WA New Westport Authority to Plan Westport and Fines or Up to 5 Years Jail for Breaking Specific Development Rules

Westport Bill 2026

17 Sep 2026: This bill has passed its first house and is now before the second house for its own debate.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

asset management conflict of interest corporate governance criminal penalties government accountability government agencies information sharing land development land use risk management urban planning +6 more

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Establishes the Westport Authority as the state agency for planning Westport.
Criminalises breaches of duty by the Authority's directors, CEO and staff; offenders face up to 5 years in prison and a fine.
Bans directors or committee members from attending meetings when they have a material personal interest in the matter.
Lets the relevant Minister request and keep information from the Authority.
Lets the Authority make a profit from its fixed assets; this cannot interfere with its core functions.
Lets the Authority enter leases, licences, or other agreements; the Ports Minister and Treasurer must approve the terms.
Requires the Authority board to appoint an audit and risk management committee.
Requires people carrying out exempt development (building work that does not need planning approval) to consider specific planning factors and follow specific guidelines.
People acting as the CEO cannot do so for more than 3 months in a row without the Ports Minister's approval.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Jackie Jarvis ALP

“I move: That the bill be read a second time. I am pleased to introduce the Westport Bill 2026. The delivery of a new world-class container port and trade network before Fremantle runs out of capacity is the government’s long-term plan to support the next century of trade in Western Australia.”

Official source →

Rita Saffioti ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. I am pleased to introduce the Westport Bill 2026. The delivery of a new world-class container port and trade network before Fremantle runs out of capacity is the government’s long-term plan to support the next century of trade growth in Western Australia.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

WA Govt to establish dedicated authority to deliver future container port

Rita Saffioti, WA Transport Minister — 2026-03-11

Westport will deliver WA’s first new metropolitan container port development in more than a century to future-proof our economy, secure our State’s long-term trade future and generate thousands of local jobs.