WA towing rules
WA towing caps, penalties and the 2025 reforms
You run trucks in Western Australia. The towing regime started on 10 January 2025; it is the newest of the four, and charging above the cap is an offence with the sharpest penalties of any state here.
Regulator: Department of Transport, Western Australia. Towing Services Act 2024 (WA). Towing Services Regulations 2025 (WA). Figures last checked 19 August 2026.
How much can a tow truck charge for an accident tow in WA?
In Western Australia the maximum charge for towing a light vehicle from an accident is $485 including GST, in Perth and Peel. Distance beyond 50 km adds $4.40 per kilometre. Work outside 8am to 5pm on a weekday (weekends and public holidays count as after hours) adds a flat $138. These are maximums set under the Towing Services Act 2024 (WA). These are commencement figures; the 1 July 2026 CPI variation is unpublished.
Capped charges apply in Perth and Peel. Outside those areas the standard is that a charge must not be unreasonable, with no numeric maximum.
| Accident tow, light vehiclethe crash tow of a light vehicle or motorcycle | $485 |
|---|---|
| Distance beyond 50 km in Perth and Peel | $4.40 per km |
| Outside 8am to 5pm on a weekday (weekends and public holidays count as after hours)A flat amount, not a percentage | plus $138 |
Source: Towing Services Regulations 2025 (WA) r49 and r54, as at 10 January 2025, applying from 10 January 2025. Last checked 19 August 2026. Transport WA, capped fees and maximum charges, Transport WA, towing industry reforms
TowConnect warns you before you save a job priced above the cap, and offers the capped figure in one tap.
How much can you charge to store a vehicle in WA?
In Western Australia the maximum daily storage charge for a light vehicle is $25 including GST, Perth and Peel, per day. A motorcycle is $12.50 per day. A one-off administration charge is also capped by the regulations.
| Light vehicle, Perth and Peel, per day | $25 per day |
|---|---|
| Motorcycle, Perth and Peel, per day | $12.50 per day |
A one-off administration charge is also capped by the regulations.
Source: Towing Services Regulations 2025 (WA) r49 and r54, as at 10 January 2025. Last checked 19 August 2026. Transport WA, capped fees and maximum charges, Transport WA, towing industry reforms
One tap fills the capped rate on your yard's rate card, converted to your ex-tax basis, and the nightly accrual takes it from there.
What records must a WA tow operator keep?
Western Australia requires a signed authority for every crash tow, and evidence for anything charged beyond the capped amounts. A necessary recovery may add a reasonable charge, but the regulations expect it to be evidenced, which in practice means photographs taken at the scene.
- A signed authority to tow for every crash tow
- Evidence supporting any recovery charged on top of the capped tow
- Records supporting every charge against the capped maximum
Western Australian register forms are not built. The four approved register forms TowConnect generates are the NSW ones.
What the law says, what the app does
The obligation, and the thing that handles it.
| WA requires | TowConnect |
|---|---|
| Charging above the maximum is an offence. | The cap is checked as the price is typed, in the office and at the scene, with a one-tap correction to the capped figure. |
| A recovery beyond the standard tow must be evidenced. | Scene photos, a damage ticksheet and a condition report are captured on the driver's phone before loading. |
| Capped charges apply only in Perth and Peel. | Outside the capped area TowConnect says there is no cap rather than inventing one. |
| Storage is capped per day. | One tap fills the state's capped daily rate on the yard's rate card, converted to your ex-tax basis. |
WA, specifically
The state where the cap has teeth
Charging above the capped crash tow rate in Western Australia is an offence, and the penalty is measured against the business, not the invoice. That is the whole argument for a warning that fires while the price is being typed rather than after the customer has seen it.
Penalties for charging above the maximum: up to $12,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a body corporate.
Transport WA, capped fees and maximum charges, read 19 August 2026.
Watch this one
The 1 July 2026 CPI indexation of these amounts has taken effect, but the indexed figures are not yet published in a consolidated instrument. Until they are, TowConnect warns at the commencement figures above, a little below what the law now allows: the warning comes early, never late, and it never blocks, so charge what the current maximum permits. The day the instrument lands, the new figures go in and the warning moves with them.
The other states
Same product, different rules.
NSW
New South Wales
You run trucks in New South Wales. The state caps what you charge for an accident tow and for storage, and it wants five separate records kept. One of them has to ride in the truck.
VIC
Victoria
You run trucks in Victoria. Inside the controlled area the allocation centre decides who attends, and the accident towing maximums are gazetted every year, so the figure you may charge moves whether you noticed or not.
QLD
Queensland
You run trucks in Queensland. The tow, the scene work and the first days of storage are one standard tow with one maximum, and that maximum is written in fee units, so the dollar figure changes every 1 July.
General information, not legal advice. Figures shown are the ones the app uses, with the instrument and the date they came from.
Price a WA job without guessing.
The cap is checked as you type it, in the office and at the scene. Start free, and bring your old data with you.