Towing business authorisation in WA: what Perth operators need to know

Who needs a WA towing business authorisation, the fit and proper and storage yard checks, applying through DoTDirect, penalties, and what to do while you wait.

Updated 3 November 2026 · 7 min read

Since 1 September 2026, a business doing crash towing in the Perth and Peel regions has needed a towing business authorisation from DTMI, the department formerly known as the Department of Transport. It decides who is allowed to do crash work at all.

Here is who needs one, what gets checked, how to apply, and what to do if yours is still in the queue.

Who needs a towing business authorisation

The Towing Services Act 2024 provides for the authorisation of crash towing businesses. DTMI says any business that does regulated towing, meaning crash towing, must apply, whether it trades as a sole trader, company, partnership, trust or incorporated association.

The requirement was rolled out by region:

Perth and Peel: 1 September 2026.
South West: 1 October 2026.
Rest of the state: 1 November 2026.

The authorisation belongs to the business. DTMI says authorisations for individual towing workers will come in at a later stage. Your drivers and trucks still matter now, because they are listed on the business authorisation.

The DTMI checklist notes that if you are not planning to do crash towing after your region's start date, you do not need a business authorisation to keep working in other areas of towing. If some of your work sits close to that line, ask DTMI which jobs count as regulated towing before assuming you are outside it.

What being authorised means

According to DTMI's preparation guide, being authorised means:

you are legally allowed to operate and advertise a regulated towing business;
your business, storage yards, tow trucks and towing workers are known to DTMI;
you must keep meeting the conditions, not just at the time you apply;
serious breaches can lead to suspension or cancellation.

An authorisation is granted for 12 months and must be renewed each year. Put the renewal in the same calendar as your vehicle licences and inspections. The WA licensing checklist covers the other approvals that sit alongside it.

The fit and proper test

The CEO of DTMI must decide whether the applicant is a fit and proper person to run a regulated towing business, and whether each nominated responsible officer is fit and proper to represent it. That means being of good repute with regard to character, honesty and integrity. Close associates of the business must also be of good repute.

Every application needs National Police Certificates issued in the three months before you apply, for each director, partner, trustee or committee member (or the sole trader), each responsible officer, and every towing worker who does crash towing for the business, subcontractors included.

DTMI publishes a list of disqualification offences, which it says include assault, sexual assault, drug trafficking, firearms offences, dishonesty and dangerous driving. A conviction for a listed offence automatically disqualifies a person or business for a set period, which can be permanent, and DTMI says this happens without appeal.

There is also a public interest test. DTMI will look at whether anyone connected to the business has had a towing authorisation refused or cancelled in another state or territory, membership of an identified criminal organisation, and alleged breaches of the Act and regulations.

Responsible officers

Every business must nominate at least one responsible officer, using a Statement of Authority (T27) form. That person must be directly involved in day-to-day management, authorised to represent the business, able to provide information DTMI asks for, and able to influence safety compliance. At least one responsible officer must live in Western Australia, and you must tell DTMI if a responsible officer changes.

Close associates

A close associate is anyone with a financial interest or power in the business, anyone in a relevant position, or anyone engaged as an employee or contractor, which includes your towing workers. Not all of them need police certificates, but you must consider whether any of them has had an authorisation refused or cancelled elsewhere, has been charged with a disqualification offence, or belongs to an identified organisation.

Storage yard standards

To be authorised you need at least one storage yard that meets the standards. DTMI's preparation guide puts it in practical terms. The yard must:

be secure, with 2.1 m fencing, lighting, and CCTV or a monitored alarm;
have clear signage so owners can find their vehicle;
be under your exclusive possession and control, not shared or sub-leased;
have a suitable area for releasing vehicles promptly;
comply with local government zoning and planning approvals.

You attach a Storage Yard Details (T29) form for each yard to the application, and the evidence that each yard meets the standards goes in separately through an online portal. DTMI says yards may be inspected during assessment. If you currently share a yard or rent space inside someone else's, the exclusive possession requirement is the one to read closely.

Authorised businesses must also hold insurance covering liability for loss, theft or damage to stored vehicles and their contents. DTMI mentions motor trade policies as one kind of cover that does this, and says it is up to each business to make sure its insurance meets the requirement before applying.

Trucks and workers on the authorisation

The application lists every towing worker who does crash towing for you, and every tow truck used for it, including subcontracted ones. Trucks go on a Tow Truck Authorisation Details (T15) form, and DTMI checks that each is licensed as a tow truck and free of defect or improvement notices.

Once you are authorised, only the workers and trucks listed may be used for crash towing. You must notify DTMI when you add or remove either, or when details change. Workers and trucks can be listed under more than one business. The practical effect is that a subcontracted truck, or a driver borrowed for a busy weekend, needs to be on your authorisation before doing crash work for you. Ask DTMI how long an addition takes to be processed.

How to apply

Get the right DoTDirect account. Applications are online only, through DoTDirect. Companies and incorporated bodies need an organisation account. Partnerships and trusts apply for one using the T30 form. Sole traders can use a personal account once their ABN is linked to it, which DTMI arranges when you email your ABN Lookup report, name and WA driver's licence number to towing@transport.wa.gov.au.
Gather the documents: business structure records (ASIC certificates and extracts, a partnership agreement or trust deed, as applicable), police certificates, the T27, T29 and T15 forms, and your list of workers.
Set aside uninterrupted time. DTMI says the online application cannot be saved and returned to, so it has to be finished in one session.
Submit it. You should see an application number and a status of waiting assessment.

Having a DoTDirect account does not mean you are authorised; you still have to apply. Application and authorisation fees are waived from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

DTMI says it aims to review complete and accurate applications within six to eight weeks, and its sole trader guide says six. Incomplete or incorrect applications will not be reviewed, and applications for the same region are assessed in the order they are received.

Penalties

DTMI says operating a crash towing business without authorisation once it is required will incur significant penalties, including $40,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a body corporate.

If your application is still being assessed

DTMI's application guide is plain about this: if you have not been granted an authorisation by your region's date, you will be unable to operate until DTMI grants it. Its pages do not describe any interim permission for Perth and Peel businesses whose applications are pending.

Check the status in DoTDirect, and check DTMI's published list of authorised towing businesses.
Answer any request for more information quickly. DTMI says delays in providing it lengthen the review.
If you think the application has stalled or was incomplete, email towing@transport.wa.gov.au with your application number.
Do not do crash towing in the meantime. Keep up any other towing work, after confirming with DTMI that it falls outside regulated towing.
Keep your lists of trucks, workers and yards current.

Once authorised, the rest of the job is unchanged. How Perth tow operators find accident jobs faster looks at where the minutes go between an incident and a truck moving.

Your other obligations still apply

Authorisation sits on top of the existing rules under the Towing Services Act 2024 and the Towing Services Regulations 2025. DTMI lists the obligations that continue: maximum towing and storage charges, release of vehicles and access to personal property, dash cameras, photographs and record keeping, complaints handling, safety and conduct at crash scenes, and cooperation with authorised officers. The ban on advertising or paying spotter fees has applied since the Act passed in October 2024.

Most of these are the same areas covered in what to check before you operate. The difference now is that a lapse can cost you the authorisation, not just a fine.