Crash towing in Western Australia

The Perth and Peel schedule

The amounts rose on 1 July 2026, and the department’s page carries the new figures. As at October 2026 the towing lines read:

Light vehicle tow, first 50 km

$523.00

Each kilometre after 50 km

$4.75

After-hours surcharge, charged once

$149.00

The $523 covers the whole job, not only the drive: the first 50 kilometres from the scene to the destination the owner or driver named on the authority to tow; preparing, loading, carrying and unloading the car; clearing debris from the crash site; and the photographs, phone calls and forms. The department says no charge beyond these lines may be added for towing a light vehicle from a crash in Perth and Peel.

After hours means 5pm to 8am on weekdays, the weekend from 5pm Friday to 8am Monday, and public holidays from midnight to midnight. The department ties it to the time the owner or driver signs the authority to tow. Charging above the cap is an offence carrying penalties of up to $12,000 for an individual and $60,000 for a body corporate.

Where the crash happened decides the schedule

Perth and Peel are the regions defined in the Planning and Development Act 2005. Because a car can crash in one place and be stored in another, the department sets out which cap follows it:

Reasonable, where there is no cap

For a light vehicle outside Perth and Peel, or a heavy vehicle anywhere, the regulations require a reasonable charge, and an unreasonable towing charge is an offence with the same maximum penalties. The department’s guide to what may be weighed includes the day of the week and the time of day, the distance (which matters most in regional and remote areas), administration costs, and what this operator and others in the region charge for comparable work.

Recovery is priced the same way across the state. When a crashed car has to be pulled out of a river or a culvert, or freed from inside a building, extra people and equipment may be needed, so no fixed maximum fits; the charge must be reasonable, the owner or driver must have agreed to the recovery cost on the authority to tow, and the invoice should list the extra staff and equipment, backed by photographs taken before loading.

The form that carries the price

Since 10 January 2025, every tow from a crash scene uses the department’s Authority to Tow form. The towing worker fills in the cost of towing and storage and the destination before the person authorising the tow signs, and once it is completed it cannot be changed. It is made in four copies, and the white one is for the owner or driver; the form is not an invoice, which comes separately.

A tow can be authorised by the owner or driver, by a police officer when the owner or driver is absent or unable to, or by authorised Main Roads staff when the car is a hazard or blocks the road. A towing worker may not offer repairs or car hire while asking for that signature, and may not display the name or logo of an insurer, a roadside assistance provider, a public body such as Main Roads, or a repair or hire business on the truck or on their clothing.

The first truck at the scene

The cap sets the price, not the operator. After a crash, the owner or driver may turn down the first tow truck to arrive and choose who tows the car and where it goes, whether a repairer, home, a storage yard or wherever the insurer directs.

Western Australia has also gone after the tip-offs that bring trucks to a crash. Advertising or paying a spotter fee, or offering any other benefit in return for news of a crash or breakdown, is an offence, and so is accepting one; the penalties reach $9,000 for an individual and $45,000 for a body corporate.

The move that costs nothing

A car blocking traffic on a major road in the metropolitan area may be moved to a safer spot by Main Roads at no cost, after a call to 138 138; the owner then arranges the onward tow. The department also suggests towing the car home as one option, because it leaves time to speak to the insurer without pressure.