Law Compliance Report - current edition - Report - Page 9
If there is no co-trustee or appointor for the trust (who
is not also the trustee), the trustee must, to the extent
practicable give notice to each bene昀椀ciary of the trust in
the following manner:
for an adult bene昀椀ciary, the trustee must give notice to
each administrator or attorney for the bene昀椀ciary who is
authorised (under their appointment as administrator or
attorney) to exercise power for 昀椀nancial matters relating
to the bene昀椀ciary’s interest under the trust; or
for a child bene昀椀ciary, the trustee must give notice to
each guardian of the child.
Further, section 31 of the Act requires a relevant person
to notify a trustee’s delegate when a trustee is removed,
discharged, or replaced. For the purposes of section 31, a
relevant person is de昀椀ned as:
the person who replaces or removes the trustee (in
relation to a trustee who is replaced or removed); or
any person whose agreement to the discharge is
required under section 30 of the Act (in relation to a
trustee who is discharged).
Trustees’ duties
Part 5 of the Act introduces a range of statutory trustees’
duties. Importantly, trustees have a general duty to
exercise care, diligence and skill in administering trusts.
However, the Act differentiates between professional
trustees, non-professional trustees with special knowledge
and other trustees, by holding the former to a higher
standard of care. More particularly:
Section 60 requires professional trustees to exercise the
care, diligence and skill that a prudent person engaged in
the trustee’s profession, business or employment would
exercise in managing the affairs of other persons.
Section 61 requires non-professional trustees with
special knowledge to exercise the care, diligence and
skill that a prudent person having that special knowledge
or experience would exercise in managing the affairs of
other persons.
Section 62 requires other trustees to exercise the care,
diligence and skill that a prudent person of business
would exercise in managing the affairs of other persons.
Relevantly, a professional trustee is:
a trustee whose profession, business or employment is,
or includes, acting as a trustee; or
a custodian trustee whose profession, business or
employment is, or includes, acting as a custodian
trustee.
Other trustees’ duties include:
A duty to act honestly and in good faith:
for the bene昀椀t of the trust’s bene昀椀ciaries; or
in the case of a charitable trust, to further the
purposes of the trust.
A duty to keep accurate accounts and records for
the trust for a minimum of three years following the
termination of the trust.
A duty to make the accounts for the trust available for
inspection or to provide copies of the accounts to the
bene昀椀ciaries within a reasonable period after a request
is made or payment for the costs of providing the
copies is received (unless a request is unreasonable in
the circumstances).
Part 6 of the Act also contains a duty for trustees to
exercise care, diligence and skill in exercising their
investment powers and similarly, holds trustees who are
professional investors to a higher standard of care.
Application of trust capital
The Act modernises the rules governing the application
of trust capital for a bene昀椀ciary’s maintenance, education,
and advancement. Sections 128 and 130 of the Act have
increased the amount of capital which may be applied for
these purposes from $2,000 under the Repealed Act up
to the greater of $100,000 or one-half of the bene昀椀ciary’s
entitlement. The new provisions also provide for this
amount to be adjusted annually on 30 June in accordance
with the Consumer Price Index. In addition, section 129
of the Act limits the application of trust capital where it
would prejudice other bene昀椀ciaries, unless their consent
is obtained or the court orders the relevant application.
Further, section 131 requires that any capital advanced be
brought into account when determining the bene昀椀ciary’s
absolute entitlement.
What you should do
Organisations that are trustees or that manage trusts should review and update their systems and processes to ensure
compliance with the obligations of the Act. For example, organisations may wish to review their trust documentation to
ensure compliance with the Act. Organisations should also ensure all relevant staff are brought up to date with their duties
and obligations under the Act, this may be achieved by circulating relevant information and/or providing staff training.
August 2026 Edition | Law Compliance Report
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