Getting paid from a trust account

Under the new framework, a beneficiary is any party who will be paid from a project trust account or retention trust account. 

This includes subcontractors, sub-subcontractors as well as the contracted party (typically a head contractor) who is both the trustee and beneficiary of project trust accounts and retention trust accounts. 

How will I know if I’m a trust account ‘beneficiary’?

As a beneficiary to a project trust account or retention trust account, the trustee is required to notify you about the use of a trust account - before a contract is entered into or before cash retention amounts are withheld.  

The notice must state:

• the name of the financial institution 
• trust account name
• BSB and account number 
• the contract to which the trust account applies.

Trustees are also required to notify the QBCC of a trust account which are then published on the publicly available trust account register.

Payments from trust accounts  

All beneficiaries must only be paid from a trust account:

• all amounts relating to the project trust contract must be paid through the project trust account
• all cash retention amounts must be held in the retention trust and must be paid only from the retention trust account

A beneficiary  must follow the usual process of submitting their payment claims to the trustee in order to be paid. 

Beneficiaries may only be paid into a nominated bank account that is controlled by the beneficiary – and cannot be paid by the trustee in cash or via bank transfers from the trustee’s personal bank account.

A beneficiary will also be notified by the trustee every time an amount is: 

• paid to them from the project trust, and
• deposited into the retention trust account on their behalf, and 
• paid to them (or another person) from the retention trust. 

Beneficiary guide to trust accounts

To better understand your rights and what to expect as a trust account beneficiary, take a look at our Beneficiary Guide: Trust accounts (PDF) which provides further information about: 

• the notifications you should receive from a trustee 
• information you are entitled to request from a trustee 
• what to do if you don’t get paid by a trustee 
• how to make a trust account complaint.