The Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) was formed on 1 July 2017, as a result of merging the Department of Commerce and Department of Mines and Petroleum.
Acting Director General – Jai Thomas
Jai Thomas was appointed as Acting Director General of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) on 22 March 2025.
Prior to this, Jai held the role of Deputy Director General – Coordinator of Energy, leading the Energy Policy WA (EPWA) group within DEMIRS and has previously held key regulatory and project delivery roles at both Horizon Power and Western Power.
As Coordinator of Energy, Jai has overseen Western Australia’s energy policy and regulatory framework, and provided advice to the Minister for Energy on policy development and navigating the energy transition.
Driven by a passion for finding practical solutions to complex problems, Jai is committed to using regulatory reforms and market mechanisms to deliver a sustainable, reliable, and affordable future for Western Australia - ensuring positive outcomes for the State’s communities, households, and industry.
Our structure
Our organisational structure is comprised of six groups arranged to deliver an efficient and effective service to our stakeholders.
These groups are:
Corporate Services and Labour Relations Group
This group offers specialist advice, effective business systems, and internal controls to assist the department in achieving its strategic and operational objectives. This includes financial services, human resources, corporate information, corporate communications, assets services, ministerial liaison, and Office of the Director General.
The group is also responsible for both Government Sector Labour Relations (GSLR) and Private Sector Labour Relations (PSLR). GSLR has the responsibility of the coordination, governance, and consistent management of government sector labour relations including the implementation of government wages policy. PSLR is responsible for shaping and implementing labour relations policy and legislative reform for private sector employers and employees within the state system. It assists these parties in understanding and achieving compliance with Western Australian employment laws.
The Strategic Business Innovation division focuses on whole-of-department strategic capability, fostering innovative thinking and maximising on digital delivery. It is responsible for creating vision and strategies, audit and risk management, corporate performance monitoring and providing sustainable digital solutions, all to ensure DEMIRS is a high performing, future-ready organisation.
The Group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Corporate Services
- Government Sector Labour Relations
- Private Sector Labour Relations
- Strategic Business Innovation
Energy Policy Group
The Energy Policy Group is future-focused and committed to delivering sustainable solutions for the department and community.
Energy Policy focuses on the delivery of policy advice to the Government to facilitate the supply of secure, reliable, sustainable and affordable energy services to the Western Australian community.
The Group supports the Coordinator of Energy with:
- rulemaking and administration of the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) Rules, the Gas Services Information (GSI) Rules, and new rules to apply to the North West Interconnected System;
- WEM and GSI market development, including conducting reviews of a policy or technical nature in the WEM; and
- development of periodic Whole of System Plans for the South West Interconnected System.
Energy Policy also supports the Coordinator of Energy in discharging their statutory responsibilities in the management of fuel, gas and electricity supply disruptions, as set out in the Energy Coordination Act 1994.
The group also has a lead role in driving DEMIRS whole-of-government regulatory reform activities, in addition to reporting to the Streamline WA Steering Committee, working closely with regulatory and economic development government agencies through the Council of Regulators to provide a peak collaborative forum for modernising and streamlining regulation, regulatory practices and timeframe.
The Group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Energy Policy WA, Strategic and Consumer Policy.
- Energy Policy WA, Market Development.
Building, Energy Safety, and Service Delivery Group
The Building, Energy Safety, and Service Delivery (BESSD) Group administers and regulates licensing, technical safety requirements, standards, and legislation across a range of industries.
BESSD oversees the operations of the building, building surveying, building engineering, electrical, gas, painting, and plumbing industries, and manages the resolution of building service and subcontractor payment disputes. The Group also administers customer and licensing services, working collaboratively across departments to meet the diverse needs of customers and facilitate a seamless process.
The Group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Building and Energy
- Service Delivery
Consumer Protection and Legal Services Group
The Consumer Protection and Legal Services Group works towards ensuring that there is a fair-trading environment for Western Australian consumers and traders, by offering advice on consumer rights and trader responsibilities, helping resolve disputes, and ensuring compliance with consumer protection laws.
The Group investigates unfair practices, regulates, and licenses businesses, reviews and amends legislation, and provides timely advice on key issues and trends to safeguard consumers. This is supported by duty lawyer advice on industry issues and prosecuting businesses and individuals who violate the law.
The Group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Consumer Protection
- Industrial Regulation and Consumer Protection Legal Services
Resource and Environmental Regulation Group
The Resource and Environmental Regulation Group is responsible for the regulation of one of Western Australia’s largest industry sectors, playing a critical role in building the State’s economy and ensuring resources are developed in a sustainable and responsible manner.
This Group oversees the regulatory and policy requirements of the resources sector in all areas with the exception of worker safety. This includes managing a system for mineral titles and approval of mining associated activities.
Administering the Aboriginal Empowerment Initiative, this Group ensures policies, practices and procedures around mining activities are developed in a culturally respectful way. It will also seek to develop formal pathways for Aboriginal people to contribute to the way that resource development is regulated.
Resource and Environmental Regulation also delivers the department’s geoscience functions, which provide geoscientific data to understand the State’s mineral and petroleum resources, reduce risk for explorers and increase the attractiveness of Western Australia as a destination of choice for resource companies.
The group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Resource and Environmental Compliance
- Geological Survey and Resource Strategy
- Resource Tenure
- Aboriginal Empowerment
WorkSafe Group
The WorkSafe Group oversees the regulatory and policy requirements of workers’ health and safety in the resources and general industries sectors, and safety legislation for dangerous goods, including the State’s major hazard facilities, and petroleum operations.
WorkSafe plays a significant part in building and strengthening Western Australia’s economy, by ensuring that one of the State’s most significant assets, its workforce, operates in a healthy and safe environment where workers’ rights are protected.
The Group consists of the following business and operational areas:
- Investigations
- Legal Services (Branch B)
- Regulatory Support
- WorkSafe Industrial and Regional
- WorkSafe Mines Safety
- WorkSafe Petroleum Safety and Dangerous Goods
- WorkSafe Service Industries and Specialists
