4Remuneration not covered by this scale

4 Remuneration not covered by this scale

4.1 The above scale does not apply to—

(a) reimbursements for disbursements reasonably and necessarily incurred (including postage costs, out‑of‑pocket travel costs and fees paid to third parties); or

(b) 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—

(i) drafting legal documents such as contracts or complex or non‑routine wills; or

(ii) reviewing contracts where it would be usual to seek independent legal advice before signing; or

(iii) interpreting legal requirements.

4.2 For the tasks referred to in clause 4.1(b), the administrator is entitled to remuneration calculated according to the Practitioner Remuneration Order made under the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014.

For legal services that require section 51 approval (bringing or defending actions or other legal proceedings) under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 or for any other activities for which the administration order states that Tribunal approval is required, remuneration would be determined under those separate arrangements.

4.3 For accounting or financial management firms, and if the scale is adopted, used or applied by State Trustees Limited or a licensed trustee company, the scale does not apply to fees that may be charged for providing financial advice of a type that requires an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence.

4.4 For fees charged for genuine legal services or financial advisory services performed by the administrator that are to be charged outside the administrator scale, the administrator must inform the represented person, or other nominated person, and the Tribunal, in writing, prior to performing those services of—

(a) the nature of these services; and

(b) why these are services that an administrator who is not a legal professional or financial adviser (as the case may be) is unable to reasonably perform themselves; and

(c) how the fee for the services will be calculated; and

(d) an estimate of the total cost of those services.

4.5 The administrator must seek the leave of the Tribunal to undertake any legal proceedings on behalf of the represented person.

See section 51 of the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019.