Western Australian Christmas shoppers would be able to store-hop at least until 9:00 pm on weeknights come the holiday shopping season as the state parliament gave its approval on Tuesday night to laws that permit shops to operate late and some to trade even on Sundays.

WA Commerce Minister Bill Marmion said on Wednesday that the new trading hours passed by the parliament would take effect just in time for the Christmas shopping period as he added that the new regulations would also provide for a seven-day trading rules in Joondalup, Midland and Armadale.

Mr Marmion said that the parliamentary initiative would also allow for Sunday trading but only for shops that sell 'durable goods', quickly clarifying that the additional provision would still need some form of sorting out in order to legally determine the meaning of durable goods as contained in the new legislation.

He added that the state government is establishing a lease registry that is in line with the implementation of the legislative measures, which would serve as the central hub of information" for people going into commercial tenancies and also a Small Business Commissioner will be introduced."

The commerce minister stressed that the new legislation marked a new and positive development in the retail industry of Western Australia, hailing the initiative as a remarkable result that "actually moved forward so far in terms of deregulating the industry."

Barring any glitches and delays, Mr Marmion expressed confidence that once the state government has addressed the few kinks in the legislation, its implementation should be firmly underway prior to the onset of the Christmas season.