WA's jetty-licence framework is broad. The Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure states that any structure in, on, over or connected to water that may be used for launching or landing a vessel must have a jetty licence.
Licence classes include private, commercial and community.
New private structure
The Erect and Construct process requires, among other things, title, site plan, relevant local/authority approvals and marine engineer drawings/sketches. After construction a statutory declaration precedes the Use and Maintain licence.
As at the current 2026 fee page, a private jetty/structure new-licence fee is listed at $739.80 and annual renewal at $168.90. Fees change, so buyers should check the live schedule at application.
Commercial licences scale with berth count and require an appropriate business entity.
How to confirm this for your site
Nothing on this page is a determination about your project. Requirements turn on the exact location, the tenure of the land and bed, the waterway, the structure type and the use, and they change over time. Use this as a checklist for the conversation, then get the answer in writing from the Department of Transport and the relevant local authority.
- Establish who controls the bed and the land your shore connection lands on. This is the question that decides which approval path you are on.
- Ask the controlling authority, in writing, which approvals apply to your structure at your location, and what triggers each one.
- Ask what supporting material is expected with an application, and who must prepare it.
- Ask about referral or consultation requirements sitting behind the main approval, including heritage, environmental and navigation considerations.
- Ask what conditions are commonly imposed on structures like yours, so they are priced before you commit.
What to ask for in writing
- Confirmation of the approval path and the assessment timeframe.
- The application requirements list, including drawing and engineering expectations.
- Current fees, since published schedules are updated periodically.
- Whether the approval runs with the land or with the applicant, and what happens on sale.
- What ongoing obligations attach — inspection, maintenance, insurance, removal at end of tenure.
Program and budget implications
- Approval timeframes are part of the project program. Build them into the schedule before agreeing a delivery date with a builder.
- Conditions can change the design. Do not order a structure whose configuration might be altered by a condition you have not yet received.
- Make the contract reflect the approval risk: who carries the cost if a condition requires a design change, and what happens to the deposit if approval is refused.
Questions buyers ask
What does a jetty licence cover?
Scope varies, so ask what the licence authorises, what it excludes, how long it runs, and what happens at renewal or on sale of the property.
Can I extend an existing licensed structure?
Treat a modification as a fresh approval question. Ask what the process is before you design the extension, because the answer may change what is worth building.