Project No. 36(II)

Commenced: 1972
Completed: 1997

The law of limitation of actions deals with the rules governing the period of time within which a person must commence civil proceedings. In Western Australia, these periods of time vary, depending upon the cause of action. The Limitation Act 1935 (WA) is the major source of law on this topic. All common law jurisdictions have rules prescribing the period within which civil actions must be commenced.

The Western Australian Parliament passed the Act in 1935, but in no sense did this represent any reform of the law. The intention behind it was simply to consolidate the statutory limitation provisions in force at that time.