Trust account audits for the debt collector industry
If you receive trust money, you must have a trust account. Each trust account must be audited every year by a qualified auditor and you must lodge the annual audit report with us.
If you didn’t use your trust account at all during the whole audit period, you can lodge a statutory declaration instead of an audit report.
On this page
Appointing an auditor
You must appoint an auditor within 1 month of opening a trust account. You must email financial.oft@justice.qld.gov.au evidence that they accepted the appointment, within 1 month of their appointment.
The auditor must be a professional who holds either the following registration or one of the following memberships:
- registration under the Corporations Act 2001
- membership of CPA Australia—entitled to use the letters CPA or FCPA
- membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia—entitled to use the letters CA or FCA
- membership of the Institute of Public Accountants—entitled to use the letters MIPA or FIPA.
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Lodge a trust account audit report or statutory declaration
If lodging an audit report, it must be signed by the auditor. While the auditor can lodge it on your behalf, you are responsible for lodging it on time, not the auditor.
If lodging a statutory declaration, it must:
- state 'I did not operate a trust account or receive any funds on behalf of another person in a transaction during the audit period'
- be certified by a Justice of the Peace (JP), Commissioner for Declarations (Cdec) or a lawyer—you can attach a scanned PDF online.
Search for your nearest JP or Cdec.
Reporting period and due dates
Your audit period:
- is based on the month your licence was issued
- is for the same 12-month period each year (except in your first and last year of business)
- ends on the last day of the month.
Your audit report or statutory declaration must be lodged by 4 months after the end of your audit period.
In your last year of business, it must be lodged by 2 months after you stop trading.
Licence issue month | Report due | Audit period |
|---|---|---|
January | 31 January | 1 October to 30 September |
February | 28/29 February | 1 November to 31 October |
March | 31 March | 1 December to 30 November |
April | 30 April | 1 January to 31 December |
May | 31 May | 1 February to 31 January |
June | 30 June | 1 March to 28/29 February |
July | 31 July | 1 April to 31 March |
August | 31 August | 1 May to 30 April |
September | 30 September | 1 June to 31 May |
October | 31 October | 1 July to 30 June* |
November | 30 November | 1 August to 31 July |
December | 31 December | 1 September to 31 August |
*This is the audit period for all collection agents.
Applying for an extension
You can email financial.oft@justice.qld.gov.au to apply for an extension. You must:
- notify us in writing before your audit report is due to be lodged
- state the reasons for the extension
- tell us how much extra time you need.
Penalties for not lodging on time
If you don’t lodge your audit report or statutory declaration on time:
- you can be fined
- you can be convicted of an offence
- we can cancel or suspend your licence.
Changing your auditor
If you change your auditor, both parties must email financial.oft@justice.qld.gov.au within 1 month to notify us of the reason(s) for the change.
Other ways to lodge your report
You can also lodge your audit report or statutory declaration:
By email
financial.oft@justice.qld.gov.au
By post
Trust Accounts Unit
Office of Fair Trading
GPO Box 3111
BRISBANE QLD 4001
More information
- Read more about completing OFT applications online.
- Read the Trust accounts guide for more information.