Trust accounting & compliance, explained.
Practical guidance for real estate agencies — regulation, audits and the discipline behind a well-run trust account.
Closing for Christmas? How to Leave Your Trust Account in Good Shape Over the Break
Banks close for four days at Christmas and three at New Year. What to sort in your trust account before the 2026 break, and what to check when you're back.
Read article → Trust AccountingSelling a Tenanted Property: The Trust Accounting Side Nobody Plans For
When a managed property sells with a tenant in place, rent, bonds and owner folios need care. Here's how to get settlement right in the trust account.
Read article → ComplianceNew NSW Pet Rental Laws from 2 October 2026: What Property Managers Need to Do
Since 2 October 2026, NSW tenants can move in with a pet and apply for consent within 7 days of entering a lease. Timeframes, new forms and the 2027 changes.
Read article → ComplianceNSW Underquoting Laws Change in November 2026: What Sales Agents Need to Do Now
From November 2026 NSW sale ads must show a price, estimates must use 3 comparable sales and records must be kept. A Statement of Information follows in 2027.
Read article → ComplianceNSW Trust Account Audits Are Due 30 September: What Happens If Yours Is Late
NSW trust account audits are due 30 September. What happens if yours is late, what Fair Trading's August crackdown found, and what to do if you're behind.
Read article → ComplianceVictoria's New Rental Laws From 13 October 2026: Bond Claims, Renter Fees and Safety Checks
From 13 October 2026, Victorian agents must give renters bond claim evidence 3 days before claiming, stop renter fees and run gas and electrical safety checks.
Read article → Trust AccountingPaid-To Dates, Part Payments and Rent Cycles: What a Tenant Ledger Is Really Telling You
Paid-to date, effective paid-to date, part payments and rent cycles explained with worked examples. What a tenant ledger is telling you, and what it isn't.
Read article → ComplianceVictoria's Portable Rental Bond Scheme: What It Means for Property Managers and the Trust Account
Victoria's Portable Rental Bond Scheme has run since 1 July 2026. What the incoming and outgoing agent do, how claims get paid, and what to record in trust.
Read article → ComplianceVictoria's Reserve Price and Property Price Statement Laws Start 1 October 2026: What Agencies Need to Do
From 1 October 2026 Victorian agents must publish the reserve price 7 days before auction, replace the SOI with a Property Price Statement and post sold prices.
Read article → ComplianceNSW Domestic Violence Rental Reforms Start 21 September 2026: What Property Managers Need to Change
NSW's domestic violence rental reforms start 21 September 2026: new forms, a 7-day co-tenant notice duty, bond and damage rules, and the trust account impact.
Read article → Trust AccountingWhat Does Outsourced Trust Accounting Actually Cost? A 2026 Benchmark for Australian Agencies
What outsourced trust accounting costs in Australia in 2026, benchmarked against the full cost of an in-house trust accountant: salary, super, tax and cover.
Read article → ComplianceThe Australian Property Manager's Trust Account Compliance Calendar 2026-27
Every trust account deadline for Australian and NZ agencies in 2026-27: audit lodgement, bond timeframes, reconciliation and reporting, month by month.
Read article → Trust AccountingChanging Property Management Software Without Breaking Your Trust Account
How to move a trust account between PropertyMe, Property Tree, Console and Ailo without balances, bonds or your audit trail going missing at the cutover.
Read article → ComplianceThirty Inspectors, One Weekend: What Victoria's Auction Blitz Says About Agency Compliance
Consumer Affairs Victoria sent 30-plus inspectors into Melbourne's inner north. What the underquoting taskforce's numbers say about what regulators now expect.
Read article → ComplianceSmart Rental Bonds Is Now Live Across NSW: What Agents Using Rental Bonds Online Need to Know
Using Rental Bonds Online as an agent? Smart Rental Bonds is now statewide in NSW. What it changes for lodgements, claims and share houses, and what it doesn't.
Read article → ComplianceWhen Is Rental Income Taxable? The ATO Counts the Day Rent Reaches Your Trust Account
The ATO taxes rental income in the year your agent receives it in trust, not when it reaches the owner's bank account. What that means at EOFY.
Read article → CompliancePreparing for Your Trust Account Audit: A Principal's Guide to Staying Compliant
How principals and licensees across Australia and New Zealand can prepare for a trust account audit, avoid the common findings and stay compliant all year.
Read article → ComplianceAML/CTF Tranche 2 for Real Estate Agents: What Changed on 1 July 2026 and What to Do Now
Real estate agents came under AUSTRAC's AML/CTF rules on 1 July 2026. What Tranche 2 requires, who is covered, key dates, and how a clean trust account helps.
Read article → Trust AccountingThe Hidden Cost of DIY Trust Accounting: What Agencies Miss When They Keep It In-House
In-house trust accounting looks cheaper on paper. The real costs are hidden: adverse audits, staff burnout and a growth ceiling. An honest comparison.
Read article → Compliance5 Trust Account Audit Red Flags That Trigger an Adverse Finding (And How to Avoid Them)
The five issues that most often trigger an adverse trust account audit finding, from dormant ledgers to late reconciliations, and how to fix each one in time.
Read article → Virtual AssistantsIs a Property Management Virtual Assistant Worth It? The Real Numbers
Where a property management virtual assistant genuinely pays off, where it doesn't, and how trust accounting fits in. A grounded look at the real return.
Read article → Market InsightsAustralia's Rental Market in 2026: The Numbers Every Property Manager Should Know
Vacancy, rent growth, affordability, yields and supply. The 2026 rental market figures every Australian property manager should know, with sources.
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