Perth shops to trade until 9pm as Christmas hours extended

General retail shops across the Perth metropolitan area will be allowed to trade until 9pm on weekdays in the run-up to Christmas 2026 under an order signed by the Minister for Commerce, Tony Buti. The Retail Trading Hours (Metropolitan Area) Christmas and Public Holiday Variation Order 2026 was published in the Western Australian Government Gazette No. 129 of Tuesday 13 October 2026 under reference CP401, and it also extends opening hours on seven public holidays in 2027.

The order is made under section 12E of the Retail Trading Hours Act 1987, which empowers the Minister for Commerce to vary standard metropolitan trading hours for defined periods. It applies to general retail shops in the metropolitan area and expressly excludes motor vehicle shops. Clauses 1 and 2 took effect on the day of publication, while the remainder of the order came into operation the following day, 14 October 2026.

The variation is signed by the Hon. Dr Tony Buti, MLA, Minister for Commerce, and states that it has effect despite the Retail Trading Hours (Public Holidays) Order 2012 where the two instruments conflict.

Christmas 2026: weekday trading to 9pm

Under clause 3, “Christmas 2026” is defined as the period beginning on 12 December 2026 and ending on 24 December 2026, both dates inclusive. During that window, general retail shops are authorised to open at times when they would otherwise be required to be closed:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays: 7.00am until 9.00pm.
Saturdays and Sundays: 8.00am until 6.00pm.

The same clause authorises trading on the opening weekend of December and over the post-Christmas weekend:

Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026: 8.00am until 6.00pm.
Saturday 26, Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December 2026: 8.00am until 6.00pm.

Seven public holidays in 2027

Clause 4 extends an 8.00am to 6.00pm authorisation to seven public holidays falling in 2027, again for general retail shops other than motor vehicle shops:

Friday 1 January 2027.
Tuesday 26 January 2027.
Monday 1 March 2027.
Monday 29 March 2027.
Monday 26 April 2027.
Monday 7 June 2027.
Monday 27 September 2027.

What the order changes

The instrument does not rewrite the general retail trading regime; it creates targeted exemptions so that shops that would normally be required to close may lawfully open on the listed days and during the listed periods. The weekday extension to 9.00pm is confined to the 12–24 December period, while weekend trading remains at 8.00am to 6.00pm throughout.

The practical effect is a longer shopping day on weekday evenings during the peak Christmas trading fortnight, and full-day trading on the two December weekends and on each of the seven 2027 public holidays named in the order.

For shoppers in Perth, the order confirms late-night weekday shopping until 9pm through most of December 2026 and certainty about holiday opening in 2027. For retail workers and small businesses, it sets the legal boundaries for rostering, staffing and trading over the busiest period of the year, with the Minister for Commerce exercising a power that overrides the 2012 public holidays order.

Source: Western Australian Government Gazette, No. 129, 13 October 2026, Consumer Protection, p. 2285 (official reference: CP401).