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Patricia Blake January 2023 - Current Patricia Blake (known as Trish) became Commissioner for Consumer Protection and Executive Director for Consumer Protection in January 2023. Prior to becoming Commissioner Trish has been the Director of Retail and Services within Consumer Protection and worked...
About us
Consumer Protection has undertaken a review of the laws which regulate long‑stay residential park tenancies in Western Australia. Status: Completed Background The purpose of this review is to assess the effectiveness of the operation of the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 (RPLT Act...
Consultations
Have you seen those ads on TV telling you how affordable a funeral plan can be? They say you can put money aside now to take the pressure off your family later. There are different ways to pay for a funeral, but some may be more suitable for you than others. One of the easiest ways to pay for a...
Aboriginal consumers
Scams, ripoffs and frauds are becoming more and more commonplace. Consumer Protection has developed WA ScamNet as one method of combatting this ever increasing problem. How to spot a scam There are so many types of scams out in the community, it can be very hard to identify what is legitimate and...
Scams
CP Awards - 2024
CP Awards - 2024, by Consumer Protection
2024 Consumer Protection Awards Congratulations to the 2024 winners - the year we celebrate our 20th anniversary of the awards. Read more at our winners and finalists page . Register your email to be kept informed on winners and updates. About the Consumer...
Consumer Protection Awards
A retirement village is a community of seniors living in individual premises sharing common facilities and amenities managed by a retirement village operator. There can be confusion about the differences between village complexes classified as retirement villages and those classified as residential...
Specialised accommodation
From the outset it’s worth emphasising that life in a retirement village will involve living in a community with an older age group. Although retirement villages are marketed to over 55s, the current average age of entry in Western Australia is 78 years, and the current average age of residents is...
Living in a retirement village
The style of buildings that make up retirement villages range from units, apartments and villas to townhouses and freestanding homes. Accommodation can include independent living units, serviced apartments and hostel accommodation. The accommodation in a retirement village is designed for seniors...
What is a retirement village?
What's in a name? Retirement villages, lifestyle villages and strata title. Some complexes use the term 'retirement', 'lifestyle', 'gardens', 'units' or 'apartments' but they can mean different things and don't actually tell you what sort of housing is provided and which laws apply. The table below...
Housing options for seniors
The Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 ('Parks Act') applies to people who: are renting a relocatable home, such as a caravan or park home and a site on a park for 3 months or more; are renting a site on a park for 3 months or more; had a written, fixed term agreement that expired or...
During a tenancy

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Publications

Update on the retirement village legislation reform process Submissions to all Consultation Regulatory Impact Statements (CRIS) are now closed. We would like to thank all stakeholders who provided...
Consumer Protection
Consultations / public comment
17 Dec 2021
June 2018 Welcome to our new retirement villages bulletin Welcome to the inaugural Consumer Protection WA retirement villages bulletin; we’re glad to have you on board. This new bulletin aims to make...
Consumer Protection
Bulletin
01 Oct 2018
Guide to new reforms for retirement villages
Consumer Protection
Guide / handbook
18 Apr 2018
Flowchart guides to time caps on recurrent changes - residential premises permanently vacated BEFORE 1 April 2014 (retirement villages) Flowchart guides to time caps on recurrent changes -...
Consumer Protection
Fact sheet
03 Jul 2019
Further information is available in the Exemption certificates under section 77C of the Retirement Villages Act - Guidelines for applicants Who can apply for an exemption certificate? An exemption...
Consumer Protection
Form – application
02 Jul 2018
Exemption certificates under section 77C of the Retirement Villages Act Further information about the exemption certificate and the application form are available at Prohibited persons exemption...
Consumer Protection
Policies
01 Apr 2022
DECISION REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT The recommendations detailed in this paper represent the Department’s final recommendations to Government arising from the statutory review process. A summary of...
Consumer Protection
Consultations / public comment
24 Aug 2017
This schedule must included with retirement village residence contracts entered into on or after 1 October 2015. The information generally reflects the termination rights and responsibilities under...
Consumer Protection
Schedule
05 Oct 2023
These flowcharts are for owners/operators of retirements villages, to assist in the understanding of the Retirement Village Act ammendments in regards to fees and charges.
Consumer Protection
Information
06 Jun 2014
This page contains forms and notices for use by residential parks managers and tenants. Are you a tenant in a family and domestic violence situation and need some assistance? Find out more about your...
Consumer Protection
Form – notification
21 Dec 2021

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Announcements

As a result of the Premier’s announcement placing WA into a hard lockdown until 6pm on Friday, 5 February, our counter and phone services are currently unavailable. You are encouraged to email any enquiries to consumer@dmirs.wa.gov.au . If your matter is urgent, please include a contact telephone number in your email and Consumer Protection will call you back within 24 hours. We will resume full...
Consumer Protection
Department News
01 Feb 2021
The third phase of consultation on proposed changes to retirement village laws in WA is looking at difficulties consumers considering seniors accommodation can experience in determining whether a village operates under the Retirement Villages Act (RV Act). The setting up of a public register is a proposal being put forward to assist in identifying whether a particular village is covered under the...
Consumer Protection
Media release
16 Jun 2020
While the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is changing rapidly, we remain focussed on delivering our services while adhering to advice from Government to protect the health and safety of our staff and the wider community. The department is planning for a range of scenarios and endeavouring to ensure continuity of service. A number of functions can be performed remotely or by using our online...
Corporate
Department News
23 Mar 2020
Under OSH legislation, employers are required to provide and maintain, as far as is practicable, a working environment in which their workers are not exposed to health risks. This includes situations where employees and contractors may be at risk of contracting viruses such as the COVID-19 coronavirus. Employers need to keep up to date with the latest health warnings from the Australian and WA...
WorkSafe
Alert
10 Mar 2020
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection Lanie Chopping There are many success stories of people who’ve met through dating websites or apps and fallen in love but unfortunately there are also some very sad stories where people have fallen victim to romance scams. In 2019 Australians reported romance scam losses of more than $28 million, to the ACCC’s Scamwatch. Australia’s consumer protection...
Consumer Protection
Media release
06 Feb 2020
With Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard Imagine waiting four years for money owed to you after leaving a retirement village. In extreme cases it’s the shocking reality for former retirement village residents who are left in serious financial hardship and distress and unable to pay for alternative accommodation. We know seniors in this position may have urgent needs to move into...
Consumer Protection
Media release
18 Dec 2019
The second phase of consultation on proposed changes to retirement village laws in WA will look at the time it takes for former residents to receive their exit entitlements. Currently, in some extreme cases, former residents of retirement villages have reported waiting up to four years before they receive funds owing to them, often causing serious financial hardship and distress. These funds are...
Consumer Protection
Media release
12 Dec 2019
Our offices will be closed from Wednesday 25 December 2019 to Wednesday 1 January 2020. Normal services will return on Thursday 2 January 2020. For urgent enquiries please visit our contact page.
Corporate
Department News
04 Dec 2019
A tree lopper who accepted payment to cut down six trees but only chopped off branches on one has been fined $3,000 after pleading guilty to breaching the Australian Consumer Law. Siuosavaii Maiava trading as Fairdinkum Tree Services was also ordered to pay court costs of $2,307.50 when the Consumer Protection prosecution was heard at the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday 11 October 2019. In...
Consumer Protection
Media release
17 Oct 2019
Consumer Protection is offering some reassurances for residents of two WA retirement villages affected by the Settlers group of companies being placed into receivership. Administrators and receivers have been appointed to the company which operates a total of 463 units at Settlers Lakeside village in Ravenswood near Mandurah and Settlers Ridgewood Rise near Butler, as well as two villages in...
Consumer Protection
Media release
30 Aug 2019

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