Welcome to Issue 29 of Crash Towing Industry News.
Towing business authorisations
From 1 September 2026, all businesses undertaking regulated (crash) towing in Western Australia must hold a towing business authorisation. These authorisations will be administered by the Towing Governance and Regulation (TG&R) team at DTMI.
Authorisations are being introduced to improve safety and behaviour at crash scenes, protect vulnerable motorists, support legitimate operators, and prevent criminal or unethical businesses from participating in the industry.
Applications will open from 1 July 2026, with the requirement to be authorised based on the region in which you are located and conduct regulated towing:
- Perth and Peel - 1 September 2026
- South-West - 1 October 2026
- All other regions - 1 November 2026
Authorisation applications will be managed by TG&R and will take 6-8 weeks to process. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure they are approved before commencement of the authorisation requirement relevant to their region.
Who needs to apply?
Any towing business that wishes to conduct regulated (crash) towing anywhere in Western Australia, after the dates listed above, must apply for authorisation.
What is required to be an authorised towing business?
To be approved, your business must have a registered ABN, at least one responsible officer, details of its tow trucks and towing workers, and exclusive control of an approved storage yard.
What restrictions are there to gaining a towing business authorisation?
Under the Towing Services Act 2024 the CEO of DTMI must ensure that authorised towing businesses meet certain standards, including the conduct of those involved with the business. These standards are a:
- Fit and proper test
- A list of disqualification offences; and
- A public interest test
What is a fit and proper test?
To prevent criminal or unethical operators from remaining in the regulated towing industry consideration is given to whether a person is of good repute, having regard to the person’s character, honesty and integrity. In addition, an applicant is not a fit and proper person if any close associates of the applicant are not of good repute.
This includes considering whether directors, partners, trustees or committee members, responsible officers, towing workers, or close associates have been charged with or convicted of a disqualification offence.
What are disqualification offences?
Certain criminal offences may prevent a person from obtaining or holding an authorisation. A full list of these offences is available on the Transport WA website.
What is a public interest assessment?
To maintain public confidence and trust in the credibility and integrity of the towing industry consideration is given as to whether granting authorisation would undermine this confidence if any potential harm to the industry outweighs the benefit to the applicant.
The public interest test focuses on the impact of the applicant’s inclusion on the industry, including associations with prohibited or disreputable organisations and the applicant’s past conduct in operating a towing business.
Where do I find more information to prepare for towing business authorisations?
The ‘Preparing for Towing Business Authorisation’ guide provides detailed information on how to get ready to apply and is available on the Transport WA website.
A step-by-step guide to completing your application through DoTDirect will be released closer to 1 July 2026.
Contact us
If you are unable to locate the information you require on our website, please submit your enquiry below or contact us on (08) 9320 4111 between 8 am to 4.30 pm weekdays.
