Check a trust cheque or electronic transfer record against the payment rule
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the cheque or the transfer record, copy the payee, any crossing, the account name printed on the cheque, who signed or authorised it, and each particular the payments record shows. Do not say the withdrawal was authorised. Do not draft a replacement instruction.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether the withdrawal meets rule 43. A cheque must be payable to or to the order of a specified person and not to bearer or to cash, must be crossed not negotiable, and must include the practice name or business name and the expression law practice trust account or law practice trust a/c. A cheque is signed, or an electronic funds transfer is effected, under the direction or authority of an authorised principal or, if such a principal is not available, an authorised legal practitioner associate, an authorised Australian legal practitioner holding a practising certificate that authorises the receipt of trust money, or two or more authorised associates jointly. A written record of the required particulars is kept unless a computerised system records them in the trust account payments cash book at the time, and it must be kept so that record can be verified. The particulars are the date and number; the amount; for a cheque, the payee or, if the cheque is payable to an ADI, the ADI name or BSB and the person receiving the benefit; for an electronic transfer, the account name, the account number and the relevant BSB; the person on whose behalf the payment was made and the matter reference, or the ADI details where that limb applies; the ledger to be debited; and the reason. The records are kept in the order the cheques or transfers were issued or effected. A withdrawal that moves money from the trust account to the office account still needs the bill and the authority checked. This record does not do that.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the cheque or the transfer record, copy the payee, any crossing, the account name printed on the cheque, who signed or authorised it, and each particular the payments record shows. Do not say the withdrawal was authorised. Do not draft a replacement instruction. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Read the cheque or the bank record, not the draft requisition, for the payee and the crossing.
- Do not treat two staff initials as joint authority. The lawyer matches the signatories to the rule 43(2) categories.
- A withdrawal that moves money from the trust account to the office account still needs the bill and the authority checked. This table does not do that.
Sources
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.