Consumer Protection

Staying in a holiday house can be like a home away from home. Unlike hotels and motels, holiday properties are often regular homes or apartments that haven’t been designed specifically for accommodation. They may be hosted, where the owner lives onsite, or un-hosted, where guests have exclusive use of the property during their stay.

Travellers usually book these holiday houses through online “sharing economy” platforms like AirBnB and Stayz. 

Commerce Minister Dr Tony Buti has released the following media statement: Residential parks laws open for public comment

Key points:

• Perth landscaper fined for wrongly accepting payment and failing to do the work
• Ordered to pay more than $16,000 in fines and costs
• Evan John Fowler took deposits from three clients totalling nearly $4,000

A Perth landscaper who took upfront deposits but failed to complete the work for reticulation, gardening and turf jobs has been ordered to pay $16,473 in fines and costs by the Perth Magistrate’s Court.

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 18 February 2026), the average price of Perth’s regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 21 cents per litre (cpl) to 176.9 cpl with Ampol, 7-Eleven, Caltex, BP and EG Ampol hiking up to 199.9 cpl; United up to 183.5 cpl; and Vibe up to 182.7 cpl.

Commerce Minister Dr Tony Buti has released the following media statement: Tainted love: romance scam victims climb in 2025 | Western Australian Government

Key points:

• Romance scammers steal $3.8 million from 63 Western Australians in 2025

• Victim numbers increasing amid AI-enhanced scam tactics

Australian seafood lovers are used to seeing country of origin labels when shopping, with this requirement applying to most food for retail sale for almost a decade. From 1 July 2026, restaurants, cafes, pubs, food trucks, takeaways and other hospitality businesses that serve seafood will be required to help their customers make informed choices about the dishes they order. Changes to the Australian Consumer Law mean these businesses will need to tell diners if the seafood they are serving is Australian, imported or a mix of both.

•    Agent fined record $225,000 in one of WA’s worst real estate misconduct cases 
•    Investigation found 57 unexplained trust account withdrawals totalling $334,915 
•    Embezzled clients’ funds with no explanation for the missing money  

A $225,000 fine – the largest ever imposed on a WA real estate agency – has been handed to a former Willetton business following a sustained pattern of trust account breaches and failures to lodge tenancy bonds.

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 11 February 2026), the average price of Perth’s regular unleaded petrol (ULP) will increase by 20 cents per litre (cpl) to 177.7 cpl with BP hiking up to 203.9 cpl; 7-Eleven, Ampol, EG Ampol and Caltex up to 199.9 cpl; United up to 187.9 cpl; and Vibe up to 185.7 cpl.

One simple way help you save money and get bang for your buck when grocery shopping is to use unit pricing. It doesn’t just show you what a product costs, it shows you the price per standard unit of measurement, such as per 100g, per kilogram or per litre. This makes it much easier to compare value across different brands, package sizes, specials, and even between packaged and unpackaged or fresh and frozen products.

• Warnbro tradie subject of third warning from Consumer Protection
• 15 complaints against Trevor James Potter since November 2024
• Allegedly owes more than $20,000 for undelivered work including paving, guttering and fencing

Consumer Protection is again urging WA homeowners to be cautious when dealing with a tradesperson who has been the subject of multiple complaints and is alleged to have taken deposits without delivering the work or issuing refunds.