APN Codex · Planning Rules
Western Australia — Ashburton
The Rules That Govern Property in Ashburton
Instruments
47
Local Plan
0
WA
47
As At
17 Sep 2026
1Overview
The use, development, sale, lease and taxation of land in Ashburton are governed by the 47 instruments listed here: 47 Western Australian Acts and regulations. Each entry records the version in force, a plain-English description and a link to the official text.
Commonwealth laws that apply across Australia, including the Building Code and foreign investment rules, are listed on the national page →
Every instrument is checked against its official publisher each month, and a new version is recorded when it takes effect. Descriptions are APN’s own and are not legal advice; the official version of each instrument prevails.
2The Local Plan
The council’s local planning instrument is available from the official publishers listed on this page. Scheme maps and local planning policies are not listed here; the council's planning pages show the controls that apply to a particular property.
3Latest Versions
11 of the 47 instruments have a version that took effect in the 90 days to 17 September 2026. The most recent:
- 3 September 2026: Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989. Official →
- 1 September 2026: Retirement Villages Regulations 2026. Official →
- 1 September 2026: Retirement Villages Act 1992. Official →
- 1 September 2026: Duties Act 2008. Official →
- 20 August 2026: Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019. Official →
- 23 July 2026: Building Regulations 2012. Official →
- 1 July 2026: Transfer of Land Regulations 2004. Official →
- 1 July 2026: Settlement Agents Regulations 1982. Official →
4Planning and Development
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority Act 2011Establishes a State agency to plan and redevelop designated redevelopment areas in the metropolitan region and to control development within them. It gives the Authority planning, development control, land acquisition and disposal powers over that land, together with functions in adjoining areas. | WA | Act | 1 Jul 2024 | Official → |
| Planning and Development Act 2005Provides for a State system of land use planning and development in Western Australia. It establishes the Western Australian Planning Commission, sets out its functions and powers, and provides for State planning policies. | WA | Act | 19 Feb 2026 | Official → |
| Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015Sets out the required elements of local planning schemes in Western Australia and the processes for local planning strategies, including certification, advertising, endorsement, amendment and revocation. It governs the preparation, advertising and approval of local planning schemes and of complex, standard and basic amendments, their review and consolidation, and development contribution plans. Its schedules contain model scheme provisions and provisions on car parking, bushfire risk management, exemptions during a state of emergency, and enforcement and administration. | WA | Regulation | 3 Nov 2024 | Official → |
| Planning and Development Regulations 2009Makes regulations under the Planning and Development Act 2005 in Western Australia. It controls activities on identified State land through wardens and restrictions on camping, fires, events, animals, vehicles, firearms and removal of material, and sets procedures for subdivision and transaction approvals, road access conditions and easements. It also covers compensation and acquisition, enforcement, applications for review, local government planning charges and forms. | WA | Regulation | 19 Feb 2026 | Official → |
5Building and Construction
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Act 2011Establishes the framework for permits for building and demolition work in Western Australia and the standards that apply to constructing and demolishing buildings and incidental structures. It also covers requirements for existing buildings and incidental structures, including their use and maintenance, and work affecting neighbouring land. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Building Services (Registration) Act 2011Provides for the registration of building service practitioners and contractors and for the approval of owner-builders in Western Australia. It restricts unregistered persons from using registration titles, claiming or advertising registration, or carrying out prescribed building services, and repeals the earlier builders' and painters' registration Acts. | WA | Act | 25 Sep 2025 | Official → |
| Home Building Contracts Act 1991Regulates contracts between builders and consumers for specified home building work in Western Australia, including requirements that contracts be written, limits on deposits and progress payments, and implied terms about defects. It also provides for home indemnity insurance or equivalent fund cover and sets remedies for breach. | WA | Act | 5 Apr 2023 | Official → |
| Building Regulations 2012Sets out detailed requirements supporting the Western Australian building permit system, including building surveyors, classification of buildings, building records and modifications to the Building Code, including for bush fire prone areas. It deals with building and demolition permits, applicable building standards, occupancy permits and building approval certificates, and work not needing a permit. It also covers work affecting other land, building maintenance, private swimming pool barriers, smoke alarms and infringement notices. | WA | Regulation | 23 Jul 2026 | Official → |
| Home Building Contracts Regulations 1992Makes regulations under the Home Building Contracts Act 1991 in Western Australia. They prescribe amounts and forms for the Act, including the thresholds for a home building work contract, the explanatory notice, payments for cabinetry work carried out off site, the maximum excess for home indemnity insurance, minimum insurance cover for builders and owner-builders, and offences dealt with by infringement notice. | WA | Regulation | 1 Sep 2025 | Official → |
6Buying, Selling and Title
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land Administration Act 1997Consolidates and reforms Western Australian law on the administration of Crown land and on the compulsory acquisition of land, repealing the Land Act 1933. It sets out the powers of the Minister for Lands in dealing with and managing land, and includes provisions on how native title rights and interests are treated when land is taken. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Property Law Act 1969Consolidates and amends Western Australian law on property. It deals with the form, execution and construction of deeds and other instruments and sets general rules affecting property, including the abolition of estates tail. | WA | Act | 18 Dec 2025 | Official → |
| Sale of Land Act 1970Consolidates and amends Western Australian law on the sale of land. It regulates sales under terms contracts, including limits on rescission and encumbrances, and restricts the sale of subdivisional land, with requirements for future lot contracts and the handling of deposits. | WA | Act | 1 Jul 2022 | Official → |
| Settlement Agents Act 1981Provides for the licensing, regulation and supervision of settlement agents in Western Australia who arrange or effect settlements. It requires settlement agents to be licensed, sets out licensing arrangements for individuals, firms and bodies corporate, and allows licensed real estate and business agents to be exempted for certain settlements. | WA | Act | 1 Jul 2022 | Official → |
| Transfer of Land Act 1893Consolidates Western Australian law for simplifying title to land and dealings with estates in land. It establishes offices including the Commissioner of Titles and the Registrar of Titles, provides for land to be brought under the Act, and sets out how the Act applies to Crown land. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Land Administration (Land Management) Regulations 2006Regulates conduct on unallocated Crown land, unmanaged reserves and listed managed reserves under the Land Administration Act 1997 in Western Australia. It provides for authorised persons, permissions, directions and signs, protects property, the environment, plants and animals, and controls vehicles, fires, camping, events, commercial activity and general behaviour. Further offences apply to entry, vessels, aircraft and animals on designated listed reserves. | WA | Regulation | 12 May 2018 | Official → |
| Settlement Agents Regulations 1982Supports the licensing and regulation of settlement agents in Western Australia by prescribing fees, examinations, and educational and continuing professional development requirements. It sets the information required in an appointment to act as a settlement agent, and rules for trust accounts, registers and claims against the Fidelity Guarantee Account. It also lists the documents real estate and business settlement agents may prepare, and deals with powers of attorney, warning notices and infringement notices. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2026 | Official → |
| Transfer of Land Regulations 2004Makes regulations under the Transfer of Land Act 1893 on dealings with the land titles register in Western Australia. It sets requirements for paper documents and certificates of title, and requires certain registry instruments and mortgages to be lodged through an electronic lodgment network, subject to exemptions. It also sets rules for serving notices, including by email, prescribes fees, and provides for inspection of the Register and suppression of information in its names index. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2026 | Official → |
7Renting and Residential Communities
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006Regulates the relationship between residential park operators and tenants who occupy park sites on a long-term basis. It sets requirements for the form and terms of long-stay agreements, information to be given to prospective tenants, limits on amounts operators may charge, and restrictions on fees charged by real estate agents. | WA | Act | 28 Mar 2026 | Official → |
| Residential Tenancies Act 1987Regulates the relationship between lessors and tenants under residential tenancy agreements in Western Australia. It establishes the role and investigative powers of a Commissioner and a process for determining tenancy disputes, and sets out how the Act applies, including its limited application to residential park sites. | WA | Act | 29 Apr 2026 | Official → |
| Retirement Villages Act 1992Regulates retirement villages in Western Australia and the rights of the people who live in them. It establishes a Commissioner to investigate complaints, research and publish information and advise consumers, and sets out the rights and obligations of residents, owners and operators, including residence contracts, disclosure statements, cooling-off periods and memorials lodged over village land. | WA | Act | 1 Sep 2026 | Official → |
| Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Regulations 2007Makes regulations under the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Act 2006 in Western Australia. They prescribe standard-form site-only and on-site home agreements, fee information and permitted fees, property condition reports, pet security bonds, urgent repairs, and default and termination notices. They also deal with abandoned goods, park rules, selling agency agreements, park liaison committees, compensation, the release and disposal of security bonds, and infringement notices. | WA | Regulation | 28 Mar 2026 | Official → |
| Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989Makes regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 in Western Australia. They exempt specified arrangements from the Act, including retirement villages and certain agreements with squatters or under land legislation, and modify how it applies to the Housing Authority, the WA Country Health Service and employment-linked tenancies. They also deal with electronic service, infringement notices, unclaimed security bonds, fees, forms and transitional matters. | WA | Regulation | 3 Sep 2026 | Official → |
| Retirement Villages Regulations 2026Makes regulations under the Retirement Villages Act 1992 on the rights and obligations of residents, owners and operators of retirement villages in Western Australia. It covers pre-contractual disclosure, village contracts, information statements, rules of conduct, annual budgets, financial statements, surpluses and deficits, and exit entitlements, including payments for aged care and valuations. It also deals with capital maintenance plans, residents' meetings and voting, village modifications, dispute resolution, abandoned goods and termination plans. | WA | Regulation | 1 Sep 2026 | Official → |
8Strata and Community Title
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Titles Act 2018Establishes a framework in Western Australia for subdividing land into tiered community titles schemes made up of lots, common property and a community corporation. It sets planning requirements, including approval of community development statements, and provides for scheme notices, plans, unit entitlements, by-laws, registration and titles. It also sets the rights and duties of original subdivision owners, lot owners, occupiers, community corporations and scheme managers, protects buyers, and deals with termination of schemes and Tribunal proceedings. | WA | Act | 7 Aug 2023 | Official → |
| Strata Titles Act 1985Establishes the framework for freehold and leasehold strata titles schemes in Western Australia, covering lots in strata and survey-strata schemes, common property, registration and strata companies. It sets planning approvals and their review, scheme plans, unit entitlements, by-laws, strata leases, statutory easements, rating and the duties of scheme developers. It also regulates lot owners and occupiers, strata managers, buyer protection, variation and termination of schemes, and Tribunal proceedings. | WA | Act | 26 Jun 2025 | Official → |
| Community Titles Regulations 2021Supports Western Australia's community titles legislation by clarifying terms used in the Act and setting procedures for community development statements, including advertising, comment periods and matters the Planning Commission must consider. It sets requirements for scheme plans, short form easements and restrictive covenants, unit entitlements, by-laws, common property infrastructure easements, community corporations and scheme managers. It also deals with buyer protection, termination of schemes, Tribunal proceedings, compulsory acquisition and Registrar of Titles fees. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2026 | Official → |
| Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019Makes general regulations under the Strata Titles Act 1985 in Western Australia. It supplements terms used in the Act, such as plot ratio and insurable assets, and sets requirements for scheme plans, subdivision approval, short form easements and restrictive covenants, staged subdivision, unit entitlements, scheme by-laws and strata leases. It also covers infrastructure easements, structural alterations, strata company planning, strata managers, buyer protection, termination proposals involving vulnerable persons, and Tribunal proceedings. | WA | Regulation | 20 Aug 2026 | Official → |
9Land Tax, Duties and Valuation
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duties Act 2008Imposes duties in Western Australia, principally transfer duty on dutiable transactions involving dutiable property such as land, covering liability, lodgement, payment, rates, dutiable value and interim assessment. It applies duty to arrangements such as put and call options, discretionary trusts, mining rights, farm-in agreements and Help to Buy arrangements, with exemptions and concessions. It also imposes landholder duty, additional duty for foreign persons, insurance duty and vehicle licence duty, and includes an off-the-plan concession and anti-avoidance provisions. | WA | Act | 1 Sep 2026 | Official → |
| Land Tax Act 2002Imposes land tax in Western Australia at rates set by reference to the unimproved value of land for each financial year. It operates as one scheme with the companion land tax assessment and taxation administration statutes, whose glossaries define the terms it uses. | WA | Act | 1 Jul 2015 | Official → |
| Land Tax Assessment Act 2002Provides for the assessment and collection of land tax in Western Australia, setting out which land is taxable, who is liable to pay and how tax is assessed on lots, jointly owned land and newly subdivided land. It also deals with exemptions, concessions and rebates. | WA | Act | 19 Dec 2025 | Official → |
| Taxation Administration Act 2003Provides the common framework for administering and enforcing Western Australia's State taxation laws, including duties, land tax and pay-roll tax legislation, and for collecting certain mining royalties. It establishes the Commissioner of State Revenue and tax investigators, and sets rules for assessments and reassessments, valuations, offences and confidentiality. | WA | Act | 1 Sep 2025 | Official → |
| Valuation of Land Act 1978Provides for the valuation of land in Western Australia by a Valuer-General who administers the Act and values land independently. It gives the Valuer-General powers to inspect records and obtain information, restricts disclosure of information and private valuation work, and establishes valuation districts and general and interim valuations. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
10Heritage and Environment
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016Provides for the conservation and protection of biodiversity in Western Australia and for the ecologically sustainable use of its components, guided by stated principles of ecologically sustainable development. It sets up the listing of threatened and specially protected native species, ecological communities and threatening processes, and repeals the Sandalwood Act 1929 and the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. | WA | Act | 25 Sep 2025 | Official → |
| Contaminated Sites Act 2003Aims to safeguard human health, the environment and environmental values by requiring contaminated sites to be identified, recorded, managed and remediated, having regard to principles including polluter pays and full life cycle costs. It establishes site reporting and classification, a publicly accessible contaminated sites database, appeals against classification, and responsibility for remediation. | WA | Act | 26 Sep 2025 | Official → |
| Environmental Protection Act 1986Establishes the Environmental Protection Authority and a framework for preventing, controlling and reducing pollution and environmental harm in Western Australia. It also provides for conserving, protecting, enhancing and managing the environment, and includes provisions for bilateral agreements with the Commonwealth. | WA | Act | 19 Feb 2026 | Official → |
| Heritage Act 2018Provides for the identification, documentation and conservation of places of cultural heritage significance in Western Australia, having regard to property ownership rights. It promotes understanding of the State's cultural heritage, encourages the continued use, development and adaptive reuse of heritage places to high conservation standards, establishes the Heritage Council, and replaces the 1990 heritage legislation. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006Provides for the protection, restoration and management of the Swan and Canning Rivers, the Riverpark and associated land to maintain their ecological and community benefits and amenity. It establishes the Swan River Trust and a fundraising Foundation, sets management policies, recognises the interests of the Nyungah community in managing these areas, and applies sustainability and precautionary principles. | WA | Act | 15 May 2025 | Official → |
| Contaminated Sites Regulations 2006Supports the Contaminated Sites Act 2003 in Western Australia with rules on reporting known or suspected contaminated sites and on public access to records about sites. It also provides for the Contaminated Sites Committee and its membership, the persons treated as interested in a site, and the matters and timing for committee decisions on responsibility for remediation. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2023 | Official → |
| Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004Makes regulations under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 on the clearing of native vegetation in Western Australia. It deals with intentionally planted vegetation, specifies prescribed clearing, sets fees and the public records the CEO must keep, and provides for confidentiality of documents. Schedules set conditions for low impact mineral, petroleum, geothermal and greenhouse gas activities, clearing for maintenance in existing road and rail corridors, and infrastructure maintenance. | WA | Regulation | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Heritage Regulations 2019Sets out arrangements for the constitution and operation of the Heritage Council of Western Australia, including membership, conflicts of interest, meetings and committees. It deals with nominations to, amendments of and removals from the State Register of Heritage Places, statements of cultural heritage significance and repair notices for neglected places. It also covers referral of proposals affecting heritage places, permits for works, land valuation, local heritage surveys and compensation where work is prohibited. | WA | Regulation | 19 Feb 2026 | Official → |
11Natural Hazards and Fire
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bush Fires Act 1954Provides for reducing the dangers arising from bush fires and for their prevention, control and extinguishment in Western Australia. It enables prohibited and restricted burning times and total fire bans to be declared, regulates burning during those periods, and sets out the roles and entry powers of bush fire liaison officers, control officers and authorised persons. | WA | Act | 1 Sep 2022 | Official → |
| Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998Sets out the administration of fire and emergency services in Western Australia, including the functions and powers of the Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner and of the Minister acting through a ministerial body. It provides for the State Emergency Service and its units, volunteer marine rescue services and related matters. | WA | Act | 28 May 2026 | Official → |
| Bush Fires Regulations 1954Makes regulations under the Bush Fires Act 1954 in Western Australia. They set out permits to burn, including for clover, plant refuse and proclaimed or declared plants, the duties of permit holders, local government powers to prohibit burning, and reporting of escaped fires. They also prescribe activities barred in the open air during a total fire ban, the conditions for hot work, blasting, gas flaring, road work, off-road and catering activities, and controls on tractors, harvesters and engines. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2024 | Official → |
12Real Estate Agents
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978Regulates and supervises people who act as agents in real estate and business transactions in Western Australia. It requires real estate and business agents to be licensed and to hold triennial certificates, allows conditions to be placed on licences, provides for advisory committees and conciliation of transaction disputes, and treats money collected for strata and community bodies as real estate moneys. | WA | Act | 1 Jul 2022 | Official → |
| Real Estate and Business Agents (General) Regulations 1979Makes regulations under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 in Western Australia. They deal with fees, educational and continuing professional development requirements, licensing of agents and registration of sales representatives, and the content of an appointment to act as agent. They also regulate agents' trust accounts, including interest, receipts and records, as well as registers, claims against the Fidelity Guarantee Account, codes of conduct and infringement notices. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jul 2026 | Official → |
13Local Government
| Instrument | Level | Type | In Force From | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Government Act 1995Provides for the constitution of local government in Western Australia, dividing the State into districts and wards and establishing local governments as bodies corporate run by elected councils. It sets the roles of councils, mayors, presidents and councillors, qualifications and terms of office, commissioners, the Local Government Advisory Board and council functions. It also governs elections, polls, administration, financial management, audit, scrutiny of council affairs, breach complaints and the Local Government Inspector. | WA | Act | 26 Jun 2026 | Official → |
| Local Government (Functions and General) Regulations 1996Makes regulations under the Local Government Act 1995 in Western Australia on local government functions. They cover matters on which local laws cannot be made, significant acts during a caretaker period, notice of road closures, and thresholds and exemptions for major land transactions and trading undertakings. They also set purchasing policies, tendering procedures, panels of pre-qualified suppliers, regional price preference policies, owner onus and infringement notices, and the impounding of goods. | WA | Regulation | 1 Jan 2026 | Official → |
Western Australian legislation information is sourced from the Western Australian Legislation website under CC BY 4.0. Links lead to each instrument's official publisher.
