The Western Australian government announced Monday it will abolish no-grounds evictions, becoming one of only two Australian jurisdictions to ban the practice. Under the proposed legislation, landlords will no longer be permitted to terminate a tenant's lease without providing a reason. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are currently the only states allowing such evictions.

WA Attorney-General Tony Buti framed the change as a "commonsense approach" to an increasingly strained housing market. Speaking to 102.5 ABC Perth, he emphasized the need for a "fair balance" between landlords and tenants. "The market is a very tight market. People are feeling pressure. Tenants need security," Buti said.

Advocates hailed the reform, though some stressed its urgency. Kaye Miller, an Indigenous woman whose daughter Mary Anne died homeless in Western Australia, offered a personal perspective on the change. "This news comes too late for my daughter, but it's not too late for the next family," Miller said. "Hopefully this could save the life of the next young mother in my daughter's situation."

End Unfair Evictions campaign spokesperson Dr Betsy Buchanan OAM called the move "long overdue." She linked the reform to broader equity goals, stating that ending unfair evictions will save lives and "help to Close the Gap in Western Australia." The campaign has documented the toll of no-grounds evictions from social housing on vulnerable populations.

Campaigner Jesse Noakes directly addressed concerns from the Real Estate Institute of WA, which has expressed fears about the reform's impact on rental supply. He pointed to the absence of evidence from other states showing that ending no-grounds evictions reduces available rentals. "Even if a property investor sells a house, it is not as if it disappears into a puff of smoke. Either it houses someone who was previously renting, or it returns to the rental market," he said.

Noakes cited declining rental availability as evidence that market conditions cannot worsen further. Rental listings in Western Australia fell from more than 14,000 in 2018 to 3,000 properties this year, according to Anglicare. The proposed reforms also address evictions from public housing, where the WA government currently evicts hundreds of families annually, with up to 40 per cent involving no-grounds terminations.