Waroona replaces public places rules with permits and $500 fines

The Shire of Waroona has replaced its property and public places rules with a single local law that imposes permits, fees and $500 on-the-spot penalties on residents, traders and visitors. The council resolved on 27 October 2026 to make the Shire of Waroona Local Government Property and Public Places Local Law 2026, which was published in the Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 142, on 6 November 2026. The law comes into operation 14 days after publication.

Two old laws folded into one

Made under the Local Government Act 1995, the 16-part instrument sets out the care, control and management of council-owned land, “in particular being swimming pools, recreation reserves, parks and gardens”. Its stated purpose is supervision of local government property, prevention of nuisances and regulation of conduct to protect environmental conservation, public safety and amenity.

Two older instruments are repealed:

• The Shire of Waroona Local Government Property Local Law 2014, gazetted on 16 January 2015.
• The Shire of Waroona Activities on Thoroughfares and Trading in Thoroughfares and Public Places Local Law 2001, gazetted on 27 August 2001.

Permits and licences issued under the repealed laws carry over as permits under the new law and remain valid for the period stated on them. The law applies across the district and 200 metres seaward of the low water mark at ordinary spring tides, an extension approved by the Governor in Executive Council and published in the Government Gazette, No. 127, on 6 October 2026.

Pools, beaches and camping

Swimming pool rules set adult supervision ratios: children under five must be accompanied by a responsible adult aged at least 16 and kept within arms’ reach, with a maximum of three such children per adult; under-12s must be within line of sight. Managers may suspend admission for between one day and 12 months, and carnivals need the manager’s prior consent.

Beach provisions apply to the area of Reserve 41776, with a designated swimming area extending 210 metres north and 130 metres south of the pedestrian access way. Camping is permitted only in recreational vehicles inside the designated temporary accommodation area and only under these conditions:

• The maximum stay is the period determined by Council, with 5 consecutive nights required between stays.
• Vehicles must sit within marked bays, with no fixed annexes, external clothes lines or power outlets.
• An operable blackwater holding tank and a greywater capture system are required, with greywater disposed of off-site.
• Camp or cooking fires are prohibited at all times.

Camping on the beach or dunes in a car, tent, sleeping bag or swag is banned outright, and anyone driving or riding on the beach, lighting fires or using a board on the dunes without permission faces a modified penalty.

Permits for diners, traders and performers

Alfresco dining requires a permit held by the proprietor of the abutting food business, submitted with two copies of a 1:50 scale plan, photographs of furniture and public liability insurance details. Dining areas are automatically no-smoking zones, furniture must be removed before the business closes, and a new owner must notify the Shire within two weeks of taking over.

Trading permits cover stalls and street markets, with fee waivers available for traders operating beside their own premises and for charitable organisations that do not involve commercial participants. Street entertainers also need a permit; no more than four people may perform, and under-14s cannot perform during school hours or between 7.00pm and 6.00am. Liquor consumption on council land or in a thoroughfare requires both a permit and authorisation under the Liquor Control Act 1988, with sealed containers exempt from the possession rule.

Signs, trolleys and penalties

Advertising rules cap portable signs at one per business, 1.2 metres in height and one square metre per face. Home open, display home and garage sale signs may not exceed 0.6 square metres, are limited to three per sale, must stay within one kilometre of the property and are banned within 10 metres of an intersection.

Shopping trolleys must carry the retailer’s name, must not be left outside designated storage areas, and must be removed by the retailer within three hours of being advised of their location; otherwise authorised officers may impound them. Change-room showers are capped at 15 minutes.

Schedule 1 lists 77 prescribed offences, each attracting a $500 modified penalty, from camping without a permit to smoking in an alfresco area or failing to produce a permit. The general penalty on conviction is at least $2,500 and no more than $5,000, plus up to $500 for each day a continuing offence lasts. The law is sealed by Shire President Cr John Michael Scott Walmsley and Chief Executive Officer Mark Andrew Goodlet.

For Waroona households and businesses, the practical effect is a single, publicly searchable rulebook: summer camping at the beach, a coffee strip on the footpath, a busking pitch or a roadside sign now all run through one permit system, and officers can issue a $500 infringement rather than go to court. Traders and community groups have until the law starts operating in mid-November to check whether existing approvals carry over and what conditions now attach to them.

Source: Government Gazette of Western Australia, No. 142, 6 November 2026, Local Government Act 1995 notices, p. 2571 (official reference: gg2026_142).