Negligent, misleading and unconscionable conduct under builder registration laws Issues during building projects in Shenton Park, Kensington and North Perth $25,000 total fine following SAT mediation with Building and Energy A father and son have been fined a combined $25,000 for improper conduct while overseeing four building projects, including carrying out unauthorised work, providing...

The Work Health and Safety Regulations Amendment Regulation (no.2) 2023 came into effect on 10 August 2023 and provide for minor corrections and technical refinements. These amendments include: Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations The requirement for a high risk work licence for earthmoving machinery used as a crane will be removed for machinery that has a safe rated working load of three...

Building and Energy has completed its investigation into the Wickepin-Narrogin bushfire, which occurred on 6 February 2022. It has now commenced proceedings against Western Power for alleged breaches of the Electricity (Network Safety) Regulations 2015. The legislation requires network operators to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that their network is designed, constructed, operated...

Motorists in Perth and Mandurah are advised to fill up now if they need to, with petrol prices set to rise tomorrow. After today motorists will likely have to wait a week before petrol prices are again at the bottom of the price cycle. FuelWatch reports that, from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday 16 August 2023), the average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 30 cents per litre (cpl)...

The Work Health and Safety Commission is seeking public comment on a new draft code of practice on managing electrical risks in the workplace. The purpose of the code is to help a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to manage electrical risks in the workplace, and it applies to all workplaces where a PCBU has management or control of electrical equipment, including electrical...

Many consumers don’t have the time or patience to read the long lists of terms and conditions that often accompany the products and services they buy, but at least they can take comfort knowing they will soon be better-protected if any of those contracts are not fair. That’s because the Australian Consumer Law has recently been amended to introduce penalties for businesses that present contracts...

Wageline’s Making a complaint about underpayment of wages or entitlements page has helped many WA employees understand and follow the steps in the process for making an underpayment complaint to Private Sector Labour Relations. This information is now available in a total of 13 languages, with information added to the page on how to make a complaint in Punjabi, Persian, Thai, Spanish, Indonesian...

Money’s tight right now for many Western Australians, so the last thing any hopeful tenant needs is to be scammed out of their hard earned money, on top of having no-where to live. Unfortunately that’s the reality for a growing number of WA renters, as scammers pretending to be landlords flood online marketplaces and social media platforms with fake property listings and responses to ‘rental...

Motorists in Perth and Mandurah are advised to fill up now if they need to, with petrol prices set to rise tomorrow. After today, motorists will likely have to wait a week before petrol prices are again at the bottom of the price cycle. FuelWatch reports that, from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday 2 August 2023), the average price of regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 27 cents per litre (cpl)...

False home indemnity insurance certificates provided for a development project Permit authority misled when issuing a building permit $5,000 fine issued by the Building Services Board The Building Services Board has issued a $5,000 fine to a Herne Hill building contractor for misleading a permit authority into issuing a building permit based on false home indemnity insurance (HII) certificates...

Investigators from the State Government’s electrical safety regulator, Building and Energy, are on site at a property in Nollamara where an electrical worker tragically died this morning. The 24-year-old electrician was found deceased in the home’s roof space. Western Australia’s Director of Energy Safety, Saj Abdoolakhan, has extended his deepest condolences to the electrician’s loved ones. “Our...

Private Sector Labour Relations industrial inspectors have the power to issue state system employers a civil infringement notice, similar to an ‘on-the-spot fine’, for failing to comply with record keeping or pay slip requirements. Recently a number of infringement notices have been issued to employers by industrial inspectors. One of these employers was the owner of a restaurant in an outer...