WA govt aware of mayor's threat to quit

West Australian Local Government minister Tony Simpson says he's aware Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi is threatening to resign in the face of another inquiry into her conduct.

"If you're not a councillor any more you can't be charged with anything to do with the Local Government Act because you're not actually an elected person anymore," Mr Simpson said.

Ms Scaffidi was re-elected lord mayor for a third term in October despite a damning corruption watchdog report finding she had engaged in serious misconduct by failing to declare gifts.

The Local Government Department is now conducting its own inquiry into the issue.

Mr Simpson said there had been "emails back and forth" between Scaffidi and his department last week.

Parts of the Local Government Act may need to be reviewed in the wake of recent developments, he said.

If Ms Scaffidi resigned, the City of Perth would need to go back to the polls in the new year.

Opposition leader Mark McGowan said he would consider resignation if he were in Ms Scaffidi's position, but raised concerns about the state's local government laws.

"You should not be able to avoid consequences by resigning, I think everybody would accept that, so clearly there is a flaw in the laws," Mr McGowan said.

"It's not a good image for Perth."