Welcome to the tenth issue of Crash Towing Industry News.

Our regular newsletters will provide important updates about the crash towing industry reforms including legislative changes that may affect how you operate. 

Regulations to support Stage 1 of the crash towing reforms commences tomorrow, Friday 10 January 2025 to give effect to the 2022 Government commitment to reform the WA crash towing industry.

The Regulations complement the ban on spotter fees that was introduced in October 2024 and will be followed by the introduction of occupational authorisation of towing workers and towing service providers in Stages 2 and 3.

On 10 January 2025, the Road Traffic Towing Regulations 2025 (the Regulations) commences. It will be an offence for a towing service provider or towing worker who undertakes crash towing in Western Australia to:

• charge more than the prescribed maximum amount when towing or storing a light vehicle involved in a crash in the Perth and Peel regions;
• charge an amount that is unreasonable when towing or storing any vehicle involved in a crash outside of the Perth and Peel regions; 
• charge an amount that is unreasonable when towing or storing a heavy vehicle anywhere in the State;
• charge an amount that is not reasonable when recovering a vehicle before it can be safely loaded and towed anywhere in the State; 
• fail to use the Department of Transport approved Authority to Tow form when obtaining the authority to tow a crashed vehicle; 
• fail to wear personal protective equipment, at any time a towing worker is engaging in crash towing work, unloading a vehicle from a tow truck; or when obtaining, or attempting to obtain, an authority to tow a crashed vehicle;
• engage in any conduct at a crash site that hinders or obstructs the performance of functions by an emergency worker, authorised officer; or the provision of first aid or medical care, including obeying directions of emergency workers or authorised officers;
• obstruct the loading of a vehicle onto other tow truck, or the departure of the other tow truck from the crash site; 
• use insulting, offensive or threatening language, or behave in an insulting, offensive or threatening manner at:
  • a crash site; or
  • while engaging in towing work in a public place or in the sight or hearing of any person in a public place; or
  • to an authorised officer exercising a function under the Act; or
  • a person assisting an authorised officer in the exercise of a function under the Act

• fail to carry an Australian driver licence or overseas driver licence when engaging in crash towing work; 
• fail to release vehicle to an accessible position near an entrance to the storage yard as soon as practicable, but not less than 4 business hours after payment has been made;   
• fail to provide access to a vehicle in storage to enable the retrieval of personal property as soon as practicable but not less than 4 business hours after a request by a relevant person for the vehicle or their agent;   
• move a crashed vehicle from a storage yard to another location unless the movement has been approved in writing by a relevant person for the vehicle; or the movement is necessary to prevent possible damage to the vehicle by fire or natural disaster; or
• display the logo or name of a public entity (such as Main Roads Western Australia), an insurance company, a roadside assistance provider; a vehicle repair service or vehicle hire service on a tow truck that is used for crash towing, or on clothing worn by a towing worker while engaging in towing work, or obtaining or attempting to obtain an authority to tow a crashed vehicle;

The list of offences above are not conclusive and are intended to provide a summary only. All offences and their associated penalties can be located in the Regulations available at legislation.wa.gov.au.

The Department of Transport (DoT) acknowledges that towing service providers may not have attended recent industry information sessions and therefore may not have approved Authority to Tow forms available for use. DoT will be taking an educative approach to compliance (where reasonable) to allow industry time to understand and comply with the new Regulations.

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.