The Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 administered by
the Office of Fair Trading, requires all licensees to lodge
either a trust account auditor's report or a statutory
declaration. See above table for key dates for lodgment of the
audit report.
Every year towards the end of the audit period, the Office of
Fair Trading will post out an auditors report form and a
statutory declaration form to each licensee.
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You still need to lodge a report even if you ceased trading
during the period or only traded for part of the period.
In certain circumstances you will need to file a statutory
declaration. If you did not hold or receive any money for or on
behalf of any person during the audit period, you must lodge a
statutory declaration form to this effect. If you held money in
a trust account during the audit period, you must engage an
auditor and lodge an auditor's report form.
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The auditor must be a currently registered company auditor.
Michael Quinn is a certified auditor by the Australian Institute
of Chartered Accountants and this allows Quinns to assist
licensees in ensuring their trust accounts meet Fair Trading
regulations and undertake the audit, making the reporting
process a simple step.
In the case that your trust accounts were inactive for the audit
period and you will be filing a statutory declaration, then an
auditor is not required and you can complete the form before a
Justice of the Peace or a solicitor, sign it, have it witnessed
and post the form to Fair Trading.
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As mentioned above, the licensee can file the statutory
declaration themselves.
You will need to inform the auditor the due date of your report
and ensure that they will be able to complete the report in time
to enable lodgment by the due date.
When the report is completed, the auditor will send the report
to you so you can lodge it with Fair Trading. Do not rely on
your auditor to lodge the report.
The Act makes it quite clear that it is the licensee's
responsibility to ensure the report is lodged by the due date. A
licensee cannot pass this responsibility on to an auditor or any
of the auditor's employees.
The auditor's report should be posted to the address provided on
the form and allow time for delivery.
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All licensees are required to lodge by the due date. The
deadline can be extended but only in exceptional circumstances
which existed over the period of time and can be supported by
evidence.
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If you do not lodge an auditor's report or a statutory
declaration by the due date or at all, without an acceptable
reason, The Office Fair Trading will contact you and take action
based on the circumstances, your lodgment history and any other
previous matters.
Action may include issuing a formal caution, a fine of $550 for
a late lodged audit by an individual or $1,100 for a
corporation. A $1,100 fine applies for a late lodged statutory
declaration by an individual or corporation. Prosecution could
also occur or disciplinary action taken and a notice to show
cause issued which can result in a monetary penalty, licence
suspension or cancellation, or disqualification of a person from
holding a licence.
If you are required to lodge an auditor's report and fail to
lodge, you will not be able to renew your licence.
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Our dedicated team can assist you with all your auditing
needs.
Complete
and submit the Express Enquiry form on the top right hand side
of this page and we will contact you to discuss your enquiry
or call us on 1300 QUINNS (1300 784 667) or on +61 2 9223
9166 to arrange an
appointment.
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