The Public Trustee of Queensland has welcomed the independent report into its fees and charges which was released by the Queensland Government today.
Public Trustee Samay Zhouand said the report, undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers was the first of its kind in 20 years and recommended a range of changes as the initial step towards more comprehensive reforms.
'Overall, the report found that our fees and charges are reasonable, and they’re largely comparable to other state trustees and private sector providers,' Mr Zhouand said.
'The review also found the vast majority of customers are receiving a high level of service for low fees, which supports statements made previously by the Public Advocate that many customers receive a high level of service for very little cost.
'The report identifies our system is complex, while acknowledging often complicated customer needs, and that fees don’t reflect the current costs of delivering services.
'By keeping customers’ fees at current levels, the Public Trustee of Queensland is recovering only a portion of the cost for delivering its services.'
In response to the report, the Queensland Government in recognising cost of living pressures, will reduce some fees for the Public Trustee’s most vulnerable customers under financial management by applying a 12-month moratorium to remove:
- The separate fee for incidental outlays; and
- the separate property realty fee.
- In addition, for all customers annual indexation of fees will be frozen for 12 months.
Mr Zhouand said the report proposes the Public Trustee consider increasing charges for discretionary services that customers can seek from other providers, such as our Will-making services which are currently for free and our executor services which are charged at below cost.
'We support the Queensland Government’s decision to further consider the proposals in the independent review to fully understand the impact of potential changes on our customers and our services.
'There will be no significant changes to our fees until we’ve consulted the community and understand the implications,' he said.
'This is an important first step in making sure the Public Trustee’s fees and charges system is easy to understand and transparent for customers while ensuring as a self-funded organisation it can remain sustainable in the long term.'
For more information visit our Fees and Charges page.