Real Estate Trust Account Audits

It depends on where your agency is. In Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and the ACT the audit covers 1 July to 30 June and is due by 30 September. In Queensland the audit period depends on the month the licence was issued, and the audit report must be lodged within four months after the period ends. In Victoria an agency can apply to move its audit date, and in the ACT the Commissioner for Fair Trading can set a different period, so check your own dates with us.

It depends on the state or territory. In Victoria the agency lodges a copy through myCAV within 10 business days of receiving it. In New South Wales the auditor submits it through Auditor's Report Online once the agency approves the auditor's emailed request. In Queensland the agency lodges it with the Office of Fair Trading, and the auditor can lodge it for the agency. In Tasmania the agency gives it to the Property Agents Board by 30 September and within 7 days of receiving it. In the ACT the auditor gives it to the Commissioner for Fair Trading through Access Canberra, with a copy to the agency.

The rule is different in each place. In Victoria an account that did not hold or manage trust funds at all during the audit period needs no audit, but you must confirm this through myCAV. In New South Wales, if the account had no transactions and a zero balance, you email NSW Fair Trading a copy of the bank statement for the full audit period. In Queensland, if the account was not used at all, you can lodge a statutory declaration, certified by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations or lawyer, instead of an audit report. In Tasmania an agency that did not receive or hold trust money needs no audit if it gives the Property Agents Board a declaration in the approved form. In the ACT an agency that does not receive or hold trust money, and so has no trust account, applies to Access Canberra for an exemption from keeping one. We can help you check what applies to each of your accounts.

No. Each state and territory sets its own audit period, deadlines and lodgement rules. See Dates and rules by state on this page for the place your agency is in.

$800 + GST per trust account. For a trust account with more than 300 properties under management or more than 100 sales in the year, we agree a fixed quote with you before we start. If we find something that needs extra work, such as missing records, reconciliations to catch up or a suspected irregularity, we stop, explain it and agree the cost with you before going on.

The $800 + GST fee per trust account covers a planning meeting before the audit, to agree the timetable and what we need; a review of your trust account practices and procedures; the audit of your trust records, with any problems flagged; the signed audit report in the form your regulator requires; and a walkthrough of what we found, with practical fixes. For a trust account with more than 300 properties under management or more than 100 sales in the year, we agree a fixed quote with you before we start. If we find something that needs extra work, such as missing records, reconciliations to catch up or a suspected irregularity, we stop, explain it and agree the cost with you before going on. Also available on request, for a separate fee: staff training on trust accounting, support through the year and updates when trust account rules change.

Our fee is $800 + GST per trust account. For a trust account with more than 300 properties under management or more than 100 sales in the year, we agree a fixed quote with you before we start. If we find something that needs extra work, such as missing records, reconciliations to catch up or a suspected irregularity, we stop, explain it and agree the cost with you before going on.

Yes. The fee is per trust account, so an agency with two trust accounts pays $800 + GST for each, on the same conditions. For a trust account with more than 300 properties under management or more than 100 sales in the year, we agree a fixed quote with you before we start. If we find something that needs extra work, such as missing records, reconciliations to catch up or a suspected irregularity, we stop, explain it and agree the cost with you before going on.

Each state and territory sets its own rule. In Victoria and Tasmania the auditor must be a practising public accountant who is a member of one of the professional bodies the rules name. In New South Wales it can be a registered audit company, an authorised company auditor, or a member of a professional accounting body who holds a public practice certificate. In the Australian Capital Territory it can be a chartered accountant or Certified Practising Accountant with a public practice certificate, a member or fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants, or a registered company auditor. In Queensland the Office of Fair Trading asks for a qualified auditor.

In Victoria it must be an approved auditor, which means a practising public accountant who is a member of at least one of the professional bodies Consumer Affairs Victoria lists. Consumer Affairs Victoria also says an approved auditor cannot be an estate agent or the employee of an estate agent; a partner of the estate agent whose trust accounts are being audited; someone who has been, in the last two years, an employee or partner of that estate agent; a member, director, employee or officer of an estate agency corporation; or someone who keeps, controls or has custody of estate agent trust accounts.