Fencing PerthSheet 3 · Western Australia

Barbed wire and electric fences, council by council

Under all four Perth fencing local laws read here, an electric fence cannot go on a residential lot; Kalamunda’s, Armadale’s and Canning’s laws also rule one out on a lot beside a residential lot, and Cockburn’s does the same for every such lot except a rural one. Barbed wire on a residential lot needs a permit from the City of Cockburn or the prior written approval of the Shire of Kalamunda, and the City of Armadale’s and City of Canning’s laws do not allow it there at all.

General information, not legal advice. Every rule below belongs to the council and law named beside it: the City of Cockburn’s law of 2026, the Shire of Kalamunda’s of 2016, the City of Armadale’s of 2011 as the City has consolidated it, and the City of Canning’s of 2021. Other councils’ laws differ, so check your own.

The words the laws use

All four laws define an electrified fence the same way: “a fence carrying or designed to carry an electric charge”. Cockburn’s law widens barbed wire to take in “other materials with spiked or jagged projections”, and defines razor wire as “a coiled strong wire with pieces of sharp cutting edges set across it at close intervals”.

On or beside a residential lot

Barbed wire, electric fences and razor wire where houses are
Council and law	Barbed wire	Electric fence	Razor wire
City of Cockburn, 2026	On a residential or non-residential lot, but not an industrial or rural one, no barbed wire or spiked or jagged material may be built into, fixed to or left on a fence except under a permit from the City (clause 3.1(2)).	Needs a permit on any lot other than a rural lot, and a permit cannot be issued if the lot is, or abuts, a residential lot, or unless the fence can be made inoperable during any business hours on the lot (clause 3.3).	Needs a permit on any lot other than a rural lot; no permit if the lot is or abuts a residential lot, if the fence is within 3 m of any boundary, or if the razor wire is lower than 2000 mm or higher than 2400 mm above the ground (clause 3.2).
Shire of Kalamunda, 2016	Not on a fence on a Residential or Commercial Lot without the Shire’s prior written approval (clause 4.2(2)).	An electrified security fence needs the Shire’s approval first (clause 5.1(1)), and approval to erect or use an electrified fence is not granted for a lot that is, or adjoins, a Residential or Rural Lot (clause 5.1(2)). Schedule 3 separately counts a four-wire, low-voltage electric fence on a Rural or Special Rural Lot as a sufficient fence if it is built and maintained to AS/NZS 3014.	Needs approval, which is not granted for a lot that is or adjoins a Residential or Rural Lot, within 3 m of the boundary, below 2000 mm or above 2400 mm, or on any lot other than a Commercial or Industrial lot (clause 5.1).
City of Armadale, 2011	Not to be put up, fixed or left on any fence on a Residential or Special Residential Lot.	Not to be put up or fixed on a Residential, Special Residential or Commercial Lot, or on any lot abutting one.	The same rule as electric fences.
City of Canning, 2021	Not on a Residential or Commercial Lot (clause 3.3(1)); on an Industrial or Rural Lot only with the City’s written approval.	The same as barbed wire, and the City will not approve one on a lot that abuts a Residential Lot (clause 3.3).	Clause 3.4 bars razor wire from any fence that is put up.

Barbed wire on industrial lots

Three of the laws set the same three conditions for barbed wire, or other spiked or jagged material, on a fence around an industrial lot: it must be carried on posts at an angle of 45 degrees, its bottom row must be set back 150 mm from the face of the fence (at least 150 mm, in Cockburn’s words), and that row must be no nearer than 2000 mm to the ground. Armadale’s applies them to commercial lots as well. Where the angled posts lean outward, all three require the fence to be set back far enough from the boundary that the posts and wire do not reach over the neighbouring land.

Armadale’s and Kalamunda’s schedules of sufficient fences for commercial and industrial lots each include a PVC-coated mesh fence (Kalamunda’s may also be galvanised) with mesh 2000 mm high and three strands of barbed wire taking it to 2400 mm. It counts only if it also meets every other specification in the schedule: posts, footings, struts, cables, mesh wire and gates. The barbed wire still has to follow the 45-degree angled-post rules above: Armadale’s law applies them on commercial and industrial lots, and Kalamunda’s schedule ties the wire to its clause 4.2(3), while its clause 4.2(2) needs the Shire’s prior written approval before barbed wire goes on a commercial lot. Neither law uses this schedule on a boundary with a residential lot, where the residential schedule applies instead, and Armadale’s also uses its residential schedule for a fence between any other two lots unless the City approves or requires otherwise.

Rural lots beside a road

Cockburn’s, Kalamunda’s and Armadale’s laws each say that on a rural lot, barbed wire on a fence beside a thoroughfare or other public place must be fixed to the side of the posts furthest from it.

Kalamunda’s and Armadale’s laws bar fixing broken glass to, or leaving it in, any fence or wall on any lot, inside or outside; Cockburn’s and Canning’s bar using it in building a fence.

Where an electric fence can be approved

Where the laws do allow an electric fence, each ties it to an Australian standard, and most add conditions of their own:

City of Cockburn, 2026: an electrified fence on a rural lot has to meet AS/NZS 3016:2002. Elsewhere, a permit holder must display the permit on the land, produce it when an authorised person asks, get the City’s written consent before altering the fence, meet AS/NZS 3016:2002, and, once the fence is built, give Western Power an installation certificate from a qualified electrician and meet Western Power’s requirements (Schedule 5).
Shire of Kalamunda, 2016: approval only on lots other than Residential or Rural, where the design complies with AS/NZS 3016, the fence can be made inoperable during business hours, it complies with AS/NZS 3016 at all times once built, and it meets Western Power’s requirements (clause 5.1(3)). A four-wire, low-voltage electric fence on a Rural or Special Rural Lot is a sufficient fence only if built and maintained to AS/NZS 3014.
City of Armadale, 2011: on a Rural or Industrial Lot, an electrified fence must comply with AS/NZS 3016:2002, be installed and certified by a qualified electrician, meet Western Power’s requirements, be inoperable during hours of business, and be designed to match a sufficient fence in colour, materials and specification.
City of Canning, 2021: the City will not approve an electrified fence on an industrial or rural lot that abuts a Residential Lot, or unless it complies with AS/NZS 3016:2002 and can be rendered inoperable during business hours.

Permits that stay with the land

Under Cockburn’s law a permit, unless a condition says otherwise, runs with the lot, may be relied on by later owners or occupiers, and may be enforced against them. If the City has not decided an application within 90 days of receiving everything it asked for, the application is taken to be refused and any fee is refunded. Under Kalamunda’s, an approval transfers with the land to any new owner or occupier and lasts until the fence is removed, the Shire revokes it or the owner surrenders it.

The council fencing local laws sheet sets out what each of these four laws counts as a sufficient fence, and the building permit sheet covers when a fence needs one.

Asbestos safety

The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, and in Western Australia the law sets limits: WorkSafe WA says a homeowner may take out less than 10 square metres of non-friable material themselves, and that more than that, or any amount of friable material, must be removed by a licensed removalist, and that a home owner doing it must follow strict safety precautions and wear protective equipment. The national agency adds that, even if you follow every safety step, hiring a licensed asbestos removalist who is trained, insured and equipped for the work is much safer and easier. Asbestos waste can only go to a landfill licensed to accept it. WorkSafe WA says there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.

HealthyWA says never to use power tools on materials containing asbestos, whether to drill, cut, sand or remove them, because they release asbestos fibres. WorkSafe WA says Western Australian law bans some tools and methods with asbestos because they put dangerous fibres into the air: never dry-sweep asbestos dust with a broom or brush; never cut, grind, sand or drill it with high-speed power tools; never clean it with high-pressure water or compressed air; and never use industrial drying fans where damaged or friable asbestos might be, until the area has been certified clear. The national agency warns never to clean asbestos materials with high-pressure water or any abrasive process, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding. Queensland’s asbestos site lists, among the things not to do: “Saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials.”

In Western Australia, HealthyWA says all asbestos material must go to a landfill or waste disposal site that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has licensed to accept it.