Information for auditors of real estate and conveyancer trust accounts.
From 1 July 2019, you must lodge all audit results with Fair Trading regardless of your findings.
Results of trust account audits need to be lodged via the Auditor's Report Online portal (accessible at the bottom of this page).
From 14 August 2023, you can also lodge audits for the previous three years by selecting "+Submit Prior Year Audits" during the period the portal is open. This option is ONLY for submitting audits for previous years where no manual audit has been submitted.
If you have an outstanding audit commitment for any previous financial year, send your enquiry to: [email protected].
Auditor responsibilities
The audit of the trust account must be done in accordance with Australian Standards on Assurance Engagements, in particular, ASAE 3000 and ASAE 3100.
The auditor is required to form an opinion on whether the agent has complied with the relevant acts and regulations, in all material respects.
The introduction of the online report does not change the requirements of the audit but provides a means of reporting non-compliance of the Act or Regulations identified in the course of conducting the audit. The responses to the checklist in the portal should be based on the scope and nature of work performed by the Auditor and does not imply that the Auditor has tested all transactions.
It is important to note that this is not the audit itself. This is simply a mechanism to submit your findings.
Audit testing
Audit testing is based on materiality to provide reasonable assurance of compliance but not absolute assurance. If an agent has relatively few transactions or instances of compliance processes, it may be appropriate to test 100 percent of transactions or compliance processes. However, where an agent has numerous clients and large volumes of transactions, the auditor applies materiality to select and test samples to obtain enough audit evidence on which to base their opinion.
Audit lodgement deadlines
Audits for the year ending 30 June 2023 need to be lodged with Fair Trading by 30 September 2023.
| Key dates | Submission details |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2023 |
|
| 1 July - 30 September 2023 | On time audit submissions |
| 1 October - 31 December 2023 |
|
| 1 January 2024 |
|
Auditor's Guide
The Auditor’s Report Online portal has been implemented for four years and is a platform to submit audit results and not an audit itself. Please refer to the “Auditor’s frequently asked questions” to assist with your submission. For a full copy of the Auditor's Guide, please email: [email protected]
Auditor's frequently asked questions