Answers to Questions

Public Trustee

132 The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (30 April 2019). Can the Attorney-General advise—

1. How many people accessed the making of wills, managing estates and enduring power of attorney services through the Public Trustee in 2016-17 and 2017-18?

2. Who is currently eligible to access the making of wills, managing estates, and enduring power of attorney services through the Public Trustee?

3. Following the proposed reform, who will be eligible to access the making of wills and enduring power of attorney services through the Public Trustee?

4. How much revenue does the Public Trustee accrue each financial year through the making of wills, managing estates and enduring power of attorney services?

5. How much is the Public Trustee expected to save as result of the proposed reforms across the forward estimates?

6. Will the lower returns to government as result of fewer estates being settled or managed by the Public Trustee outweigh the savings being made across the forward estimates?

7. Will the Attorney-General rule out providing additional funding for the Public Trustee should the lower returns to government as a result of fewer estates being settled or managed by the Public Trustee outweigh the savings being made?

8. What will be the FTE reduction in Public Trustee staff as a result of the proposed reforms?

9. Will the savings being made by the Public Trustee be returned to consolidated revenue, or will they be provided to the Law Society of South Australia to provide an alternative service, and how much will the administration of this alternative service cost?

10. Will the Attorney-General commit to implementing an open and transparent process for private law firms wanting to provide the making of wills, managing estates and enduring power of attorney services that the Public Trustee would previously have provided?

11. How are the changes to the Public Trustee being communicated to the South Australian community, who has been contracted to do this work, and how much is that work costing?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer): I have been advised the following:

1.

Wills

Power of Attorney

Deceased Estates

2. All members of the public are currently eligible (assuming they have testamentary capacity) to make a will or an enduring power of attorney. Deceased estates are managed by the Public Trustee when the Public Trustee is named as an executor, attorney or substitute attorney.

3. From 1 July 2019, the Public Trustee will only prepare wills for concession holders, and those people that have protection orders issued by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) or the courts (irrespective of concession status).

4. The Public Trustee does not charge for will or enduring power of attorney making services, where it is named as executor. The Public Trustee currently charges $273 for a single will and $436 for a couple to prepare documents where it is not named as primary executor.

The Public Trustee received approximately $4.1 million in 2017-18 in revenue from estate administration and $0.6 million in revenue from administering estates as the power of attorney.

5. An estimated $1.2 million net budget benefit is expected over the forward estimate period.

6. Over the forward estimates, staffing costs are estimated to reduce by $1.87 million. This is partially offset by estimated reduced estate finalisation and power of attorney revenue of $0.63 million.

This results in a net budget benefit of $1.2 million over the forward estimates.

7. The reduced revenue from deceased estate finalisation and enduring power of attorney fees is estimated to exceed staff savings from 2024-25.

The reduced profit of the Public Trustee after that date will result in lower distributions (dividends and income tax equivalents) being paid to government.

8. The total FTE reduction over the forward estimate period is:

Cumulative FTE

9. The estimated savings will be returned to consolidated revenue as part of the Public Trustee's distribution to government. No payment is being made to the Law Society of South Australia.

10. The Law Society currently provides a free referral service to the public for will and power of attorney making services on its website. The Public Trustee will refer relevant inquiries to that website.

11. The Public Trustee has written to approximately 85,000 existing will and power of attorney clients to advise them of the changes.

A notice will also be placed in The Advertiser in May and June 2019 to advise the general public of the changes.

The Public Trustee website has also been updated.

Following is a table of costs: