Fees and charges reform for key services – public consultation now closed
Public consultation on QPT’s proposed fees and charges reform for key services was open for feedback from 20 February to 8 May 2024.
The proposed fees and charges reform focusses on the following key service areas:
- financial management
- deceased estates
- trust administration.
The objective of the proposed reform is to adjust fees and simplify fee structures to make them easier to understand.
To inform public discussion the Queensland Public Trustee: Fees and charges for key services – public consultation paper was developed to provide detailed fee reform options for key services of financial management, deceased estates and trust administration. There were no proposed changes to our free Will-making services or Community Service Obligations (CSOs). However, the consultation welcomed community feedback on these topics for future consideration.
State-wide consultation sought feedback from all Queenslanders, customers, and government and non-government stakeholders to have their say on the proposed fee reform options. More than 160 responses were received over the consultation period. We would like to acknowledge and thank those who have contributed to the consultation. Your views and feedback are greatly valued.
Next steps
QPT is now reviewing the responses received throughout the consultation period to help inform Government’s decision about any changes to QPT’s fees and charges framework.
A summary of the consultation feedback will be shared on our website in later in the year.
Further announcements will be made in late 2024 following Governments decision about the proposed fee reform options.
When changes to current fees and charges may take effect
If approved, financial management fee changes could be implemented from late 2024 to early 2025.
Changes to trust and deceased estate fees could be implemented within 12-to-18-months following a decision. This will give customers time to obtain services elsewhere. For example, with deceased estates, customers who have nominated QPT as their executor will have the opportunity to change their Will if they wish to nominate a different executor.
We will provide further updates on the timing of any fee changes including notifying customers who may be impacted.
About the proposed reform
Queensland Public Trustee is proposing to reform its fees and charges for the following key services:
- financial management
- deceased estates
- trust administration
The objectives of Queensland Public Trustee’s proposed fees and charges reform are to:
- Take all practical steps to ensure that customers pay no more in fees than what it costs the Queensland Public Trustee to provide the service.
- Ensure any fee increases consider both social implications, including cost-of-living challenges, and Queensland Public Trustee’s long-term financial sustainability.
- Increase cost recovery from deceased estate administration, while ensuring that any transition to higher fees occurs gradually to prevent a significant restriction of access for vulnerable customers.
- Simplify Queensland Public Trustee’s fee structures to make them easier to understand.
- Ensure that any subsidy provided to customers is a deliberate government decision that balances the public interest and the cost of community service obligation commitments.
The proposed fees and charges reform represents a significant step forward in the Queensland Public Trustee’s reform journey, aimed at transforming the organisation into a contemporary, inclusive, and people-inspired provider of state trustee services.
The proposed reforms seek to build on many of the positive changes to the Queensland Public Trustee’s governance framework, policies, practices, and fees and charges implemented over the past four years, starting with the Customers First Strategy.
Queensland Public Trustee’s proposed fees and charges reform incorporated the findings and recommendations from:
- The Public Advocate’s report, Preserving the financial futures of vulnerable Queenslanders: A review of the Public Trustee fees, charges, and practices, March 2021.
- The first major external review of the Queensland Public Trustee’s fees and charges framework in 20 years, released in October 2022. The external review, which was commissioned following the release of the Public Advocate report, included extensive consultation with stakeholders.
More information
The following resources have been developed to further understand the proposed fees and charges reform and what it could mean for customers.
Consultation paper
- Fees and charges for key services – Public consultation paper
- Fees and Charges Consultation Paper (Accessible PDF)
Fact sheets
- Financial management services fact sheet
- Financial management services fact sheet (Easy Read)
- Financial management customer case studies
- Deceased estate services fact sheet
- Trust administration services fact sheet