All settlement agents who hold or receive money on behalf of others relating to a settlement transaction in Western Australia are required to open and maintain trust accounts.

The Settlement Agents Act 1981 (the Act) and the Settlement Agents Regulations 1982 (the Regulations) require the strict maintenance of a formal set of trust account records that show at any time the state of a settlement agent’s trust account. Section 51 of the Act requires persons who carry on business as a settlement agent to have their trust accounts audited according to the requirements determined by the Commissioner for Consumer Protection and in accordance with accepted auditing practice.

This publication is not a comprehensive accounting text for agents. Familiarity with the content of this publication does not satisfy the requirement that agents have a sound working knowledge of the Act, the Regulations and the Settlement Agents Code of Conduct 2016.

It is the view of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (the Department) that section 68 of the Act can be interpreted as meaning that, if the trading body corporate or firm has failed to comply with the requirements of Part IV of the Act, then the directors/partners and/or person in bona fide control of the trading entity have also failed to comply with Part IV of the Act.

Settlement agents section of this website provide further reference material and the latest Department requirements 

Further information

Settlement agent newsletters and bulletins are used to inform the industry of Consumer Protection policy and best practice, and may be used to convey information about Consumer’s Protections’ auditing requirements. Archived issues of the newsletters and bulletins are available in the website’s publication section.

Please note: The Department of Treasury have updated their information on how to handle unclaimed money.