plumber over a period of two years. The Industrial Magistrates Court found the couple had underpaid the apprentice, failed to pay him for all rostered days off and failed to pay him for untaken annual leave on termination of employment. Industrial Magistrate Flynn...

With warmer weather on the way, West Australians are reminded that pools with water deeper than 30cm must have complying safety barriers to prevent child drownings. This is one of the key messages that the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety will share at this weekend’s Pool, Spa and Outdoor Living Expo . The department’s Building & Energy and Consumer Protection teams are...

A Morley real estate agency has been fined a total of $5,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for lodging three tenancy bonds outside the required timeframe. Vision Equity Pty Ltd ACN 101 207 229 , trading as Xceed Real Estate Management , was also ordered to pay costs of $912 after pleading guilty on 31 August 2018. In May, June and July 2017, the agency lodged the three bond payments with the...

WorkSafe is conducting a proactive inspection program to look at safety issues in workplaces where scientific testing and analysis is carried out. Inspectors will be looking at safety issues in workplaces conducting non-destructive testing such as radiographic, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, electromagnetic and visual testing. The program will continue until the end of the 2018/...

Clients of a Perth real estate agency which has now closed had more than $220,000 of their money taken from the agent’s trust account resulting in the company being fined $7,500 by the Perth Magistrates Court and ordered to pay costs of $1,237.50. Austpride Pty Ltd (in liquidation) , formerly trading as Real Estate Masters of Cannington, was convicted on 24 August 2018 of 12 charges related to...

In the wake of a sudden ceiling collapse at a Thornlie property last week, home owners are reminded to act promptly on warning signs of ceiling stress. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has published a handy guide for home owners about signs of instability in interior gypsum plasterboard ceilings and what action can be taken. “A collapsed ceiling can cause serious injury, as...

Mandurah Homes Pty Ltd (BC11088) and the company’s co-director and nominated supervisor, Todd Andrew Green (BP101468) , have each been fined $5,000 by the Building Services Board for failing to manage and supervise a building service. The findings relate to a two-storey Halls Head property, built by Mandurah Homes between 2015 and 2016. On a windy night in July 2017, a section of the home’s tin...

Long service leave payments can be a hidden cost when buying a business. Small business owners and their accountants need to be aware that when someone purchases a business or part of a business in Western Australia, in most circumstances the new owner will take on the long service leave obligations for existing employees, for the whole period of their employment. This applies regardless of...

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has released an updated draft code of practice to help promote and maintain the mental health of FIFO workers in Western Australia. The second draft of the ' Mentally healthy workplaces for fly-in fly-out workers in the resources and construction sectors ' code has been released for further public comment, following a successful initial...

Originally issued Monday, 25 September 2006 Long standing con man Bon Levi, a.k.a. Roddy Farrow, Ron Frederick, Ron Heelan, Bonaldi Levi, John McCorry and ‘Ron the Con’, is targeting Perth consumers again, apparently in breach of Federal Court orders. Thought to be currently residing on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Ron the Con has been trying to snare WA consumers into his latest racket, auto...

WorkSafe continues to participate in roadblock exercises, with the latest one revealing a reasonable level of compliance with fatigue management and related laws. WorkSafe recently participated in a joint roadblock operation undertaken by Main Roads WA. The exercise saw WorkSafe inspectors stationed at the road train assembly area at Northam conducting inspections of commercial vehicles to check...