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Western Australian Reviews

Consumer Protection produces and amends legislation, codes of practice, guidelines, and general consumer information. Where public comment is being invited for state legislation, draft copies of the documents are placed on this page. For national reviews visit the National Reviews page.

Current reviews

Proposals for the Regulation of Prepaid Funerals


Release date:    December 2011
Closing date:    6 March 2012


Your opinion is being sought on the proposed regulation of the prepaid funeral sector to ensure consumer’s money and investments are protected.

Prepaid funerals are not covered by specific legislation in WA. In this regard WA is out of step with the other jurisdictions which have enacted specific legislation as a result of consumer complaints and market failures, to regulate various aspects of the prepaid funerals sector. It is estimated that in Western Australia, around $24 million of consumers’ money is being held for prepaid funerals and it is anticipated that the amount will only increase as the population ages.

To facilitate discussion on this matter and to establish whether some form of regulation of the prepaid funerals sector is warranted, Consumer Protection has prepared a Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper. A previous consultation process conducted in 2006 resulted in a 2007 Final Report, which forms the basis for this Consultation RIS.


This paper canvasses five options:

  1. Maintain the status quo.
  2. Introduce a Code of Practice under the Fair Trading Act 2010 (FTA 2010) to implement the recommendations of the 2007 Final Report.
  3. Introduce a Code of Practice under the FTA 2010 combining the 2007 Final Report recommendations and the Australian Funeral Directors Associations’ requirements.
  4. Amend the informal funeral directors Code of Practice applied by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board.
  5. Introduce specific legislation for prepaid funerals.


How to have your say

Comments and submissions are invited on the proposals outlined in this Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper. Written comments, queries and submissions should be received no later than close of business on 6 March 2012.


Please provide your comments to:
The Director, Legislation and Policy
Consumer Protection Division, Department of Commerce
Locked Bag 14
Cloisters Square PERTH 6850

or by email noting “Prepaid Funerals submission” in the subject line.


Telephone inquiries should be directed to 1300 30 40 54


At the conclusion of the consultation period, responses received may be publicly available on this website. If you prefer your name to remain confidential, please indicate that in your submission.  As submissions made in response to the paper may be subject to freedom of information requests, please do not include any personal or confidential information that you do not wish to become available to the public.


Compliance

This Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper has been assessed by the Department of Treasury's Regulatory Gatekeeping Unit (RGU) as following the Regulatory Impact Assessment Guidelines for Western Australia and meeting the requirements of the Western Australian Government's Adequacy Criteria. The Compliance Assessment notice from the RGU is available here.

Licensing of Strata Managers in Western Australia - Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement and Discussion Paper


Release date: 31 October 2011
Closing date: 29 February 2012

Your opinion is being sought on the future of strata management in Western Australia.

Strata title is an increasingly popular form of ownership within the property market, currently accounting for over one-third of all forms of titles registered in Western Australia. Some strata owners self-manage while others employ the services of professional strata managers. Owing to the increased volume of properties being registered as strata title and the accompanying increase in the amount of strata funds held by strata managers, there have been some calls in recent years to license strata managers.


To facilitate discussion on this matter and to establish whether licensing or other form of regulation of strata managers is warranted, Consumer Protection has prepared a Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper. This paper canvasses three options.

  1. Licensing strata managers under the National Occupational Licensing Scheme.
  2. Regulating the conduct of strata managers without licensing.
  3. Maintaining the status quo.

(More information on the proposed National Occupational Licensing System can be found at www.nola.gov.au)

Over the past decade, two Parliamentary inquiries and an independent review have been undertaken in relation to the regulation of strata managers in Western Australia. The reports of these inquiries and the review are below:

How to have your say

Comments and submissions are invited on the proposals outlined in this Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper. Written comments, queries and submissions should be received no later than close of business on 29 February 2012.


Please provide your comments to:
The Director, Strategic Policy and Development
Consumer Protection Division, Department of Commerce
Locked Bag 14
Cloisters Square Perth 6850

or by email to responses@commerce.wa.gov.au

Telephone inquiries should be directed to 1300 30 40 54 or (08) 9282 0804.

At the conclusion of the consultation period, all responses received will be publicly available on this website. If you prefer your name to remain confidential, please indicate that in your submission.  As submissions made in response to the paper may be subject to freedom of information requests, please do not include any personal or confidential information that you do not wish to become available to the public.

Compliance

This Consultation RIS and Discussion Paper has been assessed by the Department of Treasury's Regulatory Gatekeeping Unit as following the Regulatory Impact Assessment Guidelines for Western Australia and meeting the requirements of the Western Australian Government's Adequacy Criteria. The Compliance Assessment notice from the RGU is available here.

Commercial tenancy review

Small businesses are being urged to have a say in a six week consultation on options to make retail shop lease information more accessible.

The release of the consultation paper comes as the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill 2011 is debated by the State Parliament.

The Bill together with the consultation is part of the Government's commitment to help small retailers by promoting greater fairness and transparency in WA's retail tenancy market.

Opinions on the following options are being sought:

  • increasing access to lease information for valuers who are advising tenants and prospective tenants;
  • establishing a publicly accessible database of lease information; and 
  • compulsory registration of retail shop leases on the land title.

The review aims to achieve a level playing field in the retail tenancy market.

How to have your say

Comments and submissions are invited on the proposals outlined in this Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement.  Written comments, queries and submissions should be forwarded no later than close of business on 19 August 2011.

Please direct all comments, queries and submissions to:

Amanda Blackwell / Karen Keyser
Legal Policy Officers
Department of Commerce
Locked Bag 14
Cloisters Square PO
Perth  WA  6850

Amanda.Blackwell@commerce.wa.gov.au or 9282 0587 (Monday, Friday)
or
Karen.Keyser@commerce.wa.gov.au or 9282 0570 (Tuesday, Thursday)

Compliance

This consultation paper has been Link to text of Department of Treasury's Compliance Notice by the Department of Treasury's Regulatory Gatekeeping Unit.