WA New Judicial Commission Gets Power to Investigate and Discipline WA Judges

Judicial Commission Bill 2026

8 Sep 2026: The second house is finishing its own detailed examination of this bill, possibly in committee, before a final vote.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

anti-corruption civil liberties court system government oversight investigative powers judicial appointments judicial conduct legal ethics legal rights search warrants witness protection +6 more

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Commission can compel a person to provide information or documents during a preliminary examination.
Investigating panels can issue summonses to force people to give evidence or produce documents, and the presiding member can issue arrest warrants for people who ignore a summons.
Supreme Court judges can issue search warrants for premises, vehicles, vessels or aircraft to find relevant material.
The investigating authority can force a respondent officer to undergo medical or psychiatric exams if they seem unfit for duty
Fines of ,000 apply for refusing to answer questions, ignoring requests for information, or failing to provide information or documents without a reasonable excuse.
Fines of 4,000 apply for bribing witnesses, inducing witnesses to give false testimony or withhold truth, or wilfully preventing a summoned witness from attending or producing evidence.
Evidence that incriminates a person cannot be used against them in court; this doesn't apply to perjury or corruption charges
Anyone can make a complaint to the Commission about a judicial officer's conduct; this includes complaints about their mental or physical capacity to work.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Dan Caddy ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. This bill delivers on the Cook government’s commitment to establish a Judicial Commission in Western Australia. A Judicial Commission will provide a formal avenue for complaints relating to judicial officers in WA to be investigated and resolved.”

Official source →

Dr Tony Buti ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. This bill delivers on the Cook government’s commitment to establish a Judicial Commission in Western Australia. A Judicial Commission will provide a formal avenue for complaints relating to judicial officers in WA to be investigated and resolved.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Independent judicial commission to investigate judges

Tony Buti, WA Attorney-General — 2026-06-14

It’s needed because the judiciary have asked for it themselves, the Law Reform Commission recommended it in their report on the judiciary some years ago.