Under the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002, licensees' records in relation to the handling of trust money must be audited.

Who is required to submit an audit?

The following people must submit an audit of their trust account to the Director-General if they received or held trust money during the financial year ending 30 June 2012:

• a licensee
• a former licensee, or
• a personal representative of a licensee.

When must the audit be lodged?

The audit must be lodged within 3 months after the end of the audit period. The audit for most agents must be lodged with the Director-General no later than 30 September 2012.

If a trust account audit is not lodged by the due date, licensees could be disqualified from holding a licence and possibly prevented from renewing a licence.

In most cases, it is the licensed corporation that receives and is responsible for trust funds. Therefore, in most cases, a trust account audit must be lodged by the licensed corporation. However, if an individual licensee receives and is responsible for trust money, then a trust account audit must be lodged by the individual licensee.

Who can conduct the audit?

Auditors must be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or be qualified under s.115(1)(b) of the Act.

Check that an auditor is registered by searching for their details on the ASIC website.

Frequently asked questions

Download a copy of the Frequently asked questions - audit requirements 2012 (PDF size: 156kb) for answers to common questions about the audit process and requirements.

Top of page

To prepare an audit report for trust money held during the 2011/12 financial year, download the following two documents in PDF format:

• Auditor's guide (size: 167kb)
• 2012 Auditor's Report (size: 446kb).

Audits must be submitted to:

Director-General
Department of Finance and Services
c/- NSW Fair Trading
Real Estate Audit Section
Locked Bag 5066
Parramatta NSW 2124

If you have any queries about the audit requirements please contact Fair Trading on 13 32 20.

Top of page

If a licensed corporation or an individual licensee has not held any trust money during 2011/12, then a statutory declaration to this effect must be lodged.

This means that every licensee, both corporations and individuals, must lodge either a trust account audit or a statutory declaration. Completed statutory declarations must be returned within 3 months after the end of the audit period, ie by 30 September 2012.

To prepare a statutory declaration relating to trust money not being held during the 2011/12 financial year, download the appropriate document from the following in PDF format:

• Corporation licensee statutory declaration 2011/12 (PDF size: 432kb)
• Individual licensee statutory declaration 2011/12 (PDF size: 432kb).

If a licensee does not lodge a correct statutory declaration by the due date they can be served with a fine of up to $1,100 or court action resulting in a fine up to $11,000. Licensees must complete the statutory declaration before a Justice of the Peace or a solicitor.

Top of page

If a licensee has an outstanding audit commitment for any of the previous three financial years, the required documentation is provided below.

For the 2010/11 financial year, download the appropriate document/s from the following:

• Auditor's Report 2010/11 (PDF size: 174kb)
• Auditor's guidelines (PDF size: 189kb)
• Corporation licensee statutory declaration 2010/11 (PDF size: 109kb)
• Individual licensee statutory declaration 2010/11 (PDF size: 106kb).

For the 2009/10 financial year, download the appropriate document/s from the following:

• Auditor's Report 2009/10 (PDF size: 166kb)
• Auditor's guidelines (PDF size: 100kb)
• Corporation licensee statutory declaration 2009/10 (PDF size: 108kb)
• Individual licensee statutory declaration 2009/10 (PDF size: 106kb).

For the 2008/09 financial year, download the appropriate document/s from the following:

• Auditor's Report 2008/09 (PDF size: 86kb)
• Auditor's guidelines (PDF size: 55kb)
• Corporation licensee statutory declaration 2008/09 (PDF size: 60kb)
• Individual licensee statutory declaration 2008/09 (PDF size: 59kb).

If audit documentation relating to an alternative audit year is required, contact the Real Estate Audit Section of NSW Fair Trading on 9895 0200.

Top of page