Fencing PerthSheet 2 · Western Australia

Fencing local laws in four Perth councils

A Perth council can make a fencing local law that says what a sufficient fence is in its district, and the Dividing Fences Act 1961 accepts as sufficient a fence that such a law prescribes for that part of the district. So the rules change at the council boundary: this guide sets four laws side by side, each under its own council’s name, from the City of Cockburn’s law of 2026, the Shire of Kalamunda’s of 2016 and the City of Armadale’s of 2011, with the City of Canning’s of 2021 beside them.

General information, not legal advice. Each law applies only in its own council’s district, and no rule here is Perth’s as a whole. Check the law of the council your lot is in, and WA Health’s fence guidance notes that a council may set dividing fence requirements of its own.

Four laws, four dates

City of Cockburn Fencing Local Law 2026: Gazetted on 25 August 2026 and in operation 14 days later; it repealed the City’s 2012 law.
Shire of Kalamunda Fencing Local Law 2016: Gazetted on 2 September 2016 and in operation on the 14th day after; it repealed the Shire’s 2008 law.
City of Armadale Fencing Local Law 2011: Gazetted on 8 December 2011 and amended in 2016 and 2020; read here in the City’s consolidated copy.
City of Canning Fencing Local Law 2021: Gazetted on 31 August 2021 and in operation 14 days after publication.

One state law works in the same way everywhere: the Health (Asbestos) Regulations 1992 “apply to all districts as if they were local laws”.

A sufficient fence between two houses

Each law names the fences it counts as sufficient on a residential lot. The table gives each kind in outline. Kalamunda’s, Armadale’s and Canning’s schedules also set how each kind is built, such as post sizes, footings or following the manufacturer’s specifications, and a fence must meet those to count. Cockburn’s schedule sets only height and materials. Heights below are outside the front or street setback area; Kalamunda’s, Armadale’s and Canning’s laws set their own rules for that area, compared on the street walls and front fences sheet.

What each law counts as a sufficient fence on a residential lot
Council and law	Height	What it may be built of
City of Cockburn, 2026 (Schedule 2)	Between 1.8 m and 2.2 m.	Timber pickets or palings; masonry, including brick, stone or concrete; factory-coloured sheet metal posts and panels; or any combination of the three. It applies to a fence on or near the boundary between two residential lots, or between a residential lot and a non-residential or rural lot.
Shire of Kalamunda, 2016 (Schedule 1)	1800 mm for picket, sheet and masonry fences, and at least 1800 mm for a composite fence; a 1 metre wire mesh fence; a PVC system no higher than 1.8 m.	Six kinds: wire mesh on steel posts; picket timber; corrugated fibre reinforced pressed cement or profiled coloured steel sheeting; brick, stone or concrete; a composite fence, such as brick piers with infill panels; and a PVC fencing system. A stone or concrete fence over 1800 mm is sufficient only if a structural engineer designs it.
City of Armadale, 2011 as consolidated (Schedule 1)	At least 1800 mm and up to 2100 mm.	Its schedule includes timber; fibre reinforced pressed cement sheeting; masonry; composite fences; and Colorbond metal, wrought iron, tubular steel or PVC fencing systems. Masonry and composite fences must be certified by a structural engineer as right for the site and its wind terrain category.
City of Canning, 2021 (Schedule 2)	1800 mm to 2200 mm for timber or sheet fences; 1800 mm for masonry.	A timber fence, or one of “corrugated fibre reinforced pressed cement or steel sheeting or other non-permeable materials designed specifically for use as a fence”, in either case built to the manufacturer’s specifications; or masonry built to the masonry standard the Building Code of Australia had adopted when the fence was built, and certified by a structural engineer as right for the site and its wind terrain category.

Cockburn’s law also counts a dividing fence as sufficient if “all the owners of the lots adjoining the lots on which the dividing fence is to be constructed agree on the kind of dividing fence that is to be constructed”.

Older fences that still count

Cockburn’s, Armadale’s and Canning’s laws each keep fences that were there before them:

City of Cockburn, 2026: a dividing fence lawfully put up before the law came into operation counts as a sufficient fence under the Dividing Fences Act.
City of Armadale, 2011: a dividing fence or fence put up before 8 April 1988, or lawfully put up before the law came into operation, is a sufficient fence.
City of Canning, 2021: a dividing fence, or a fence lawfully put up before the law came into operation, is a sufficient fence.

Counting as sufficient is a separate question from being sound. All four laws also require a fence to be kept in good condition, set out below, and the guide to old asbestos cement fences has WA Health’s condition ratings.

Upkeep, and where asbestos appears

The duty to maintain a fence, and each law’s words on asbestos
Council and law	Keeping the fence in good condition	Asbestos in the law
City of Cockburn, 2026	The owner or occupier must keep the fence in good condition so it does not become dangerous, dilapidated or unsightly; if not, the City may give written notice to take reasonable action, within a set time, to return it to good condition (clause 3.5).	A “dangerous” fence includes one “containing exposed broken glass, asbestos fibre, or any other potentially harmful projection or material”. Clause 3.4 bars using “asbestos fibre” in building or repairing a fence, alongside broken glass or other harmful projections or material, and material likely to collapse or fall.
Shire of Kalamunda, 2016	The owner or occupier must keep the fence in good condition so it does not become dangerous, damaged, dilapidated or unsightly, or otherwise spoils the visual amenity of the street or neighbouring properties (clause 3.2).	A “dangerous” fence includes one “containing exposed broken glass, asbestos fibre, razor wire (unless otherwise approved in accordance with Part 5 of this local law), or any other potentially harmful projection or material”.
City of Armadale, 2011	The owner must keep a fence in good condition, so that it is not damaged, dangerous, dilapidated or unsightly and does not harm the amenity of the area.	Screening fixed to a fence, or standing within 600 mm of it, must not interfere with an existing asbestos fence so that it becomes dangerous.
City of Canning, 2021	The owner of the lot must keep the fence in good condition so it does not become dangerous, dilapidated or unsightly (clause 3.2).	A “dangerous” fence includes one “containing exposed broken glass, asbestos fibre, razor wire or any other potentially harmful projection or material”. Clause 3.4 bars using “asbestos fibre” in putting up a fence, with broken glass or other harmful projections, material likely to collapse or fall, and razor wire.

When a council finds a breach

Each law lets the council give a written notice of breach, and each makes breaking the law an offence. What follows a notice differs:

Shire of Kalamunda: the notice names the provision breached and the particulars, and gives the owner or occupier 28 days to fix it; if they do not, the Shire may enter the lot, fix the breach itself and recover its expenses in court.
City of Armadale: the same three parts, the same 28 days and the same power to enter, remedy and recover the cost.
City of Canning: the notice names the provision, the particulars and the time allowed; if the owner does not comply, the City may enter, remedy the breach and recover its expenses in court.
City of Cockburn: the notice names the provision, the particulars, the action needed and the deadline. Its clause 6.3 lets the City do the work itself where a notice to restore a fence’s condition concerns a boundary fence, one that separates private land from council property or a road, and it can then recover the cost as a debt.

The other sheets

Barbed wire, razor wire and electric fences have their own clauses in all four laws, compared in barbed wire and electric fences; front fences are on the street walls and front fences sheet.

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.