Clearer rules for trust withdrawals

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2 November 2020

NSW Fair Trading

The real estate and property reforms that began on 23 March 2020 changed the rules for trust account withdrawals. Fair Trading has been asked to make these new rules clearer. 

The licensee in charge (LIC) is accountable for all withdrawals from a trust account and is the only person that can authorise them. However, the withdrawal transaction and any associated paperwork can be prepared and conducted by another person, provided a record is kept of the authorisation given by the LIC. The record of any authorisation can be kept as a hard copy or digitally. Fair Trading Inspectors can request records if the business is audited.

A few rules to be aware of include:

  • the decision to authorise the withdrawal can’t be delegated, the decision and authorisation must come from the LIC

  • the authorisation can’t be ongoing, each withdrawal (or batch of withdrawals) must be authorised by the LIC

  • a record must be kept of the authorisation for each withdrawal (or batch of withdrawals).

For more information, please visit NSW Fair Trading's website.