About our fees and charges for testamentary trusts
Our fees for testamentary trusts are calculated over the financial year, from 1 July to 30 June. They are then charged monthly to the trust. We provide you with a summary of all fees and charges as part of your annual statement.
Standard fees and charges are:
- testamentary trust service fee
- asset management fee
- incidental outlays.
Supplementary fees may apply if additional services are required. These include:
- real estate property fee
- Public Trustee Investment Fund fee
- additional services fee.
We work hard to ensure our fees are reasonable. For eligible customers who do not have the financial means to pay for our service fees, we will rebate some or all of the fees with the total of our trust administration fees never costing more than 5% of the value of the trust’s assessable assets.
Trust assets that are excluded from the calculation of assessable assets include:
- real estate property
- vehicles
- furniture and effects
- chattels
- personal jewellery.
Call us on 1300 360 044 or see our contact page for ways to get in touch with us and speak to someone about our community service obligation rebates.
Testamentary trust service fee
We base our testamentary trust service fee on how many financial transactions we make or receive on behalf of the trust over the year. The fee is received annually to ensure it is in line with the work being undertaken.
As this fee is charged monthly, the fee may be adjusted from month to month. This is to ensure the total fee paid for the year is based on the total number of financial transactions for the year.
The following table lists the number of financial transactions per year, against the applicable year fee.
| Level | Number of financial transactions per year | Yearly fee (including GST) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | $0 |
| 2 | 1 to 6 | $60.90 |
| 3 | 7 to 10 | $398.00 |
| 4 | 11 to 15 | $805.35 |
| 5 | 16 to 20 | $1,609.45 |
| 6 | 21 to 30 | $2,412.35 |
| 7 | 31 to 50 | $3,618.60 |
| 8 | 51 or more | $4,822.25 |
Asset management fee
This fee applies when we are responsible for the administration of assets. This may involve the management of cash, investments or some other form of asset held within the trust.
We base our asset management fees on the total value of the trust's assessable assets to reflect the work involved in managing the trust. However, we don't include real estate property or any other place of residence.
Assets we consider as assessable include:
- shares
- managed funds
- term deposits.
Assets we don't consider as assessable include:
- real estate property
- personal and household items
- motor vehicles
- personal jewellery.
The following table lists total value of assets against the applicable yearly fee.
| Level | Total value of assets | Yearly fee (including GST) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0 to $5,000 | $0 |
| 2 | $5,001 to $10,000 | $200.10 |
| 3 | $10,001 to $30,000 | $299.15 |
| 4 | $30,001 to $50,000 | $604.85 |
| 5 | $50,001 to $100,000 | $805.35 |
| 6 | $100,001 to $200,000 | $1,306.25 |
| 7 | $200,001 to $300,000 | $2,007.65 |
| 8 | $300,001 to $500,000 | $2,814.45 |
| 9 | $500,001 to $750,000 | $4,019.45 |
| 10 | $750,001 to $1,000,000 | $6,028.65 |
| 11 | $1,000,001 to $1,500,00 | $7,837.50 |
| 12 | $1,500,001 to $2,000,000 | $9,745.10 |
| 13 | $2,000,001 to $2,500,000 | $11,754.30 |
| 14 | $2,500,001 or more | $13,667.20 |
Incidental outlays
When providing our services, we often incur outlays to run and maintain our systems as well as photocopying, postage and phone call costs. We recoup the cost by charging an amount based on the type of service and the number of transactions required to provide the service.
The following table lists the number of transactions per year against the applicable cost.
| Number of transactions per year | Cost (including GST) |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 | $31 |
| 101 to 120 | $57 |
| 121 to 140 | $80 |
| 141 to 160 | $102 |
| 161 to 180 | $118 |
| 181 to 200 | $142 |
| 201 to 225 | $156 |
| 226 to 250 | $174 |
| 251 or more | $193 |
Real estate property fee
In addition to general asset management, we may also manage any real estate property owned by the trust. As such, we may also manage such real estate property in addition to general asset management.
This management of the property includes:
- arranging and actioning building inspections
- undertaking any necessary maintenance to the property.
The fee for this service is $996.55 (including GST) per property, each year.
Separate outlays may be charged by third parties who conduct work at the property. For example a fee charged:
- by a plumber for fixing a leaking tap
- to conduct a building and pest inspection.
The real estate property fee is rebated for properties that are the principal place of residence (the main home) of either:
- a beneficiary under the trust
- a person who is entitled to a life or limited interest in the property which forms part of the trust.
Public Trustee Investment Fund fee
If the trust has funds to be invested, they are placed in the Public Trustee Investment trusts in accordance with our Customer Investment Strategy. You can find this in our Prudent Person Policy Framework.
We charge a trustee fee of 1.52% for acting as trustee of the Growth Trust, less any applicable management fee rebates for amounts over $100,000 invested in the Growth Trust. The fee recovers the cost of the following contract service providers for the Growth Trust:
- Investment manager, QIC Limited.
- Fund administrator and fund registry provider, BDO QLD.
- Performance reporter, Mercer Ltd.
- Trustee fees as part of the Public Trustee Investment Fund for the Growth Trust.
Professional service fees
Other services offered by Queensland Public Trustee if needed include:
- legal services including conveyancing
- taxation services
- property management services.
Additional service fees
To provide our customers with a complete service, we may need to provide more than our standard services. This includes services such as:
- buying or selling a property or vehicle
- taking necessary action to deal with or preserve an interest in a trust, corporation, business or partnership.
The fee for additional services is calculated at an hourly rate of $267.85 (including GST). We will contact the beneficiary before we perform an additional service.
External service providers
Costs of services from external providers will be invoiced directly to the trust. This may be where we have organised a service such as tax agents, financial planners or legal services on behalf of the trust.
Fees and charges notice
For more information on our fees, we have the following to download.