Consumer Protection

• New checklist for used car buyers to protect consumers from buying a lemon
• Legislative changes will require WA car dealers to disclose repairable write-off status  
• Changes protect used car buyers from repairable write-offs when buying from a dealer
• In the past three years 259 people reported being scammed while buying a car online

The Cook Government is driving change to make West Australian roads safer by protecting used car buyers from a purchase they will later regret.

• Businesses that mislead or treat consumers unfairly face new and higher penalties
• Standard form consumer contracts may need to be reviewed and updated to comply
• New adoption mechanism used for the first time to update WA laws with national changes

Businesses that present Western Australian consumers with unfair terms in their standard form contracts could soon face tough penalties following amendments to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

During the chilly months, it’s important to keep our families warm while also staying vigilant to the potential dangers of commonly-used heating products.

Children are particularly vulnerable to burns and accidents from ‘winter warmers’ such as hot water bottles, open flames, heaters and loose-fitting sleepwear.  

Ongoing cost of living pressures mean many Western Australians will be looking forward to receiving tax refunds, but the end of a financial year is also a time when scammers emerge with false promises of monetary windfalls.

In a sign scammers are once again ramping up their tax-time efforts, our WA ScamNet team has received reports of a phishing email claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), but is actually from a completely unrelated email address.

• Funeral pricing will be publicly available to enable easy comparisons
• Grieving family and friends will know the total cost before a funeral is held
• Unscrupulous sales practices will be stamped out to stop overcharging

New regulations are now in place that will result in funeral costs being clearer and making it easier for those grieving to make informed decisions at a difficult time.

• New retirement village laws underway to improve seniors' experiences of entering, living in and leaving a village, and support the sector's long-term viability
• Exit entitlements to be paid to former residents within 12 months of their departure from a village
• Proposed changes to balance greater protections for village residents and the interests of operators

The McGowan Government is progressing its reforms of the laws covering retirement villages in Western Australia to make retirement village life fairer and easier for seniors.

Swelling demand for shipping containers is causing Western Australian consumers to be scammed out of their money at a rate of knots.

When items are in high demand yet short in supply, they become easy targets for scammers who know that when people are desperate to buy scarce items, they can forget to ‘practice the pause’ to consider whether they are being swindled.

• McGowan Government providing almost $9 million over two years to tenancy advocates and legal centres across WA
• Funding in 2023-24 State Budget to enable tenants in need of help to access advice, assistance and legal support at little or no cost

Community legal centres across Western Australia will receive a funding boost in the 2023-24 State Budget to provide advice and support to the increased number of residential tenants requiring assistance in the current tight rental market.

Owing money and missing repayments can be stressful, so the last thing many people in financial difficulty need is to be charged more money for help getting their debt under control.

That’s why Consumer Protection urges consumers to choose free debt management advice where possible over other high-cost options.

While debt management service companies may claim to be able to fix debt problems, these businesses charge fees and may not always be able to resolve the issues.

• New tenancy laws to improve rights for renters and provide certainty for landlords
• Rent bidding to be prohibited in Western Australia under the reforms
• The frequency of rent increases to be reduced to once every 12 months
• Funding boost for tenancy advocates and legal centres to assist tenants in trouble
• Tenants allowed to make minor modifications and keep pets at rental properties

The McGowan Government is progressing its reforms of tenancy laws in Western Australia to strike a balance between tenants and landlords.