Trust Account Audit Deadlines

In NSW, the real estate trust account audit must be completed by 30 September each year. The audit period runs from 1 July to 30 June. The auditor lodges the report directly via the NSW Fair Trading Auditor's Report Online portal — real estate agencies cannot complete this lodgement independently. Agencies should engage their auditor by late July to allow sufficient time for record review and lodgement.

In Victoria, the audit must be completed and the report lodged by 30 September. The audit period runs from 1 July to 30 June. Unlike NSW, in Victoria the agent lodges a copy of the completed audit report via myCAV within 10 business days of receiving it from the auditor. Agencies should create their myCAV account in July — not late September — and engage an auditor at least six to eight weeks before the deadline.

In Queensland, the audit period is tied to the month the agency's real estate licence was issued — not the standard 1 July to 30 June financial year. The audit report must be lodged with the Office of Fair Trading within 4 months of the end of your audit period, or within 2 months if the business is ceasing. The first step is confirming your exact audit period based on your licence issue month.

In Western Australia, the audit period is the calendar year — 1 January to 31 December — which is different to every other state. The audit report must be delivered to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection by 31 March. The auditor delivers the report directly to the Commissioner; the agent receives a copy. Agencies should begin organising records in January and engage an auditor by February at the latest.

Missing the trust account audit deadline can result in regulatory action from the state regulator, including formal non-compliance notices, fines, licence conditions, or referral to a disciplinary process. The consequences vary by state and the circumstances, but no state treats a missed deadline as a minor administrative matter. If your deadline is approaching and records are not ready, engage an auditor immediately and inform them of the situation — do not wait until after the deadline has passed.

Six to eight weeks before the state deadline is the minimum for most agencies. For agencies in NSW, VIC, TAS, NT, and ACT — where the deadline is usually 30 September — this means engaging an auditor by mid-July and organising records through July and August. For WA, where the deadline is 31 March, preparation should begin in January. Queensland agencies should calculate timing from the licence-issue-month audit period, and South Australian agencies should check the personalised Annual Return or renewal documents issued by CBS.

In most states, yes. If a real estate agency held a trust account during the audit period — even if no transactions occurred — the audit obligation typically still applies. In some states, a qualified auditor can provide a nil-activity declaration or dormant account certificate, but this is still a formal auditor engagement and must meet the regulator's requirements. AuditsPro offers dormant trust account audits from $149 + GST for accounts with no transactions, no trust money, and a zero balance for the full period.

The NSW trust account audit must be lodged by 30 September each year for the period 1 July to 30 June. In NSW, lodgement is completed by the auditor through the NSW Fair Trading Auditor's Report Online portal — the agency does not lodge independently. AuditsPro handles NSW lodgement as part of the audit engagement. To meet the 30 September deadline, complete records should be submitted through the client portal by mid-August at the latest.

The fastest real estate trust account audits are those where all records are complete and organised at submission. AuditsPro typically completes audits within 5 to 10 business days from the date all records are received in full — bank statements, monthly reconciliation reports, client ledger printouts, and read-only software access. To get the fastest result: submit complete records through the client portal, respond promptly to any follow-up requests, and contact AuditsPro as early as possible to confirm your state deadline and scope. If your deadline is within four weeks, contact AuditsPro immediately — early engagement is the only reliable way to meet a statutory deadline.

Contact AuditsPro immediately and provide your state, profession, audit period, number of trust accounts, and the deadline date. While waiting for the engagement to be confirmed, begin organising your records: gather all bank statements for the full audit period, confirm all monthly reconciliations are complete and agree with bank statement closing balances, print or export client ledger reports, and arrange read-only access to your trust accounting software. The sooner complete records are submitted through the client portal, the sooner the review can begin. AuditsPro does not guarantee outcomes against deadlines that are already extremely close, but early contact gives the best possible chance of completion before the state deadline.