Limited Partnerships Regulations 2017

Personal information is defined in regulation 4(1) in a deliberately narrow way: it means only the address of an individual's principal place of residence. This is not a general privacy protection for all personal data in the register. It protects only the residential street address from public view. Other personal information such as full name, date of birth, or business address may remain publicly accessible. The definition is crucial because the Commissioner's withholding power under section 78(6) of the Act is exercised only over this specific category.

Register is defined in regulation 4(1) as the copy of the register that is available for inspection under section 78(4) or that is publicly available under section 78(5). This distinguishes the operational register held by the Commissioner from the publicly accessible copy. The withholding mechanism operates on the publicly available copy, meaning the Commissioner may still retain the full residential address internally for official purposes.

Withhold is defined in the same provision to mean withhold from the register, not to delete or destroy the information. The Commissioner can suppress the data from public view while keeping it in the underlying record. If the protective conditions cease, the Commissioner may decide to record the withheld information again, restoring public visibility.

Modified penalty is a fixed amount specified in Schedule 2 for each offence. It operates as an alternative to court prosecution. If the recipient pays the modified penalty within 28 days, they cannot be prosecuted for that offence. The modified penalty is lower than the maximum penalty the Act allows a court to impose, reflecting the trade off between efficiency and finality. Schedule 2 differentiates between individuals and bodies corporate, with body corporate penalties generally five times the individual penalty. This differential reflects the assumption that bodies corporate have greater capacity to pay and that compliance obligations fall on the entity.

Approved officer and authorised officer are categories of persons appointed in writing by the Commissioner for the purposes of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004 Part 2. Regulation 6 gives the Commissioner discretion to appoint persons or classes of persons. Authorised officers must be issued with a certificate, badge or identity card, while approved officers may not require such identification. The distinction is not elaborated in the regulations but affects who can issue infringement notices under the Criminal Procedure Act.

Reviewable decision is a concept imported from the Act. Under regulation 4(5), the Commissioner's decision to refuse an application to withhold personal information, or to record previously withheld information, is a reviewable decision. The Act's Part 5 Division 5 presumably provides for merits review in the State Administrative Tribunal or similar body. The affected person has standing to seek review.

Prescribed forms in Schedule 3 are the mandated templates for infringement notices and withdrawals. The infringement notice form must contain the alleged offender's name or body corporate name, the description of the offence, the relevant section of the Act, the date and time of the offence, the modified penalty amount, the officer's name and signature, and instructions on payment and election for court. The form also includes warnings about enforcement consequences including driver's licence suspension, vehicle immobilisation, garnishment, and property seizure. The withdrawal notice form allows a refund of any modified penalty already paid if the notice is withdrawn.

The regulations directly affect any person or entity dealing with the Limited Partnerships Act 2016 registry in Western Australia. The most significant group is limited partnerships and incorporated limited partnerships registered or seeking registration under the Act. Each such partnership must pay prescribed fees for registration, inspection, certificates, and applications for leave. Partnerships must also comply with ongoing obligations: lodging notices of dissolution, cessation, status changes, winding up, and changes to registered particulars. Failure to lodge on time exposes the partnership (and in some cases its partners or officers) to infringement notices carrying modified penalties.

Individuals who are partners in a limited partnership or who have their principal place of residence address recorded in the register are affected by the personal information withholding provisions. A partner who resides at the partnership's registered address or at their own home may find that address publicly accessible on the register. The regulations provide a mechanism to suppress that information, but only for individuals who meet strict eligibility criteria related to electoral roll status or demonstrated safety risk. This disproportionately affects partners who are domestic violence survivors, witness protection participants, or public officials with security concerns.

Practitioners and professionals such as lawyers, accountants, and corporate secretaries who manage partnership registrations and lodgements are affected by the fee schedule and the infringement notice regime. They must advise clients on the financial implications of registration fees and the compliance risks of late lodgement. The 20 per cent discount for online lodgement creates an incentive to use the digital platform, which may be relevant when advising clients on cost minimisation.

The Commissioner (the office of the Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety) is the central administrative actor. The Commissioner determines when to exercise the discretion to waive or refund fees (regulation 3(3)), decides whether to grant applications for withholding personal information (regulation 4(2)), and appoints authorised officers and approved officers (regulation 6). The Commissioner also has the power to later record withheld information if the protective conditions no longer apply, which creates ongoing exposure for applicants.

Authorised officers and approved officers appointed by the Commissioner are the individuals who issue infringement notices. They must be issued with identification if they are authorised officers. Their appointment is in writing and can be by class, meaning the Commissioner could designate an entire team within the department without naming each person individually.

Third parties inspecting the register pay a fee of $23.50 per partnership inspected. This includes journalists, researchers, competitors, and creditors who want to verify a partnership's registration details or find contact addresses. The withholding mechanism reduces the information available to them, but only for the residential addresses of qualifying individuals.

Silent electors and persons whose address is withheld from the Commonwealth electoral roll are the primary beneficiaries of the withholding provision. The regulations cross-reference the Electoral Act 1907 and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, so the qualifications are determined by electoral law, not by the regulations themselves.

Bodies corporate face higher modified penalties than individuals for the same offences. A body corporate that fails to display its certificate of registration at its registered office faces a $3,000 modified penalty compared to $600 for an individual partner. This differential reflects the assumption that corporate entities have deeper pockets and should bear greater responsibility for administrative compliance.

Duty to pay prescribed fees arises under regulation 3(1) read with Schedule 1. A person lodging an application for registration, inspection, certificate, or leave must pay the stated fee. The fee is due at the time of lodgement; the Commissioner may refuse to process the application without payment. The Commissioner's power to waive or refund fees (regulation 3(3)) is discretionary and not subject to criteria, so there is no right to a waiver.

Right to a 20 per cent discount on lodgement fees is conferred by regulation 3(2) if the document is lodged through the Commissioner's official website. This is a conditional right: it only applies to fees for lodging documents (items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 of Schedule 1), not to inspection fees or certificate applications. The discount is automatic if the condition is met, but the online system must function correctly; there is no alternative to claim the discount if the website is unavailable.

Right to apply for withholding of personal information is established by regulation 4(2). An individual may apply in the form approved by the Commissioner, explaining why personal safety would be at risk, and providing an alternative Australian address. The application must also satisfy one of the three conditions in regulation 4(3): being a silent elector under the Electoral Act 1907, having a residential address withheld from the Commonwealth electoral roll, or being a person whose name is not on the electoral roll and who satisfies the Commissioner of a safety risk. This is not an absolute right; the Commissioner may refuse the application, and the decision is reviewable.

Duty to provide an alternative address is implicit in regulation 4(2)(c). The applicant must supply an address in Australia, other than the principal place of residence, that may be recorded in the register. This address becomes the publicly visible address for that person. If the applicant cannot provide any alternative Australian address, the application cannot succeed.

Right to reasons for an adverse decision arises under regulation 4(5)(a). If the Commissioner decides to refuse an application under regulation 4(2), or to record previously withheld information under regulation 4(4), the Commissioner must give the person notice of the decision and the reasons. This imposes an obligation on the Commissioner to articulate the basis for the decision, which can then be tested on review.

Right to merits review is conferred by regulation 4(5)(b) and (c). The decision is a reviewable decision under Part 5 Division 5 of the Act, and the person is an affected person with standing. The review body (likely the State Administrative Tribunal) can substitute its own decision for the Commissioner's, providing a safeguard against arbitrary refusal.

Duty to lodge notices on time is not created by the regulations but by the Act. The regulations merely specify the offences for which infringement notices may be issued. Once an infringement notice is issued, the recipient has a duty to either pay the modified penalty within 28 days or elect to have the matter dealt with by prosecution in court. The form in Schedule 3 makes clear that ignoring the notice may lead to enforcement action including driver's licence suspension, vehicle immobilisation, garnishment of earnings or bank accounts, and seizure of property.

Right to elect court prosecution is stated on the infringement notice form. The alleged offender may sign the notice and return it to the Approved Officer within 28 days, requesting court prosecution. The modified penalty is then not payable and the matter proceeds in the Magistrates Court, where the full penalty range of the Act applies. This preserves the right to a hearing and to contest the alleged offence.

Right to a refund if the infringement notice is withdrawn after payment is provided in Form 2. The withdrawal notice states that if the modified penalty has been paid, the person is entitled to a refund. The form provides two options: the refund can be enclosed with the withdrawal notice, or if not enclosed, the person must sign and return the notice to claim it.

The regulations do not create new criminal offences; they establish a mechanism for enforcing existing offences under the Limited Partnerships Act 2016 through infringement notices rather than full court proceedings. The seven offences listed in Schedule 2 are all administrative failures: failing to lodge required notices, failing to display the certificate, and failing to maintain an office at the registered address. None involve dishonesty or harm to third parties; they are strict liability or negligence based obligations.

The modified penalties are fixed amounts, not ranges. For an individual, the standard modified penalty is $300 for six offences and $600 for failing to display the certificate. For a body corporate, the standard is $1,500, with $3,000 for the certificate display offence. These amounts are substantially lower than the maximum penalties the Act would allow a court to impose (which are not specified in the regulations but are presumably higher). The differential between individual and body corporate penalties is a flat factor of five, applied uniformly across all seven offences.

The infringement notice itself, as prescribed in Schedule 3, must contain a prominent warning about enforcement consequences under the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994. That Act allows action including driver's licence suspension, vehicle licence suspension or cancellation, disqualification from obtaining licences, vehicle immobilisation, number plate removal, publication of details on a website, garnishment of earnings or bank accounts, and seizure and sale of property. These enforcement measures apply automatically if the modified penalty remains unpaid after 28 days and the person does not elect court prosecution.

The Commissioner appoints authorised officers and approved officers under regulation 6 to issue infringement notices. The distinction between the two categories is not explained, but the regulations require authorised officers to be issued with a certificate, badge or identity card, while approved officers are not mentioned as requiring identification. This may reflect different roles: authorised officers may have enforcement powers beyond issuing notices, while approved officers may only issue notices in administrative settings.

The infringement notice form also provides for payment by cheque or money order payable to "Approved Officer , Limited Partnerships Act 2016" sent by post to the Department's Locked Bag address, or payment in person at the Department's Perth office. There is no provision for online payment through the Commissioner's website, which is notable given the 20 per cent discount for online lodgement of documents. The enforcement system thus retains a paper based payment process.

If the modified penalty is paid, the matter is concluded; no conviction is recorded. If the person elects court prosecution, the full evidentiary and procedural protections of the criminal law apply, and the court can impose a penalty up to the statutory maximum for the offence. The regulations therefore provide a lower cost, lower risk alternative for both the state and the alleged offender, but the trade off is the loss of the right to contest the allegation without penalty.

The withdrawal of an infringement notice (Form 2) can occur for any reason; the regulations do not limit when the Commissioner may withdraw. If a refund is due, the Commissioner must either enclose it with the withdrawal notice or the person must claim it by signing and returning the form. The refund process places the onus on the recipient to claim, rather than the Commissioner automatically refunding.

The regulations operate squarely within the statutory framework of the Limited Partnerships Act 2016. Each fee in Schedule 1 is linked to a specific provision of the Act: registration fees under sections 16(2) and 45(3), evidence of status under section 48, inspection under section 78(4), certificates under section 82(2), and applications for leave under section 92(1). The infringement notice offences all reference sections of the Act. The withholding mechanism implements section 78(6) of the Act, which empowers the Commissioner to withhold personal information in prescribed circumstances. The reviewable decision provision ties into Part 5 Division 5 of the Act, which presumably creates a merits review pathway in the State Administrative Tribunal.

The Criminal Procedure Act 2004 Part 2 is the foundational procedural law for infringement notices. Regulation 5 specifies that the offences in Schedule 2 are infringement notice offences under that Part, and the modified penalties are as defined in section 5(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act. Regulation 6 appoints officers under that Part. Regulation 7 prescribes forms for the purposes of that Part. The infringement notice itself is a form under the Criminal Procedure Act, not under the Limited Partnerships Act. This means that the general procedural rules for infringement notices in Western Australia apply, including the 28 day payment period, the right to elect court, and the consequences of non-payment.

The Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994 governs enforcement once the 28 day period expires without payment or election. The infringement notice form explicitly warns the recipient that action may be taken under that Act, including licence suspension, vehicle immobilisation, garnishment, and property seizure. The regulations do not modify that Act's operation; they simply activate it.

The Electoral Act 1907 and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 are cross referenced in regulation 4(3) to define who qualifies as a silent elector or a person whose residential address is withheld from the electoral roll. This means the regulations adopt external eligibility criteria determined by electoral law. If a person is a silent elector under the Electoral Act 1907, they automatically satisfy one of the conditions for withholding their address. The Commissioner does not have discretion to reject that qualification; the only discretionary condition is regulation 4(3)(c) for persons not on any electoral roll.

The Commerce Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) series of regulations modifies the fee schedule annually. These are separate instruments that insert or replace Schedule 1. The compilation table shows amendments from 2018 through 2025, reflecting annual fee indexing. This means the amounts in Schedule 1 are not static; practitioners must check the current version.

The Limited Partnerships Amendment Regulations 2017 (published 4 August 2017) inserted the current regulations 4, 5, 6, and 7 and Schedules 2 and 3. The original 2017 regulations contained only regulations 1, 2, 3 and Schedule 1. The substantive compliance and enforcement framework was added five months after the initial commencement.

The deletion of regulation 3A (effected by SL 2021/86 r. 43) is worth noting. The text of the deleted regulation is not included, but given the timing it likely related to COVID-19 relief measures such as fee waivers or extensions. Its deletion indicates the temporary measure has expired.

The regulations as at the date of the compilation (SL 2025/89) reflect ten amending instruments. The original Limited Partnerships Regulations 2017 were published on 31 January 2017, with regulations 1 and 2 commencing on that day and the remaining regulations (originally only 3 and Schedule 1) commencing on 1 February 2017. The initial regulations covered only the fee schedule and the Commissioner's power to waive fees.

The Limited Partnerships Amendment Regulations 2017, published on 4 August 2017 and commencing 5 August 2017, were transformative. They inserted regulations 4 through 7, Schedules 2 and 3, and the core enforcement and privacy framework. This amendment created the infringement notice regime, the personal information withholding mechanism, the officer appointment provisions, and the prescribed forms. Without this amendment, the regulations would have been merely a fee schedule.

Annual fee adjustments occurred through the Commerce Regulations Amendment (Fees and Charges) series: 2018 (Part 13), 2020 (Part 19, which amended forms), 2021 (Part 14, which deleted regulation 3A), 2022 (Part 12), 2023 (Part 12), 2024 (Part 11), and 2025 (Part 12). These amendments each replaced the fee amounts in Schedule 1 and made minor consequential changes. The 2025 amendment inserted a heading into Schedule 1.

The Commerce Regulations Amendment (COVID-19 Response) Regulations (No. 2) 2020 Part 12 (SL 2020/196) likely introduced regulation 3A, which was later deleted by the 2021 amendment. The exact content of regulation 3A is not preserved in the source, but the timing suggests it may have provided temporary relief from fees or other obligations during the pandemic.

The Limited Partnerships Amendment Regulations 2024 (SL 2024/130) amended regulation 4. The specific change is not detailed in the source, but the compilation shows it was made on 26 June 2024 and commenced 1 July 2024. Given the cross references to electoral legislation, it may have updated references to the Electoral Act 1907 or Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

The compilation table shows that the regulations have been amended approximately every year, primarily for fee indexing. The only substantive policy changes were the 2017 amendment (introducing enforcement and privacy) and the deletion of regulation 3A in 2021. The overall structure has remained stable since August 2017.

Practitioners must be careful to use the current version. The fees in Schedule 1 have changed annually; the amounts quoted in older commentary or online summaries may be outdated. The current fees as at July 2025 are $250 for limited partnership registration, $354 for incorporated limited partnership registration, $19.95 for status evidence documents, $23.50 per partnership for register inspection, $16 for a certificate, and $51 for an application for leave.

The source text does not contain any references to litigation, court decisions, or tribunal rulings concerning the regulations. This silence is expected for a delegated legislative instrument of this nature; regulations are typically challenged indirectly through challenges to decisions made under them, rather than through direct attacks on the instrument itself. The regulations are unlikely to have been the subject of standalone judicial review.

The most likely area for litigation is the Commissioner's decisions to refuse an application to withhold personal information under regulation 4. The regulation expressly provides that such a refusal is a reviewable decision, and the affected person has standing to seek merits review in the State Administrative Tribunal under Part 5 Division 5 of the Act. Appeals from the Tribunal would then go to the Supreme Court of Western Australia on questions of law. There may be unreported Tribunal decisions, but no published case law is apparent from the text.

The infringement notice regime may also generate cases in the Magistrates Court when an alleged offender elects court prosecution rather than paying the modified penalty. Those cases would involve interpretation of the underlying Act provisions (such as what constitutes a failure to display a certificate or a failure to lodge a notice) rather than the regulations themselves. The regulations' role is limited to specifying which offences carry infringement notices and the penalty amounts.

The fee structure has not generated reported litigation, although the Commissioner's power to waive fees without criteria (regulation 3(3)) could theoretically be challenged if exercised arbitrarily or in a discriminatory manner. An applicant denied a waiver might argue that the discretion was exercised unreasonably or for an improper purpose. However, there is no record of such a challenge in the source.

The deletion of regulation 3A in 2021 has not resulted in any known litigation, suggesting the COVID-19 relief measure expired without controversy.

Practitioners should be aware that the absence of reported litigation does not mean the regulations are free from interpretive difficulty. Questions could arise about the meaning of "personal information" in different contexts (whether it includes a PO Box or business address if that is also a residence), about the scope of the Commissioner's discretion to withhold information under regulation 4(3)(c) (which requires the Commissioner to be satisfied of a safety risk, a subjective test), and about the interaction between the infringement notice scheme and the Act's general penalty provisions. None of these questions have been judicially resolved in the source.

The 20 per cent discount on lodgement fees applies only when the document is lodged "by use of the website maintained by or on behalf of the office of the Commissioner" (regulation 3(2)). This is narrowly drafted. It does not apply if the document is lodged by email, fax, post, or in person. It also does not apply to inspection fees (item 5) or certificate application fees (item 6), because those are not fees for "lodging a document". A practitioner who pays $23.50 to inspect a register online will not receive a discount. The discount is beneficial but limited to the five lodgement fee items.

The Commissioner's power to waive or refund fees under regulation 3(3) is entirely discretionary and has no stated criteria. There is no right to a waiver, no process to apply, and no mechanism for review if a waiver is refused. This creates uncertainty for businesses that may face financial hardship. A partnership that cannot afford the registration fee has no guaranteed path to a concession.

The withholding provision in regulation 4 requires the applicant to provide "an address in Australia, other than the address of the person's principal place of residence, that may be recorded in the register". This must be a genuine address, not just a post office box. The address will become publicly visible. If the applicant has no alternative address in Australia, the application must fail, regardless of the safety risk. This creates a gap for individuals who are homeless, live in a refuge, or have no safe alternative correspondence address.

The Commissioner may later decide to record the withheld personal information if the conditions in regulation 4(3) no longer apply (regulation 4(4)). This means a person who qualifies as a silent elector today may lose that status in the future, and the Commissioner can then restore their residential address to the public register without a fresh application. The person may not be aware that their status has changed, and the Commissioner is not obliged to notify them before restoring the information. The only safeguard is that the decision to record is reviewable, but the review may occur after the information is already public.

The infringement notice form warns that enforcement may include driver's licence suspension, vehicle licence suspension, garnishment, and property seizure. These are severe consequences for an administrative failure such as not displaying a certificate. The recipient cannot prevent these consequences simply by disputing the merit of the notice; they must either pay or elect court prosecution. If they do nothing, the enforcement machinery activates automatically.

The modified penalty for failure to display the certificate is double the standard amount: $600 for an individual and $3,000 for a body corporate. This is the most penalised offence under the scheme. A partnership that forgets to pin its certificate on the wall at its registered office faces a disproportionate penalty compared to failing to lodge a notice of dissolution. The regulator appears to consider display compliance particularly important.

The forms in Schedule 3 are prescribed for the purposes of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004 Part 2, but they are not the only forms that exist under the regulations. The application to withhold personal information under regulation 4(2)(a) must be "in the form approved by the Commissioner". That form is not prescribed in the regulations; it is a separate document that the Commissioner controls. The Commissioner can change the form at any time without amending the regulations. An applicant must obtain the current approved form, which may not be readily available online.

The infringement notice payment method is limited to cheque or money order posted to a Locked Bag address, or payment in person at the Department's office in Perth. There is no provision for electronic funds transfer, credit card, or BPAY. For a body corporate with a $3,000 penalty, this creates a logistical hurdle. The 28 day payment period runs from the date of the notice, not from receipt. A notice sent by post may arrive late, reducing the effective time to pay.

The regulations do not provide for any grace period for late lodgement of notices. The moment a partnership fails to lodge a notice by the due date, an infringement notice can be issued. There is no warning system or automatic extension. The Commissioner has no express power to accept late lodgement without penalty, although the general power to waive fees does not extend to waiving the modified penalty itself (only the Commissioner, not an approved officer, may waive fees).

For a limited partnership or incorporated limited partnership, the primary compliance obligations are threefold: pay the correct fees on time, lodge all required notices promptly, and maintain the certificate of registration at the registered office. The fee schedule is the easiest to manage. Use the Commissioner's online lodgement platform to obtain the 20 per cent discount on lodgement fees (registration, status evidence, and leave applications). Check the current fee amounts each July, when the annual indexing amendments take effect. Keep records of all lodgements and payments.

For the infringement notice offences, the practical steps are straightforward. File the notice of dissolution or cessation under section 28(4) within the period required by the Act. For incorporated limited partnerships, file the notice of status change under section 48(5) promptly. When winding up commences, file the notice under section 67(5); when winding up completes, file the notice under section 67(6). If any registered particulars change, file a notice under section 84(2) within the prescribed time. These are mechanical tasks that can be calendared and delegated to a compliance officer or external advisor.

The certificate of registration must be displayed at the partnership's registered office. This is not simply a filing requirement; it is a physical display obligation. The penalty for non-compliance is the highest in the schedule. Ensure the certificate is visible and accessible. If the partnership moves its registered office, update the register and re display the certificate at the new location.

The office for communications must be kept at the registered office (section 102(2)). This means someone must attend that address during business hours, or at least have a facility to receive and respond to communications. Using a virtual office or a mail forwarding service may not satisfy the requirement if no physical location is maintained. Check the Act's definition of "office for communications" for more detail.

If an individual partner or officer has a safety concern about having their residential address on the public register, they should apply to the Commissioner under regulation 4 as soon as possible, preferably before the address is recorded. The application must include evidence of eligibility as a silent elector, a Commonwealth electoral roll withholding, or a safety risk. Provide an alternative Australian address that can be used for official correspondence. Update the application if the safety risk changes. If the Commissioner refuses, seek a review under Part 5 Division 5 of the Act promptly, as the decision is likely to be implemented quickly.

If an infringement notice is received, do not ignore it. The 28 day period runs from the date of the notice. Decide whether to pay the modified penalty or elect court prosecution. Paying the modified penalty is the simplest option for minor or uncontested breaches. If the partnership wishes to contest the allegation, sign the notice and return it to the Approved Officer within 28 days. The matter will then proceed to court, where the full procedural protections apply. If the notice is withdrawn after payment, claim the refund using the process in Form 2.

Keep a log of all lodgements and notices, including the date and method of lodgement. This record may be needed to demonstrate compliance if an infringement notice is issued. If the Commissioner alleges a late lodgement, the partnership bears the evidentiary burden of proving it was lodged on time.

For partnerships that are not incorporated, the fee is lower ($250 vs $354) but the obligations under the infringement notice schedule are the same. The higher fee for incorporated limited partnerships reflects the additional complexity and liability structure. Ensure the correct registration type is chosen at the outset to avoid paying the wrong fee.

Finally, monitor the regulations for amendments. The fee schedule changes annually. The substantive provisions have remained stable since 2017, but future amendments could alter the infringement notice amounts, the withholding criteria, or the forms. The Commissioner's website and the Western Australian legislation database are the authoritative sources.