Governor assents to three Western Australian laws on payments, retail and housing

The Governor has assented, in the name and on behalf of His Majesty the King, to three Acts of the Parliament of Western Australia, each bearing a date of assent of 21 October 2026. The assent was notified for public information in the Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 136 of Tuesday 27 October 2026, under item PA401 in the Parliament section at page 2446.

The notice records that the three Acts were passed by the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly during the First Session of the Forty Second Parliament. It is signed by Sam Hastings, Clerk of the Parliaments, and dated 22 October 2026, the day after assent was given.

The three Acts assented

The gazette publishes the short title, date of assent and Act number of each law:

• Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Amendment Act 2026 — Act No. 16 of 2026, assented 21 October 2026.
• Retail Barring Orders Act 2026 — Act No. 17 of 2026, assented 21 October 2026.
• Finance Legislation Amendment (Housing Affordability) Act 2026 — Act No. 18 of 2026, assented 21 October 2026.

The titles indicate the subject matter: an amendment to the existing security of payment regime for the building and construction industry; a new principal Act dealing with retail barring orders; and amendments to finance legislation directed at housing affordability. The notice itself publishes only the titles, dates and numbers, and sets out no operative provisions.

Where the three laws sit in the 2026 statute book

Assent to Acts Nos. 16, 17 and 18 of 2026 continues a sequence recorded in the same gazette series during the year. Earlier assents notified this year include:

• Nos. 10 to 13 of 2026 — the Appropriation (Recurrent 2026-27) Act 2026, the Appropriation (Capital 2026-27) Act 2026 and two Electricity Industry Amendment (Capital Charges) Acts, assented 19 August 2026 and notified in Gazette No. 108 of 25 August 2026.
• No. 14 of 2026 — the Working with Children (Screening) Amendment Act 2026, assented 25 August 2026 and notified in Gazette No. 110 of 28 August 2026.
• No. 15 of 2026 — the Land Forces Event (Special Powers) Act 2026, assented 16 September 2026 and notified in Gazette No. 120 of 22 September 2026.

Each of those notices followed the same form: the Acts were passed in the First Session of the Forty Second Parliament, and the notification was signed by the Clerk of the Parliaments and dated shortly after assent.

Assent, publication and commencement are separate steps

The gazette notice is a notification of assent, not of commencement. It states the date on which the Governor assented and the Act number assigned to each law, and it does not fix a day on which any of the three Acts comes into operation. Under the ordinary Western Australian practice reflected in the notice, commencement is a distinct step, and further gazette notices would be required to set or record it where an Act does not commence on assent.

The same edition, No. 136 of 27 October 2026, also carries notices on local government, marine and maritime matters, planning and ministerial acting arrangements, and the Government Printer published a separate special gazette, No. 137, on the same day for the Shire of Jerramungup.

Why it matters

For readers, the entry is the formal starting point for three laws whose effects will be felt in separate parts of the State economy: subcontractors and head contractors in construction, retailers managing banned or excluded customers, and households affected by housing finance settings. The three-way package also shows the pace of the current parliamentary session, which has now produced 18 Acts of 2026, with the most recent trio clearing assent on a single day.

Source: Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 136, 27 October 2026, Parliament, p. 2446 (official reference: PA401).