❓ A parliamentary question regarding the impact of retail trading hours amendments on small businesses, the delay in supporting regulations, and consumer complaints. The Minister's response details protections, consultation, and data limitations.
AnsweredQoN 1046Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
RETAIL TRADING HOURS — TENANCY AGREEMENTS
REGULATION
1046. Hon MATT BENSON-LIDHOLM to the Minister for Commerce:
In the wake of the government's 2011 amendments to
the Retail Trading Hours Act and the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops)
Agreements Act —
(1) What
specific regulatory measures does the government intend putting in place to
protect the economic viability of small businesses operating in large anchor
tenancy complexes?
Several members interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order! There are a couple of parrots that
I can hear in the chamber.
Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : Not me!
The PRESIDENT : I think Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich might have
been part of the equation.
Hon MATT BENSON-LIDHOLM : To continue —
(2) Why has the Department of
Commerce not provided the small business community with regulations supporting
changes contained in the commercial tenancies act, particularly given that the
department advised the real estate sector that the new laws would come into
effect in mid-2012?
(3) Can the
minister advise the house as to the number of complaints made since January
2011 to the Western Australian Commissioner for Consumer Protection by small
local retailers under the new Australian Consumer Law Act?
REGULATION
1046. Hon MATT BENSON-LIDHOLM to the Minister for Commerce:
In the wake of the government's 2011 amendments to
the Retail Trading Hours Act and the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops)
Agreements Act —
(1) What
specific regulatory measures does the government intend putting in place to
protect the economic viability of small businesses operating in large anchor
tenancy complexes?
Several members interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order! There are a couple of parrots that
I can hear in the chamber.
Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich : Not me!
The PRESIDENT : I think Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich might have
been part of the equation.
Hon MATT BENSON-LIDHOLM : To continue —
(2) Why has the Department of
Commerce not provided the small business community with regulations supporting
changes contained in the commercial tenancies act, particularly given that the
department advised the real estate sector that the new laws would come into
effect in mid-2012?
(3) Can the
minister advise the house as to the number of complaints made since January
2011 to the Western Australian Commissioner for Consumer Protection by small
local retailers under the new Australian Consumer Law Act?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) The
Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 currently contains a
number of protections for tenants in relation to extended trading hours. Under
the commercial tenancies act, a provision in a retail shop lease that requires
a tenant to open during specified hours or times—for example, Sundays—is
void. In addition, only tenants who open on Sundays can be required to pay
operating expenses for trading on that day. The amendments included in the
Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Act 2011 will also strengthen
the rights of small retail tenants and will commence on 1 January 2013. Under
the reforms, tenants will be able to make more informed leasing decisions
through improved information disclosure requirements; security of tenure will
be enhanced, with the introduction of new option renewal notice requirements;
market rent reviews will be more accurate and transparent as a result of new
provisions requiring landlords to provide relevant leasing information to
valuers; and costs for tenants will be reduced, with the introduction of new
provisions prohibiting landlords from passing on certain legal fees to tenants.
In addition, the Small Business Commissioner was established earlier this year
to provide advisory and mediation services to retail tenants. It should also be
noted that the popularity of Sunday trading has exceeded expectations, with
many shops now reporting that Sunday is their busiest day.
(2) Subsequent
to the passage of the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment
Act 2011, the government engaged in consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including a six-week consultation on draft regulations. The regulations have
required resolution of complex issues in consultation with industry. The
amendment regulations are a significant part of the regulatory regime and are
over 70 pages in length. Industry has been kept informed throughout the
drafting process, and the department has commenced an education campaign to
provide advice to both landlords and tenants about the impact of the changes.
During consultation, industry requested a month lead-in to implementation to
ensure business readiness. The Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements
Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2012 were published in the Government Gazette today and will come into effect on 1 January
2013.
(3) The
department's record-keeping processes do not enable the generation of
specific statistics on ''small local retailers'' and the
department therefore is unable to provide the level of information required due
to the varying structures under which a business can be registered and
locations in which they might be based.
question.
(1) The
Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Act 1985 currently contains a
number of protections for tenants in relation to extended trading hours. Under
the commercial tenancies act, a provision in a retail shop lease that requires
a tenant to open during specified hours or times—for example, Sundays—is
void. In addition, only tenants who open on Sundays can be required to pay
operating expenses for trading on that day. The amendments included in the
Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Act 2011 will also strengthen
the rights of small retail tenants and will commence on 1 January 2013. Under
the reforms, tenants will be able to make more informed leasing decisions
through improved information disclosure requirements; security of tenure will
be enhanced, with the introduction of new option renewal notice requirements;
market rent reviews will be more accurate and transparent as a result of new
provisions requiring landlords to provide relevant leasing information to
valuers; and costs for tenants will be reduced, with the introduction of new
provisions prohibiting landlords from passing on certain legal fees to tenants.
In addition, the Small Business Commissioner was established earlier this year
to provide advisory and mediation services to retail tenants. It should also be
noted that the popularity of Sunday trading has exceeded expectations, with
many shops now reporting that Sunday is their busiest day.
(2) Subsequent
to the passage of the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment
Act 2011, the government engaged in consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including a six-week consultation on draft regulations. The regulations have
required resolution of complex issues in consultation with industry. The
amendment regulations are a significant part of the regulatory regime and are
over 70 pages in length. Industry has been kept informed throughout the
drafting process, and the department has commenced an education campaign to
provide advice to both landlords and tenants about the impact of the changes.
During consultation, industry requested a month lead-in to implementation to
ensure business readiness. The Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements
Amendment Regulations (No. 2) 2012 were published in the Government Gazette today and will come into effect on 1 January
2013.
(3) The
department's record-keeping processes do not enable the generation of
specific statistics on ''small local retailers'' and the
department therefore is unable to provide the level of information required due
to the varying structures under which a business can be registered and
locations in which they might be based.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.