When using PEXA or Sympli for a property settlement if the settlement involves trust money, a failure to complete the required Client Authorisation Form will be a breach of section 249(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) (Act):
s249 Holding, disbursing and accounting for trust money
(1) A law practice must—
(a) hold trust money deposited in a general trust account of the practice exclusively for the person on whose behalf it is received; and
(b) disburse the trust money only under a direction given by the person.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.
(2) Subsection (1) applies subject to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, division 2A or as otherwise authorised by law.
(3) Subject to division 2A, the law practice must account for the trust money in the way prescribed under a regulation.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units.
A breach of section 249 of the Act is categorised as a substantial breach in the part 3.3 (trust account investigations) Investigation Policy.
Practitioners must also ensure that they hold appropriate authorities to disburse trust money that is not disbursed through the PEXA or Sympli platforms. An example being the payment of stamp duty from the law practice trust account to the Queensland Revenue Office.
If you require further information please contact Trust Account Investigations on 07 3842 5908 or managertai@qls.com.au