COVID-19: Legal information
On 15 March 2020 the WA government declared a State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed it to use emergency powers to create legally enforceable directions (rules) aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 in WA and managing its impact. It was a criminal offence to breach these rules.
On 4 November 2022 these emergency powers ended and there are no longer government rules in place to control the spread of COVID-19. However, places such as hospitals and aged care facilities may still choose to impose their own rules to protect the health of vulnerable people in the community and government health advice continues to encourage people to take steps to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
A number of legal issues arose as a result of the government rules that were in place. Now that these rules have ended, many of these legal issues have also ended. However, some issues may be ongoing, such as those which are addressed in the following legal information resources:
Reviewed: 21 November 2022