Consumer Protection provides information to assist auditors in fulfilling their requirements under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978.
The information below may also be available in a hard copy version if required.
Templates
Use the following templates/formats for the current audit period:
Witness
Department of Justice lists professions who are authorised to witness document on their Authorised Witnesses page.
Declaration of no receipt of trust funds
If your client did not receive any trust funds for the audit period, they may be required to lodge a 'Declaration of no receipt of trust funds' with Consumer Protection.
Find an auditor
Auditors appointed to conduct audits of agents' trust accounts must be registered as an auditor under Part 9.2 of the Corporations Act 2001.
To check if an auditor is a Registered Company Auditor please search ASIC's Professional Register
Appointment of auditor
If you are an agent and have opened a trust account you are required to provide the details of your trust account and auditor. Please complete the Notification of opening a trust account form and email it to us.
Change of auditor
An auditor's appointment is continuous until Consumer Protection approves a change to the auditor (under section 73 of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978). To request approval, complete the change of auditor form and email it to us.
Closing or amending a trust account
If you are an agent and you have closed or amended a trust account, please complete the Notification of closed / amended trust account form and email it to us. Amending your trust account includes changes to the entity name, business name, triennial certificate number, BSB, Account Number and/or details of your financial institution.
Common audit qualifications and how to deal with them
A question-and-answer guide has been developed to help with common reported trust account audit qualifications and how to deal with them.
Forms and publications
Below is a full list of forms and publications for auditors of real estate agents:
- A guide to auditing trust accounts: Real estate agents, business agents, and settlement agents and business settlement agents
- Real estate and business agent audit requirements
- Change of auditor request - Real estate and business agent
- Code of conduct for agents and sales representatives
- Declaration by Auditor - Real estate
- Declaration of no receipt trust funds - real estate and business agents
- Notification of closed / amended trust account - Real estate
- Notification of opening a trust account - Real estate
- Statement of trust account money - Real estate and business agents
Statutory Declaration by Agent Verifying Statement of Balances Held - Real estate