Remuneration scale for certain administrators under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019

From 1 July 2024, a new remuneration scale will apply to certain administrators appointed under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 (the Act) on or after this date.

The scale will apply to administrators, such as solicitors, accountants or financial advisors, who carry on a business of, or including, the administration of estates. The scale does not apply to State Trustees Limited, trustee companies within the meaning of section 601RAA of the Corporations Act 2001 or an administration order that the Tribunal decides is not subject to the scale.
The scale outlines core administrator responsibilities, allowing administrators to charge according to two hourly rates depending on the complexity of the task:

  • $350 per hour (inclusive of GST) for the planning, decision making and negotiation to secure the represented person’s financial position, and
  • $120 per hour (inclusive of GST) for administrative tasks relating to transactions, record keeping, correspondence and other administrative aspects of planning, decision making and negotiation.

The below tables define those tasks and the applicable hourly rate.

$350 per hour (inclusive of GST)
  • attending a tribunal hearing for appointment of an administrator
  • establishing and reviewing an understanding about the represented person’s income, expenses, assets and liabilities 
  • establishing an understanding about the represented person’s will and preferences for spending, gifting, managing assets and liabilities
  • establishing an understanding about whether the represented person has or needs an NDIS plan;
  • meeting with a represented person's guardian or other formal or informal decision maker or supporter, determining decisions to be made by the guardian or other formal or informal decision maker and likely impact on finances;
  • if necessary, replacing the represented person as director of a company, where Corporations Law permits, or other role (such as appointor of discretionary trust, where this is permitted under the terms of the trust) unless other provisions have been made for those roles (include seeking legal advice on performance of role);
  • deciding whether the represented person is able to have access to any funds or manage any of the tasks themselves;
  • deciding whether any restructure of bank accounts is required, establishing if the represented person has any joint ownership arrangements and how these will be managed;
  • reviewing, approving and lodging a Financial Statement and Plan;
  • negotiating and making arrangements with debtors;
  • carrying on a business of the represented person and reviewing, settling and signing contracts and agreements;
  • purchasing or selling real estate
  • attending reassessment hearings at the Tribunal;
  • communicating with the Tribunal about any major decision for which an administrator requires approval or advice prior to undertaking the transaction (for example, change of ownership of assets from joint to sole and, in some cases, sale of property)
     
$120 per hour (inclusive of GST)
  • securing, taking possession, or collecting assets
  • locating the represented person's Will
  • collecting income (for example, dealing with Centrelink concerning payment failures and errors)
  • paying accounts
  • maintaining records of all income and expenditure
  • managing assets and liabilities
  • managing and maintaining real estate
  • renting out real estate, dealing with agents
  • surrendering life assurance policies
  • insuring property and other assets
  • paying debts
  • recovering debts owed to the represented person
  • discharging mortgages
  • ensuring that the represented person receives their entitlements to any deceased
  • estates to which they are a beneficiary
  • preparing and lodging tax returns
  • recording transactions and filing and safe custody of documentation
  • communicating with relevant authorities, Centrelink, banks, financial advisors and other like entities (online or in person) to notify them that the administrator has been appointed by the Tribunal
  • communicating with the Tribunal about any decision, other than a major decision, for which an administrator requires approval or advice prior to undertaking the transaction
  • preparing and lodging an annual Account by Administrator

No payment is to be charged for:

  • making appointments
  • attendances (including by telephone) with the represented person or any interested person that are not about their will and preferences, or are not necessary to perform or complete any of the above tasks
  • sending and receiving documents by email or fax, where a fee can already be charged for the preparation, review or obtaining of the document.

Incremental charging

If a task exceeds one hour, the rate is to be charged in 15-minute increments after that first hour:

  • For tasks that attract a $350 hourly rate, if the task exceeds one hour the rate will be $87.50 per 15-minute increment
  • For tasks that attract a $120 hourly rate, if the task exceeds one hour the rate will be $30 per 15-minute increment

For example, if a $350 per hour task takes 90-minutes to complete the administrator can charge $525 and if a $120 per hour task takes 90-minutes to complete the administrator can charge $180.
 

Remuneration caps

To keep track of overall administrator fees, remuneration caps have been introduced. Unless the Tribunal approves, total payment cannot exceed:

  • $12,000 (inclusive of GST) per year of administration for all of the above tasks, other than acting as a director where permitted, carrying on a business or other tasks specifically agreed to by the Tribunal if the represented person has assets of more than $20,000 (excluding their principal place of residence)
  • $2,000 (inclusive of GST) per year of administration if the represented person has assets of less than $20,000 (excluding their principal place of residence) and income of less than $920 per fortnight.

However, the Tribunal can decide to change the remuneration cap or remove the remuneration cap depending on the circumstances. Only an administrator can make this application. If such an application is made, it would usually be during the term of an appointment based on known and particular circumstances.’

If a represented person’s financial circumstances fall outside the above caps (for example, they have assets of less than $20,000 but an income of more than $920 per fortnight), an administrator should discuss the most appropriate cap with the Tribunal either at the time of appointment or as soon as possible after being appointed.

Remuneration not covered by the scale

The scale does not apply to:

  • reimbursements for disbursements reasonably and necessarily incurred (including postage costs, out-of-pocket travel costs and fees paid to third parties), or
  • tasks or services provided by the administrator or their staff that are genuine speciality legal services or advice—these are services that a competent professional administrator who is not a lawyer would not usually perform themselves, but would normally engage a third party legal practitioner to do, for example:
    • drafting legal documents such as contracts or complex or non-routine wills
    • reviewing contracts where it would be usual to seek independent legal advice before signing, or 
    • interpreting legal requirements.

For tasks that would be considered genuine speciality legal services, an administrator is entitled to charge according to the Practitioner Remuneration Order made under the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014.

Other features

The scale also gives the Tribunal powers to direct an administrator to provide copies of invoices for work done to the represented person or other nominated person.
In the event an administrator proposes to perform genuine legal services or financial advisory services and charges outside the scale, the administrator must inform the represented person, or other nominated person, and the Tribunal in writing before performing those services of:

  • the nature of the services, and
  • why they are services that an administrator who is not a legal profession or financial adviser is unable to reasonable perform themselves, and
  • how the fees for the services will be calculated, and
  • an estimated total cost of the services

If such circumstances apply, an administrator should make contact with registry as soon as possible by email (humanrights@courts.vic.gov.au) and ensure they address the above points in their correspondence prior to charging outside the scale.

Unless an administration order stipulates otherwise, the administrator must seek leave of the Tribunal to undertake any legal proceedings on behalf of the represented person (see section 51 of the Act).

The above information covers the key features of the scale. If the changes to administrator remuneration arrangements impact you directly, we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the detail of the scale which can be found here.