Tariffs, fees and charges to assist in budget repair

Written on the 28 June 2017

Every Western Australian will need to share the burden of repairing the State Budget, with increases to household fees and charges announced today.

The charges form part of the 2017-18 Budget, with the changes taking effect from July 1, 2017.

Since taking office, the McGowan Government has embarked on a significant budget repair program to bring the State's finances back under control and to fix the mess left behind by the Liberal National Government.

Householders will also need to contribute to budget repair in 2017-18 with increases in the representative basket of household fees and charges of 7.7 per cent - an increase that could not be avoided given the increases already built into the Budget by the previous government.

The changes include:

• An increase of $169 to the fixed charge component of electricity bills, or 10.9 per cent for the 'representative household';
• A six per cent increase in water, sewerage and drainage charges;
• Changes to public transport fares, which include a 1.8 per cent increase in public transport standard fares (rounded to the nearest 10 cents), student fares increasing to 70 cents (from 60 cents), and a five per cent reduction in the discount offered to SmartRider fares (to 20 per cent for Autoload and 10 per cent for other re-load);
• Vehicle licence charges will increase by 5.5 per cent, an increase of 2.8 per cent for motor injury insurance, and a 1.7 per cent increase for a driver's licence; and
• A 3.35 per cent increase in the emergency services levy.

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Source: Media Release Hon Ben Wyatt LLB MSc MLA Treasurer; Minister for Finance; Energy; Aboriginal Affairs