Trust accounting software for Australian property managers.

Keep regulated client money clean — receipt it, hold it, disburse it and report on it — in the same platform that collects the rent. No separate trust package, no Monday-morning reconciliation.

Why trust accounting breaks

Your trust package doesn't talk to your rent roll

Rent lands in one system, leases live in another, and you re-key receipts between them. Every disconnect is a reconciliation risk and an audit headache.

Manual receipting and end-of-month reconciliation

Numbering receipts by hand, matching them to leases, and balancing the trust account at month-end is hours you don't have — and one slip is a breach.

Regulator reporting is a scramble

When the audit or the regulator export is due, you're exporting, reformatting and hoping the numbers tie out. It should be one click.

How InvestorJoint handles trust accounting

Dedicated trust bank, trust vs trading separation

Regulated client money is held and tracked separately from your agency's trading money — held vs disbursed balances per owner, never commingled.

Sequential trust receipts

Every receipt into trust gets a sequential, gapless number (TR-YYYY-NNNNN) — the audit trail regulators expect, generated automatically as rent lands.

Automatic owner disbursements from trust

Rent received → held against the owner → disbursed to their account and your management fee to the agency, all posted to the trust ledger in one cycle.

Owner statements reconciled to the cent

Each owner statement reconstructs the cycle from receipts, fees, outgoings and net payout — what came in, what was deducted, what was paid out.

Regulator-report exports (NSW · VIC · QLD)

Produce the trust-account report your state regulator expects as a CSV export — no manual reformatting at audit time.

Optional fee + GST sweep to trading

On each disbursement, optionally sweep your management fee + GST from the trust account to your trading account so trust vs held-liabilities stays reconciled cycle by cycle.

Complete, append-only audit trail

Every receipt, disbursement and adjustment is logged immutably with actor, time and amount — and retained, so the trail is there when you need it.

State-by-state trust accounting requirements (last reviewed 13 September 2026)

Every figure below was checked against the regulator's own site, or at least two independent sources, in Sep 2026 — where a figure could not be confirmed to a primary source, that is stated explicitly rather than guessed. Confirm current requirements directly with your state regulator before relying on a specific figure.

New South Wales (NSW)

Regulator: NSW Fair Trading. Governing legislation: Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (NSW), together with the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022.

Audit cadence: Annual. Any licensee or licensed corporation that held trust money during the financial year to 30 June must have its trust account audited, with the auditor's report lodged online (Auditor's Report Online) by 30 September.

Retention: Trust records must be kept for several years after the last transaction — commonly cited as 7 years, but sources disagree and the current period should be confirmed directly with NSW Fair Trading before relying on it.

Receipt rules: Trust receipts must be issued and numbered consecutively (with any cancellations recorded), and the trust account must be reconciled against the cash book/ledger every month.

Victoria (VIC)

Regulator: Consumer Affairs Victoria. Governing legislation: Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), together with the Estate Agents (General, Accounts and Audit) Regulations 2018.

Audit cadence: Annual, for the audit period ending 30 June by default (agents can apply to vary the date), with results lodged with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Retention: The signed trust account audit report must be kept for 7 years after it is given to the agent. Confirm the retention period for other trust records (receipts, ledgers, reconciliations) with Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Receipt rules: Trust receipts are recorded in a sequential register, and the trust account reconciliation statement must be prepared and verified as true and accurate within 14 days of the end of each month.

Queensland (QLD)

Regulator: Office of Fair Trading (Queensland). Governing legislation: Agents Financial Administration Act 2014 (Qld), together with the Agents Financial Administration Regulation 2014 (agent licensing sits under the separate Property Occupations Act 2014).

Audit cadence: Annual. An auditor must be appointed within 1 month of opening a trust account, and the audit report must be lodged with the Office of Fair Trading within 4 months of the end of the audit period.

Retention: Trust account records must generally be kept for at least 5 years (some records, such as bank reconciliations, are commonly cited as 7 years) — confirm the current period with the Office of Fair Trading.

Receipt rules: A trust account receipt must be completed immediately on receiving trust money (or, for a direct deposit/electronic transfer, on the day the agent becomes aware of it), and the trust account must be reconciled to the cash book at the end of every month.

Western Australia (WA)

Regulator: Consumer Protection, WA Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety. Governing legislation: Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 (WA), together with the Real Estate and Business Agents (General) Regulations 1979.

Audit cadence: Annual, for the calendar year to 31 December, with the audit report (or a "no trust money received" declaration) lodged with the Commissioner for Consumer Protection by 31 March.

Retention: Trust records must be retained for a period set out in the Real Estate and Business Agents (General) Regulations 1979 — confirm the current number of years directly with Consumer Protection WA before relying on a specific figure.

Receipt rules: A receipt must be given immediately on receiving trust money (unless it arrived by electronic transfer), and the trust account must be reconciled and signed off at the end of every month.

South Australia (SA)

Regulator: Consumer and Business Services (SA). Governing legislation: Land Agents Act 1994 (SA), together with the Land Agents Regulations 2025 (which replaced the 2010 Regulations).

Audit cadence: Annual — a trust account audit and an annual return must be lodged each year.

Retention: Accounts and records must be kept, in a legible or readily-convertible form, for at least 5 years — confirm the current period with Consumer and Business Services given the 2025 regulation update.

Receipt rules: Receipts must be recorded in chronological order, and the trust account must be reconciled — balancing the trust ledger accounts against the trust account balance — at least at the end of each month.

Common questions

Does InvestorJoint include real estate trust accounting?

Yes. It provides a dedicated trust bank, sequential trust receipts, trust-vs-trading separation, owner held/disbursed tracking, owner statements, and regulator-report exports for NSW, VIC and QLD — built into the same platform that collects the rent.

Does it replace my existing trust accounting package?

For most agencies it runs the full operational trust workflow — receipting, holding, disbursing, statements and reporting — in one place. Confirm it meets your state's specific audit requirements; you can run it as your trust system or alongside an existing one during transition.

How are trust receipts numbered?

Automatically and sequentially as money is received into trust (format TR-YYYY-NNNNN), with no gaps — the receipt sequence regulators and auditors look for.

Is trust money kept separate from my agency money?

Yes. Regulated trust money is held and tracked separately from your agency's trading money, with per-owner held vs disbursed balances. An optional sweep moves only your earned fee + GST to trading on disbursement.

Which states are supported for regulator reporting?

Regulator-report CSV exports are available for NSW, VIC and QLD today, with more states on the roadmap. Trust receipting, disbursement and statements work across all states.

How does rent get from the tenant into trust and out to the owner?

Rent auto-debits from the tenant's bank via PayTo (or Stripe), lands in trust with a sequential receipt, and disburses automatically to the owner and your agency. See rent collection software for the detail.

What does NSW require for real estate trust accounting?

NSW-licensed agents holding trust money must run an audited trust account — audited annually for the financial year to 30 June, with the report lodged with NSW Fair Trading by 30 September — issue consecutively numbered trust receipts, and reconcile the trust account to the cash book every month. Record-retention periods are commonly cited as around 7 years; confirm the current figure with NSW Fair Trading.

What does Victoria require for estate agent trust accounting?

Victorian estate agents must run a trust account audited annually (audit period to 30 June by default) with results lodged with Consumer Affairs Victoria, keep a sequential register of trust receipts, and verify a monthly reconciliation statement within 14 days of each month end. The signed audit report itself must be retained for 7 years.

What does Queensland require for property agent trust accounting?

Queensland property agents must appoint a trust account auditor within a month of opening the account, have it audited annually with the report lodged with the Office of Fair Trading within 4 months of the audit period ending, issue a trust receipt immediately on receiving trust money, and reconcile the account monthly. Records are generally kept for at least 5 years — confirm the current period with the Office of Fair Trading.

What does Western Australia require for real estate trust accounting?

WA real estate and business agents must run a trust account audited annually for the calendar year (report or "nil" declaration lodged with Consumer Protection by 31 March), issue a receipt immediately on receiving trust money, and reconcile and sign off the trust account every month. Confirm the current record-retention period with Consumer Protection WA.

What does South Australia require for land agent trust accounting?

SA land agents must run a trust account audited annually with an annual return lodged with Consumer and Business Services, record receipts in chronological order, and reconcile the trust ledger to the trust account at least monthly. Records must generally be kept for at least 5 years — confirm the current period given the 2025 regulation update.