Operating a business from home in Broome

Businesses in Broome’s key retail precincts are facing challenging times and Shire President, Harold Tracey, says some owners have raised concerns that they’re having to compete with people operating businesses from their homes who don’t pay the same rates or have the same overheads. 

Residents can operate businesses from home with planning approval from the Shire and under certain conditions.

Information on this can be found in information sheets online at the link below.

The Shire supports home businesses providing services from hairdressers, to dog groomers to accountants, but they’re not permitted to sell products.

So, if you’re a hairdresser you can cut people’s hair with planning approval from the Shire, but the planning laws do not allow the hairdresser to sell hair products, similarly if you are a dog groomer operating from home you can groom dogs but cannot sell dog food or products.

We are asking home businesses to make sure that they do not sell items.

If you want to sell items in association with a business, then you need to be in one of the commercial zones and the Shire’s planning team can assist people in identifying a location. 

The Shire also has seen a recent increase in people looking to sell products from their home.

While one-off garage sales are allowed, planning laws do not allow the regular sale of items including plants, clothes, shoes and more from residential properties.

If people want to operate shops they need to be located in our commercial areas and the Shire planners can assist in advising where these are.

Anyone who is thinking about operating a business from home is encouraged to contact the Shire’s planning team.