Western Australia has the clearest tiny house rules in the country, and they are written down where you can read them. A tiny house on wheels is a caravan. Caravans on private land are governed by the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 and its Regulations 1997, and those regulations were amended on 1 September 2024 to make tiny homes on wheels easier to approve.
The headline number is 24 months. Your local government can approve you to occupy a caravan on land you own for up to 24 consecutive months, and you can apply again when it runs out. Before September 2024 the cap was three months.
We build in East Lismore, in northern New South Wales, and deliver to Perth and across Western Australia. That is roughly 4,500 km each way, and we would rather set out what that means for your price and timeline than pretend the Nullarbor is not there.
Can you live in a tiny house in Western Australia
Yes, with your local government’s written approval, and that approval is the whole game.
The Western Australian Planning Commission published a Tiny House Fact Sheet in December 2024 setting out the starting point. It explains that the State Administrative Tribunal has treated vehicles and buildings as mutually exclusive, so a tiny house cannot be both. With wheels and designed for habitation, it is a caravan. Without them it is a building, and the Building Act 2011, the National Construction Code and the planning system apply.
Our homes stay on trailers we manufacture in house and are licensed as caravans, which puts them on the caravan side of that line.
The fact sheet is blunt about the limit. Permanent occupation of a caravan outside a licensed caravan park is not permitted. What the regulations give you is a long, renewable temporary approval, not a permanent right, and that matters if you are planning a thirty year stay.
What the rules actually say
Five nights without approval. Regulation 11 of the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997 lets a person camp for up to 5 nights in any period of 28 consecutive days on land they own or have a legal right to occupy, with no approval from anyone. The same regulation allows up to 24 consecutive hours in a caravan on a roadside rest area.
Approval past that point. Anything beyond those 5 nights needs written approval, either from your local government under regulation 11A or from the Minister under regulation 11B. Regulation 11A lets the local government grant approval for a period not exceeding 24 consecutive months, impose conditions, and require that the caravan is maintained so it is not a hazard to safety or health and that the land is suitable for safety, health and access to services. If no decision is made within 63 days, the application is taken to be refused.
What changed and when. The Cook Government announced the amendments on 22 August 2024 and they took effect on 1 September 2024. Local government approvals went from a maximum of 3 months to 24 months, camping on your own land without approval went from 3 days to 5, and the fine for unlawful camping went from 100 dollars to 200. Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said she was proud to deliver changes that local governments and tiny homes on wheels advocates had been seeking.
Services and waste. Local governments condition approvals on health and safety, which in practice means proving where your power, water and wastewater go. The City of Kwinana asks for evidence of electricity, potable water, hot water, a flushable toilet, a shower, cooking facilities and laundry access, with wastewater to septic or reticulated sewer. It also limits you to one caravan or tiny house on wheels per property and requires the unit to stay towable so it is not reclassified as a permanent structure.
Ancillary dwellings are a different thing. A fixed granny flat falls under the Residential Design Codes Volume 1, capped at 70 square metres of internal floor area, and the 2024 R-Codes update removed the old 350 square metre minimum lot size. Ancillary dwellings are exempt from development approval where they meet the deemed to comply standards, but a building permit is always required. Different product, different approval path.
Licensing the vehicle. Transport WA licenses a caravan or camper trailer. A Certificate of Inspection from an Authorised Inspection Station is required, the VIN must be intact, and you apply on form VL17 with proof of identity and ownership. Caravans permanently fitted for habitation are exempt from vehicle licence duty.
Local government by local government
The 24 month cap is statewide. How willingly a council uses it is not.
City of Swan issues an Approval to Camp or Occupy a Caravan under the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 and its Regulations 1997, with the period and fees set case by case. Swan’s advice is to contact them for the fee and conditions on 08 9267 9267. Treat that call as step one, before you choose a floor plan.
Kwinana publishes the clearest metropolitan guidance we have found, including the one unit per property limit, the services evidence list, and a cap of six unrelated persons.
Shire of Capel is the one to watch in the south west. On 29 January 2026 it granted planning approval for a 40 site tiny homes on wheels community at Boyanup, with around thirty conditions covering waste, water, parking and landscaping. It was assessed under caravan park planning law because, as the shire noted, no planning laws directly cover tiny homes or a tiny home community. That is a useful signal about the pathway councils are using in the meantime.
Regional shires including Denmark, Manjimup and Augusta Margaret River were named in the state government’s media statement as having pushed for the 2024 changes, which tells you something about their appetite.
Elsewhere the regulation is identical but the administration varies. Ask your local government in writing what conditions they would attach to a regulation 11A approval on your lot, and get that answer before you pay a deposit.
Getting a tiny home to Perth
Our yard is in East Lismore and Perth is roughly 4,500 km away by road. The truck has to get home again, so a delivery is a round trip of about 9,000 km. Four things follow from that.
Freight is quoted per job, not off a price list, and it is a real number rather than a rounding error on the build cost. Ask for it early so it sits in your budget from the start.
The cost of the tow is close to identical whether we are pulling a 7.4m Spirit or a 9.5m Entertainer. If you are torn between sizes, that changes the maths in favour of the larger home, because you pay the same freight for more house.
Timing needs slack. The drive is around a week each way with proper driver rest, and we book Perth runs when they can be scheduled sensibly rather than sending a truck west at short notice for one home. Build time sets the date, but add a genuine window on top.
Warranty deserves saying plainly. A callback to Perth is not a next week visit from us. Small items are usually handled with parts sent over and a local trade engaged where that works. Weigh that against the price and the build spec, and if you can, inspect the home in Lismore before it goes on the truck.
On the road itself there is less to worry about. At 2.5 metres wide our homes sit at the general width limit for a vehicle on Australian roads rather than over it, so a standard delivery needs no over width permit or pilot vehicles.
Which of our models suits Western Australia
Heat is the design problem in most of WA, not cold. Perth summers, and anything inland or north of the city, put the load on insulation, shading and ventilation rather than heating.
Given the freight maths above, the 8.4m Haven at 165,000 dollars is where we would start most WA conversations. It is a full time home rather than a compromise, and the delivered cost per square metre beats the smaller models once the tow is included.
The 9.5m Grand at 165,000 dollars is the same price as the 8.4m Haven for another metre of length, which makes it the best value step in the range if you have the room to site it and the access to get it in. On a Perth hills block or a south west acreage that is usually the sensible choice.
Where budget is the binding constraint, the 7.4m Spirit at 123,000 dollars is the entry point and tows the same distance. Ask about the solar package and rainwater storage, since many WA sites we deliver to are not close to services.
Frequently asked questions
Are tiny houses legal in Western Australia. A tiny house on wheels built for habitation is a caravan in WA, not a building. The Western Australian Planning Commission fact sheet of December 2024 explains that the State Administrative Tribunal has treated vehicles and buildings as mutually exclusive. So no building permit, but occupying it on private land is controlled by the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997 and your local government.
How long can I live in a tiny house on my own land in Perth. Regulation 11 allows up to 5 nights in any period of 28 consecutive days on land you own or have a legal right to occupy, with no approval. Past that you need written approval from your local government under regulation 11A, granted for a period not exceeding 24 consecutive months and renewable on application.
What changed in the WA tiny house laws. Amendments took effect on 1 September 2024. The maximum local government approval went from 3 months to 24 months, camping without approval on your own land went from 3 days to 5, and the fine for unlawful camping doubled to 200 dollars. Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley announced them, crediting advocacy from tiny homes on wheels supporters and regional shires.
Do I need council approval for a tiny home in the City of Swan. Yes, for anything beyond 5 nights in 28 days. The City of Swan issues an Approval to Camp or Occupy a Caravan under the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Act 1995 and its Regulations 1997. Fees and conditions are set case by case, so ring 08 9267 9267 and ask about your lot before you order.
Is a tiny home the same as a granny flat in WA. No. An ancillary dwelling is a building under the Residential Design Codes Volume 1, capped at 70 square metres of internal floor area. The 2024 update removed the old 350 square metre minimum lot size. Ancillary dwellings are exempt from development approval when they meet the deemed to comply standards, but always need a building permit. A tiny house on wheels sits under caravan law.
How much does delivery from Lismore to Perth cost. It is quoted per job, because it is roughly 4,500 km each way from East Lismore and the truck has to come home as well. You are paying for a round trip of about 9,000 km. Freight is close to the same figure whether we tow a 7.4m Spirit or a 9.5m Entertainer, worth knowing before you pick a model.
Talk to Peter
Peter Wigley is our CEO and the New South Wales State Lead for the Australian Tiny House Association, and he lives in a tiny home himself. For a delivered price to your Perth or regional WA postcode, or help working out what to ask your local government before you commit, call him on 0411 079 446 or email info@tinyhomesaustralia.com.au. We do not run a showroom, so a call is the fastest way to real numbers.