A West Australian woman who had a 10-metre-deep sinkhole open up on her property says her "dreams are shattered" after the state government declined to help secure her home. 

In August last year, Pia Ramsing said she was doing her daily walk around her Collie property, two hours' drive south of Perth, when she noticed the 8-metre-wide hole. 

"I was very shocked," she said. 

"I thought, 'Wow, I could have gone in the hole if I had come yesterday to the same spot.'

"I could have been buried alive."

After the shock, Ms Ramsing started investigating and discovered her land was actually on top of an abandoned mine from 1903 — a fact no-one told her when she purchased the 2.3-hectare property in April last year.

"It's not on my title from Landgate, and nobody said anything," she said. 

"So yes, potential for more sinkholes in the future, since it's now over 100 years old and it's probably starting to wear down.

Buyers should do 'due diligence'

Ms Ramsing said she was then diverted around by different authorities before being told that no help would be available. 

"Through a lot of emails and talk, the last email that I got was I'm pretty much on my own," she said. 

"It is my own land and they haven't got any finances to supply or help me, I don't get any help from anywhere.

"All my dreams are shattered because I don't feel safe here."

In a statement, WA's Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) said Collie was known for its mining legacy and that potential buyers should check for abandoned mines.

"Anyone purchasing property over known mining areas should conduct careful due diligence. There are publicly available maps and plans that show the location of abandoned mine features," it said.

"DMIRS continues to provide advice to Ms Ramsing regarding the sinkhole.

"The state will not be able to remediate all abandoned mine features."

It said The Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) did not have enough money in it to help people like Ms Ramsing. 

"MRF funds are very limited," the DMIRS statement said.

"The MRF does not generally prioritise features on private land because, without freely available access, the risk to the broader community is very low."

Ms Ramsing said the old mine that caused her sinkhole was responsible for others in nearby state forest. 

"On the other side of my sinkhole and the road, there are another four sinkholes," she said.

"There's a school bus coming twice a day on that road and I got a bit worried as I don't want to see that go down in another sinkhole."

DMIRS said it was providing advice to the Shire of Collie about the risk to the nearby road.

Former WA minister calls for funding to help

Former Labor member for Collie Mick Murray said Ms Ramsing's case was surprising and said she should be offered more support from the state. 

"No-one should be just left out because there's a sinkhole. Who knows in that area in particular where the next one will form?" he said. 

"I would really call on them to get someone down here and make sure that all the other people in Collie are safe as well.

While Mr Murray stressed Collie residents should not lose any sleep at night about their town falling into a hole, he warned that abandoned mines were prevalent in the area. 

"Things were put in place to make sure it didn't happen but of course, now and again, some of those places that are extremely old, you know, Earth will take its natural course."