Consumer Protection

• WA Government has partnered with IDCARE to deliver 20 Cyber Resilience Outreach Clinics, with a focus on remote and regional areas
• Western Australians lost a record total of almost $16 million to scams in 2022
• Report scams and suspicious activity to WA ScamNet to warn the community

The McGowan Government has joined forces with Australia and New Zealand's national identity and cyber support service, IDCARE, to deliver 20 Cyber Resilience Outreach Clinics (CROC) throughout Western Australia.

Scammers have been pretending to call or text from financial institutions for years, but it’s the latest twist on these banking impersonation scams that should have all consumers on high alert.

• New funeral pricing laws will now be enforced, with businesses warned to comply
• Providers to give a breakdown of costs and a total price before a funeral is held
• Measures designed to stop questionable sales practices and prevent overcharging

From today, funeral companies in Western Australia will face enforcement action if they fail to comply with new pricing laws introduced by the McGowan Government that make funeral costs clearer for those grieving the loss of a loved one.

When you walk away from a tenancy, an important next step is working out how the security bond paid at the start of the lease will be distributed between tenant and landlord.

Tenants may be relying on getting back the money to help with finding a new place to live, while landlords may need some – or all – of the funds to cover damage or cleaning costs.

• 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.

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.

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.  

• 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).

• 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.

There’s a lot to consider when buying a used car, such as your budget and what type of vehicle will suit your needs, but of utmost importance is ensuring you don’t drive away with a lemon.

We recently issued a warning against licensed car dealer Ventura Autos, after receiving 136 complaints about the selling of unroadworthy vehicles, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.