A long-awaited reset for trust law in Queensland

With the introduction of the Trusts Act 2025 (Qld) (the Act), the State has amended a 50-year old legislation that better reflects how trusts are used today.

While the core concept of a trust remains unchanged, the way trusts are administered, documented and challenged has evolved. The new Act is designed to simplify interpretation, improve transparency, and provide clearer guidance for trustees and beneficiaries alike.

A stronger statutory framework

The new Act now intends to operate despite inconsistent wording in a trust deed, except where the legislation itself permits otherwise. In practical terms, this means the trust deeds now need to be checked against the Act rather than treated as automatically prevailing over it.

Broader powers and clearer duties of trustees

The new Act now expands authority given to trustees. Trustees are now equipped with powers similar to those of an absolute owner of the trust assets, unless the trust deed says otherwise. This is intended to make day-to-day administration more workable and less dependent on long lists of specific powers in the trust deed.

This increased flexibility is particularly relevant for investment and decision-making. Trustees can now delegate certain functions, including investment responsibilities, provided strict requirements are met around documentation, time limits and oversight.

However, this is not a relaxation of responsibility. Quite the opposite.

The Act introduces a clear statutory framework for trustee duties which cannot be contracted out, requiring trustees to:

• Act honestly and in good faith
• Exercise appropriate care, skill and diligence
• Prioritise the interests of beneficiaries
• Maintain proper records and provide access when requested.

For professional trustees or those with specialist expertise, the expectations are even higher. This reflects a broader theme of the reforms: greater power paired with greater accountability.

 Clearer rules around who can act as trustee

The new legislation also tightens the rules around trustee eligibility and succession.

Under the new Act, a person can generally be a trustee unless they fall into a specific ineligible category. The Act now expressly prevents the following from being appointed as a trustee:

• A child (under 18).
• An individual who is insolvent under administration (e.g. a person subject to a bankruptcy order).
• A corporation that is a “Chapter 5 body corporate” (a company in administration, being wound‑up, or otherwise under external administration).

This means trust deeds no longer need to rely on specific clauses in the trust deeds to exclude minor or insolvent entities.

At the same time, the process for appointing and replacing trustees has been made more practical, particularly where incapacity becomes an issue because the Act builds in statutory fallbacks instead of always requiring a court order.

Trustees can now be appointed by the appointor, by any other mechanism in the deed, or by statutory powers if no one else acts within a reasonable time, and the Act also clarifies who may remove a trustee (e.g., appointor or continuing trustees) where the trustee is unfit, incapable, or unable to act, reducing the need for ad‑hoc court applications.

A particularly useful change arises when a sole trustee loses capacity. Previously, if the deed did not provide for replacement, a court order was often required just to swap in a new trustee. Under the new Act, the attorney or administrator with authority over the last continuing trustee’s financial matters can now appoint a new trustee (including themselves), without needing to go to court first, so long as no other mechanism in the trust is available.

This is a welcome change for many families and business structures, where delays or uncertainty around trustee succession can create unnecessary risk.

Stronger rights and protections for beneficiaries

From a beneficiary perspective, the reforms introduce greater transparency and more meaningful protections.

Beneficiaries now have clearer rights to access trust information as Trustees are required to maintain accurate records and make them available for inspection and copying upon request.  Where necessary, the beneficiary may ask the court to order disclosure.

There is also increased flexibility when it comes to financial support. The statutory allowance for applying capital toward a beneficiary’s maintenance, education, or advancement has increased substantially from the former $2,000 figure. The new threshold is $100,000 or half of the beneficiary’s presumptive entitlement, whichever is greater, which may reduce the need for court applications in many ordinary cases.

Importantly, where distribution issues arise, beneficiaries may now be able to take action directly against recipients of incorrectly distributed assets, rather than navigating more complex recovery pathways.

A more accessible approach to dispute resolution

By explicitly including the District Court into the statutory framework to hear trust-related matters below the $750,000 monetary threshold, the Act aims to make resolving trust disputes more efficient and accessible as not every trust-related application needs to be heard at the Supreme Court.

Furthermore, with expanded jurisdiction, the courts are better equipped to deal with trust-related issues, including appointing or removing trustees and reviewing trustee conduct. This should help reduce time and cost barriers that have historically discouraged parties from seeking resolution.

What you should do in practice

In many cases, these statutory changes will not require a complete overhaul of existing trust arrangements. However, they do create a new baseline for how trusts should be managed. We encourage you to consider taking the following actions now, depending on your capacity or role.

If you are a trustee:

• Review the trust deed to identify provisions that may no longer operate as expected under the new Act, especially provisions dealing with powers, delegation, records, indemnities, and beneficiary access to information
• Check and ensure all trustees meet the eligibility requirements under the Act
• Check whether trust accounts, minutes, and supporting records are complete and kept separately for each trust
• Review any trustee remuneration, commissions, or related-party payment arrangements to ensure they can be justified if challenged
• Confirm that there is a practical process for replacing the trustee if a current trustee retires, dies, loses capacity, or becomes insolvent

If you are a family or business owner using a trust:

• Review any family trust, unit trust, or trading trust used in your business structure to make sure it still achieves the intended commercial and succession outcomes under the new legislation
• Consider whether the broader trustee powers affect long-term control, succession planning, or asset protection arrangements
• Obtain legal and tax advice before changing a trust deed, because amendments may have consequences including tax, duty, and estate-planning implications

If you are a beneficiary:

• Familiarise yourself with your rights obtain trust accounts, records, or explanations from the trustee
• Seek prompt legal advice if you suspect trust property has been transferred, distributed, or dealt with in a way that may not comply with the trust

The bottom line

The Trusts Act 2025 (Qld) represents a meaningful shift towards clarity, accountability and modern practice.

For trustees, it brings greater flexibility, but also a higher standard of conduct. For beneficiaries, it delivers improved visibility and protection.

As with most legislative change, the opportunity lies in being proactive. A timely review now can help ensure your trust structure continues to operate as intended, without unnecessary risk.

Next steps

If you would like support reviewing your trust deed or understanding how these changes apply to your circumstances, our Wills & Estates team is here to help.