Crash towing price caps in Perth and Peel: quoting a job under the cap

The current maximum charges for towing and storing crashed light vehicles in Perth and Peel, what they cover, and how to quote a job plainly to a driver.

Updated 10 November 2026 · 7 min read

Since 10 January 2025, what you can charge to tow and store a crashed light vehicle in Perth and Peel has been capped. The caps were increased from 1 July 2026, and at least one DTMI page still showed the earlier storage figures when this was written.

This guide sets out the current figures, what the tow charge has to cover, where the cap does and does not apply, and how to put a number on the authority to tow that a shaken driver can actually follow.

The current maximum charges

These are the maximum amounts DTMI publishes for crashed light vehicles in Perth and Peel, and they match regulation 49 and regulation 54 of the current Towing Services Regulations 2025. All figures include GST.

Towing

Light vehicle tow: $523, covering the first 50 km from the crash scene to the destination.
Distance fee: $4.75 for each kilometre, or part of a kilometre, beyond 50 km.
After-hours surcharge: $149, charged once only.

Storage

Car (light vehicle) in a secure yard: $27 per day.
Motorcycle in a secure yard: $13.50 per day.
Administration fee: $95, charged once, when the vehicle is released.

The regulations apply the towing cap to motorcycles as well as light vehicles. Under the regulations a storage day is a 24-hour period, and each day or part of a day can be charged.

What the $523 has to cover

The tow charge is not a call-out fee with extras on top. DTMI says it includes:

the first 50 km of travel from the crash scene to the destination the owner or driver nominates on the authority to tow;
preparing, loading, transporting and unloading the vehicle;
removing debris from the crash site;
photographs, phone calls and completing the paperwork.

DTMI is blunt about the rest: there cannot be any additional charges for towing a crashed light vehicle in Perth and Peel beyond those it sets out. No fuel levy, no debris fee, no admin fee on the tow. The only storage extra is the one-off $95, which DTMI says covers everything that happens while the vehicle is in your yard, including giving the owner or their agent access during business hours and moving the vehicle within the yard or to another of your yards.

The after-hours surcharge

DTMI defines after business hours as 5pm to 8am Monday to Friday, all weekend from 5pm Friday to 8am Monday, and public holidays from midnight to midnight.

The time that counts is when the authority to tow is signed, not when you arrived or when you unload. A job you reach at 4.50pm on a Thursday and sign at 5.05pm is after hours. The same job signed at 4.55pm is not. Write the signing time accurately, because the form records it and it is the evidence for the surcharge.

Recovery: the one thing that can sit on top

Some vehicles cannot simply be winched on: a car in a culvert, a river or wedged into a building. The regulations allow an additional reasonable amount for recovery on top of the capped tow, but only if recovery is genuinely necessary for the vehicle to be towed and photographs are taken showing why.

DTMI adds that the owner or driver must agree to the recovery costs when signing the authority to tow, and that the invoice should list the extra staff and equipment used. Photograph the damage and the vehicle's position before loading. A recovery charge on a car that was sitting upright on a freeway shoulder is the kind of line item that gets questioned.

Where the cap applies

Perth and Peel means the metropolitan and Peel regions as defined in the Planning and Development Act 2005. DTMI publishes a map, linked in the sources below. If you regularly work near the outer boundary, check the map rather than guessing. DTMI's table works like this:

Crash in Perth or Peel, stored in Perth or Peel: towing cap and storage cap both apply.
Crash in Perth or Peel, stored outside: both caps still apply.
Crash outside Perth and Peel, stored inside: the towing cap does not apply, but the storage cap does.
Crash outside, stored outside: neither cap applies.

Where no cap applies, the charge must still be reasonable. That covers crashed light vehicles outside Perth and Peel and crashed heavy vehicles anywhere in WA. The regulations list what has to be considered, including the day and time of the job, how long it took, the distance travelled, administration costs, and what other operators in the same area charge for similar work.

How to quote it to a driver

DTMI requires the towing worker to complete the Authority to Tow form, including the cost of towing and storage, before the person authorising the tow signs it. The form must also state the destination, and it cannot be altered once completed. DTMI's consumer advice tells drivers to confirm the total cost of towing and storage before they sign, and not to agree to a tow unless they are satisfied with the price.

So the quote is not an afterthought. It is the thing the driver is deciding on, often while still rattled and standing on a verge with traffic going past. A few habits make it easier for both of you:

Ask where they want the car to go before you quote. The destination sets the distance, and the owner or driver chooses it, whether that is home, a repairer or your yard.
Say the tow figure first, then the after-hours surcharge if it applies, then any distance over 50 km.
If the car is going to your yard, give the daily storage rate and the $95 release fee in the same breath, so storage is not a surprise later.
Say it in one total for the tow, and one daily figure for storage. Nobody remembers four line items at a crash scene.
Point to where those numbers appear on the form before they sign.

Here is an example of how the arithmetic works, using the current caps. The jobs are made up; the rates are DTMI's.

Example 1: a Tuesday at 11am, towed 18 km to the owner's home. The maximum is $523.
Example 2: a Saturday night, towed 30 km to a repairer. The maximum is $523 plus the $149 surcharge, so $672.
Example 3: a weeknight at 9pm, towed 62 km. Twelve kilometres over 50 at $4.75 is $57, so the maximum is $523 plus $149 plus $57, which is $729.
Example 4: the car goes to your yard and is collected after three days. Storage is at most three days at $27 plus the $95 release fee, so $176, on top of the tow.

These are maximums, not set prices, and you can charge less. What decides whether a driver says yes is usually how clearly and calmly you explain it, which ties into the other factors in What actually decides who gets the tow.

Invoices and payment

The Authority to Tow form is not an invoice. When the owner, driver or their agent asks for an invoice, you must provide one as soon as practicable and in any event within four business hours, counting only hours between 8am and 5pm on business days. It must set out the charges payable and the available payment methods.

You must accept at least two payment methods from DTMI's list: cash, EFTPOS, online card payment, electronic bill payment and direct transfer. If you accept direct transfer, DTMI says you must release the vehicle when shown a payment record for the transfer, without waiting for the funds to clear.

Penalties

Charging more than the maximum for towing or storage in Perth and Peel, or making unreasonable charges where no cap applies, carries fines of up to $12,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a body corporate. Failing to provide an invoice on request, or to offer two payment methods, carries fines of up to $5,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a body corporate.

The caps sit alongside the other rules that now apply to crash towing businesses in Perth and Peel. Towing business authorisation in WA covers who needs to be authorised and what DTMI checks.

Keeping your rates current

The caps are fixed dollar amounts in the regulations, and the July 2026 increase came through an amendment to them. The pages checked for this guide do not describe an automatic yearly adjustment, so do not assume one. Check DTMI's capped fees page each July, and update your rate card, website, invoices and anything printed in the truck at the same time.