State Trustees’ Financial Administration Services

2019 reform to the Act

In 2019 the government reformed the Guardianship and Administration Act. 

The reform aimed to empower people with disability to influence decisions that affect their lives, rather than have decisions made for them in their ‘best interests’. 

Sections 8 and 9 of the Act require administrators, including State Trustees, to identify the represented person’s will and preferences. 

If the administrator cannot obtain them directly from the person, they should identify their likely will and preferences based on their past behaviour and/or information from their support network and any other available source. 

If this is not possible, the last resort is to promote the person’s personal and social wellbeing.

Operationalising the reform

State Trustees has developed training modules and guidance for staff on how to assess the will and preferences of people with disability. 

This guidance explains the Act's requirements in plain English. It also provides specific examples of will and preferences and how staff can identify them. 

Identifying will and preferences

State Trustees has made significant effort to identify its clients’ will and preferences since the new Act came into effect.

To comply with the Act, it needs to record evidence that it has identified this information.

State Trustees started routinely recording will and preferences in 2020. 

As of November 2024, State Trustees has recorded 34,871 will and preferences for 8,512 (95 per cent) of its 9,007 financial administration clients.

While one client has as many as 24 will and preferences recorded on their file, 495 (5 per cent) clients do not have any will and preferences identified. 

State Trustees told us it is continuing to visit and call clients to identify will and preferences. It also said it is coordinating visit schedules more efficiently to reach more clients. 

However, it does not expect to identify will and preferences for 100 per cent of its clients. This is because some clients are missing or refuse contact. 

Timeframes for updating will and preferences

State Trustees has updated 53 per cent of its clients’ will and preferences in the last 12 months. This is a promising sign that it is consulting with clients more often about what they want. 

However, it can further improve its work in this area. 

As Figure 2 shows, State Trustees has not updated the will and preferences for 8 per cent of its clients since it identified them more than 3 years ago. 

Figure 2: Time since State Trustees last updated clients’ will and preferences as at 7 November 2024

Note: Numbers do not add to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

Source of will and preferences

Since July 2023, State Trustees has categorised if each client’s will and preferences were:

• expressed directly by the client (actual will and preferences)
• obtained from the client’s support network (likely will and preferences)
• State Trustees’ assessment of what is best for the client’s personal and social wellbeing. 

The Act says obtaining will and preferences directly from the client is the preferred method.

As Figure 3 shows, from 1 July 2023 until 7 November 2024, State Trustees recorded:

• 10,603 (72 per cent) will and preferences directly from the client
• 3,649 (25 per cent) will and preferences from the client's support network.

For fewer than 1 per cent of clients, State Trustees was unable to obtain actual or likely will and preferences and instead assessed what would be best for the clients' personal and social wellbeing. 

The Act considers this the least-preferred option.

Since July 2023, State Trustees has recorded 23 will and preferences entries (across 17 clients) using this method as a last resort.

Figure 3: Sources of clients’ will and preferences from July 2023 to November 2024

Note: Numbers do not add to 100 per cent due to rounding. Blank means no text was recorded.

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees. 

Categories of will and preferences

State Trustees also categorises will and preferences by type in its customer relationship management (CRM) system, InTrust. 

Figure 4 shows the number of clients' will and preferences by category.

Figure 4: Clients’ will and preferences by category as at 7 November 2024

Note: NDIS stands for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. 

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

The Act does not require State Trustees to collect will and preferences across multiple categories. But this can be a practical step to make sure it captures the main aspects of what is important to a client and their financial goals. 

For example, the companion animal category reflects the Act’s requirement for State Trustees to consider the importance of any companion animal to a person with disability.

Relevance of will and preferences

State Trustees’ training material emphasises the importance of capturing what is important to the client’s financial goals, rather than basic facts, such as the ‘client has a dog’ or the ‘client lives in East Melbourne’. 

Our file review found that its entries for will and preferences are clear and relevant to financial decisions.

Examples of will and preferences

State Trustees has recorded a range of clients’ will and preferences in InTrust and how it plans to fulfil them. For example, the client:

• ‘enjoys going on day trips and going to large open spaces such as parks and the zoo. Funds should be provided for this purpose if possible’
• ‘has expressed his 2 cats … are important to him and wants to ensure they are looked after'
• ‘does not wish to have any contact with his sisters and did not want them to be provided with any information regarding his whereabouts or financial information’
• ‘identifies as female and would like to have gender re-assignment surgery’.

Value of visits

Face-to-face visits are important for State Trustees to accurately identify the will and preferences of people with disability, mental illness or dementia. 

Many State Trustees clients may struggle to communicate via phone, email or video calls. 

Face-to-face visits are also important for staff to understand their clients’ needs and build trust. This may be especially important when the client has been put under an administration order due to financial abuse by a family member. 

In these cases, staff may need to make nuanced, sensitive judgements about what the client’s will and preferences are, rather than getting this information from a third party.

While State Trustees identified will and preferences for 86 per cent of its clients in the last 3 years, it only visited 61 per cent of clients during the same period. 

The gap between these 2 figures suggests that it did not identify will and preferences in person for at least a quarter of clients. State Trustees told us that visits are not the only way to identify will and preferences because some are identified using other methods, such as phone conversations.

Key performance indicators

DFFH has set 2 key performance indicators (KPIs) for client visits:

• State Trustees must visit 90 per cent of new clients within 45 days of getting the VCAT order. 
• State Trustees should visit each client at least once during the 3-year term of a VCAT order.

Visiting new clients within 45 days is important so State Trustees can get firsthand information about their will and preferences and financial affairs.

As Figure 5 shows, State Trustees has comfortably met these targets.

Figure 5: State Trustees' performance against its KPI to visit new clients within 45 days

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

As well as checking clients' living conditions, visiting them every 3 years helps State Trustees ensure it makes decisions in line with their current will and preferences.

State Trustees and DFFH introduced this KPI in 2022 under their current agreement, which included funding for additional staff to visit existing clients. 

Before 2022 DFFH only funded State Trustees to visit new clients.

Figure 6 shows that State Trustees has consistently met its targets for this KPI.

Figure 6: State Trustees' performance against its targets for visiting existing clients

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

Recent visits

We asked State Trustees for data on the last time it visited its current clients face to face.

From this data we found:

• it visited 5,486 of its 9,007 clients (61 per cent) in the last 3 years
• it visited 2,981 (33 per cent) clients more than 3 years ago
• 540 (6 per cent) clients had no visits recorded on their file.

For the clients it has not visited in 3 years or at all, it may be challenging for State Trustees to accurately identify their will and preferences.

As Figure 7 shows, of the 61 per cent of clients State Trustees visited in the last 3 years, it visited 39 per cent in the last year. 

Figure 7: Time since last client visit as at 7 November 2024 

Note: Numbers do not add to 100 per cent due to rounding.

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

Personalised budgets

Setting fortnightly budgets is one area where State Trustees gives effect to clients' will and preferences.

Data from InTrust shows that 96 per cent of State Trustees' clients have a budget on file. 

The remaining 4 per cent do not have a current budget. State Trustees told us that this may be because some clients are new and State Trustees has not created a budget for them yet.

Clients without a personalised budget: 

• may struggle to understand where their money is going
• have less of a voice in how State Trustees allocates their money. 

Updating budgets

Regularly reviewing and updating budgets helps State Trustees make sure they accurately reflect clients' spending. This is particularly important for clients with low incomes.

All 30 client files we looked at had a budget that clearly showed the client's income, expenses and personal spending money. 

Under its agreement with DFFH State Trustees has a KPI to regularly update clients' budgets.

Consulting with clients 

State Trustees' training material for staff highlights the importance of consulting with clients on their will and preferences when updating their personalised budgets. 

The training emphasises ‘it’s not a client budget without a client conversation’. 

However, State Trustees does not systematically record how staff consulted with clients to update their budgets (for example, a visit or phone call) in its CRM system. State Trustees told us that it indirectly records this in the CRM's general contact log and that the interactions can be linked using a time stamp. 

Only one of the 30 files we reviewed explicitly documented the client's input in the budget development process. 

Requests for extra money

Financial administration clients can contact State Trustees to request access to their money for items ranging from groceries and clothes to electrical goods and holidays. 

State Trustees told us that:

• some clients rarely make requests
• some clients call multiple times per day. Due to disability, they may not understand they do not have enough money to pay for the items they want.

We looked at data from InTrust about requests for extra money. The data only goes back to July 2023 when State Trustees started using InTrust. State Trustees told us this is because it did not routinely record data about declined requests before it started using InTrust.

Number of requests 

From July 2023 to November 2024, State Trustees assessed 320,775 requests for extra money across 8,035 clients. 

While 11 per cent of clients did not make any requests during this period, 10 per cent of clients accounted for 56 per cent of all requests. 

One client made 668 requests, of which State Trustees denied 316.

Conversely, 71 per cent of clients did not have any declined requests, which means State Trustees either partially or fully approved all their requests.

Approval rates

As Figure 8 shows, from July 2023 to November 2024 State Trustees approved or partially approved 201,003 of 320,775 (63 per cent) requests for extra money. 

During this period it declined at least 54,543 (17 per cent) requests. 

Figure 8: How State Trustees responded to requests for extra money from July 2023 to November 2024

Note: The total for full amount approved and partial amount approved is 63 per cent due to rounding.

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

As Figure 8 shows, 20 per cent of request records are blank so it is not clear if State Trustees approved or declined them. 

This gap in record keeping means State Trustees: 

• may not be accurately reporting approval rates
• may not have complete information to identify issues with InTrust that would enable it to improve how staff accurately document decisions. 

Reasons for declining requests

Since introducing InTrust in July 2023, State Trustees has instructed staff to record why they have declined a request and select a reason or reasons from a drop-down menu. 

Figure 9 shows the number of times State Trustees used each reason category for declining ad hoc requests.

Figure 9: Number of times State Trustees used each reason category for declining ad-hoc requests from July 2023 to November 2024

Note: Staff can select multiple reasons for each declined request. 

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees. 

As well as selecting the reason from the drop-down menu, State Trustees trains staff to add further details why they have declined a request in the client's file.

Assessing unaffordability

State Trustees cannot give effect to clients’ will and preferences if they do not have the money available to pay for their desired item or activity. 

However, it is unclear what State Trustees' threshold is for declining requests based on affordability. 

An item can be unaffordable if the cost is higher than a client’s available balance after rent and bills. Or it can be unaffordable because there is a certain reserve amount that State Trustees thinks clients should keep in their accounts as a savings buffer for unexpected expenses. 

State Trustees' policies and procedures do not clearly explain what 'unaffordable to budget' means in practice. 

It told us this is because the affordability threshold is different for each client depending on their income, needs and financial obligations. 

For example: 

• a homeless client may need to spend their last $100 for food and shelter
• a better-off client may need to reserve funds for mortgage payments, bills or an upcoming holiday.

Despite this, the lack of clear guidance for staff creates the risk that they may inconsistently assess affordability. 

We also found that staff routinely consider a client's deficit, which is the rate of spending compared to their income, and decline some spending requests even if the client has enough money in their account.

Other reasons for declining requests

After 'unaffordable to budget', 'other' is the most common reason staff use to decline requests. Unless staff provide further detail in the client's file, State Trustees cannot tell if the reason they declined the request aligns with the Act. 

This lack of clarity means there is a risk that State Trustees uses this reason category inconsistently. This reduces the effectiveness of the Act's provisions to give effect to a client's will and preferences where practicable. 

The reason ‘against administrator duties' refers to State Trustees' responsibilities under the Act to: 

• protect the represented person from neglect, abuse or exploitation
• act honestly, diligently and in good faith
• exercise reasonable skill and care.

However, when State Trustees uses this reason it does not specify which duty the request conflicts with. 

Case study 1 is an example of how State Trustees uses different reasons to decline requests.

Client complaints

State Trustees responds to complaints in a timely way. But it could more clearly explain its decisions to clients who complain about declined funding requests. 

In 2020, State Trustees set up a dedicated complaints team. This team delivers monthly reports on complaint trends to State Trustees' senior management.

State Trustee's client feedback procedure manual requires it to resolve at least 90 per cent of complaints within 28 working days. It achieved this target in 2023–24. 

State Trustees has identified service delays, such as wait times for its client call centre, as one driver of dissatisfaction and is working to reduce these delays. 

However, it does not clearly explain to clients why it declined their requests for extra money. 

Clients cannot view their account balance or transactions online in real time. And when they complain about declined requests State Trustees only sends them a generic letter in response.

Awareness of complaint channels

State Trustees has clear information about complaint and feedback channels on its website, including the option to contact the Victorian Ombudsman if a client is dissatisfied with its initial response. 

However, given the complex needs of some clients, these channels may not be enough to ensure they know how and where to complain. 

In a 2024 client experience survey, 42 per cent of respondents said they knew how to make a complaint, which was down from 58 per cent in the 2023 survey. 

Number of complaints

For the last 4 years, State Trustees has received a relatively stable number of complaints. 

This follows a substantial drop from 2,010 complaints in 2018–19 to 915 in 2020–21.

Figure 10 shows the number of complaints State Trustees received from 2018–19 to 2023–24.

Figure 10: Complaints received from 2018–19 to 2023–24

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees. 

A high number of complaints may indicate there is an issue with the quality of State Trustees' services. However, complaints can also arise from other circumstances where State Trustees has acted to protect a client from financial abuse.

For example, a clients’ family member filed a complaint in 2024 about State Trustees cancelling an ATM card. However, the family member had appeared to be using the card for their own expenses, rather than the client's.

Media coverage, such as coverage on the Victorian Ombudsman’s 2019 report could also lead to increased scrutiny and more complaints.

Types of complaints

State Trustees sorts complaints into 8 categories. 

Figure 11 shows the number of complaints per category for 2023–24. The most common type of complaint was complaints about declined requests for extra money.

Figure 11: Complaints by category in 2023–24

Source: VAGO, based on data from State Trustees.

Complaints about declined funding requests

State Trustees receives the most complaints about declined requests for extra money. 

In 2023–24, State Trustees only accepted as valid 39 of the 270 (14 per cent) complaints it got in the ‘request for funds' category. In contrast, it accepted 117 of the 142 (82 per cent) complaints in the ‘delay in service provision’ category. 

When State Trustees responds to a complaint about a declined request for extra money it provides a generic response letter that says 'consideration must be given to the variance of your budget and ongoing expenses'. And as a result, 'on this occasion, your request could not be supported'.

This letter does not: 

• explain the specific reason why State Trustees declined the client's request 
• respond to the client's specific concern. 

Clients cannot see their bank account balance in real time. State Trustees told us it is considering offering an SMS balance check function, but it would need to conduct a risk assessment for each client before allowing access. Without access to their account balance, clients may not understand why State Trustees has declined their request for extra money.

Given the Act requires State Trustees to 'give all practicable and appropriate effect to clients’ will and preferences' in financial decision-making unless there is a risk of serious harm, it could better explain to clients why it declines their requests. 

Complaints about services

The second most common type of complaint State Trustees received in 2023–24 was complaints about how it delivers services. It has identified this as a focus area to improve in.

It told us it is introducing initiatives to reduce call wait times, including adding an online chat and a call-back function. 

In 2023 State Trustees started working on a 'first call resolution' strategy. The aim of this strategy is to increase its service centre staffs' capability to directly resolve client enquiries without needing to wait for a referral to a personal financial consultant. 

Despite this initiative, State Trustees' client experience survey shows that satisfaction with the service centre decreased from 74 per cent in 2023 to 59 per cent in 2024. 

One of the clients surveyed in 2024 described the following reason for their dissatisfaction: 'It can take half an hour to get into contact with them. They are really hard to reach sometimes, and I am not satisfied with the wait time and the timeliness of email responses. It was not in their capabilities to resolve it'.

Client satisfaction with complaint outcomes

State Trustees' 2023–24 client experience survey indicated that 50 per cent of clients were not happy with how State Trustees responded to their complaint. 

State Trustees' report on this survey suggested this may be because clients: 

• did not feel that State Trustees recognised their point of view 
• did not agree with the resolution to their complaint.

The report recommended that State Trustees more clearly explain its decisions to provide more transparency for clients. 

Paying rent and bills on time

Paying a client's rent and bills on time is an essential part of State Trustees' financial administration services. State Trustees told us it currently pays about 15,000 bills per month.

Many of State Trustees' clients have low incomes, which means it is even more important that it pays bills correctly and on time.

For example, a low-income client could lose their affordable housing or become homeless if State Trustees does not pay their rent when it is due.

Issues with bill and rent payments

Of the 30 client files we looked at, we found 3 issues with State Trustees paying rent and bills correctly and/or on time. 

Two of these issues were in 2019–20, which was before it overhauled its general procedures, including its procedures for paying bills. The other issue was in 2024. 

State Trustees' complaint records from June 2023 to November 2024 suggest that late or incorrect payments do occur but are not a widespread or systemic issue. Of the 955 complaints it received during this period, 4 were about substantiated issues with rent or bill payments.

The following table and case study describe the combined total of 7 instances we identified where a client was negatively impacted. 

State Trustees told us it has resolved all the issues in the following table. 

Claiming benefits

Ninety-six per cent of State Trustees' clients receive pension payments, including:

• 71 per cent on the Disability Support Pension 
• 23 per cent on the Age Pension. 

We did not identify any issues with State Trustees identifying or claiming a client’s maximum entitlements or concessions. 

Notes from the 30 files we reviewed indicated that staff proactively claim clients' entitlements.

InTrust has fields for staff to record the timing, amount and receipts for each client's payments, such as Centrelink payments. This helps staff make sure clients receive the correct amount on time. 

State Trustees also prepares annual financial plans for clients with property and other assets to maximise their eligibility for Centrelink entitlements. 

Selling property

State Trustees protects clients’ interests when it sells their property. It does this by: 

• commissioning an independent property valuation, which includes a conflict-of-interest declaration
• using auctions as the preferred sale method
• only sharing the reserve price with the real estate agent the day before the auction to reduce the risk of undermining the competitiveness of the bidding process.

During our file review we examined 43 property sales between 2019 to 2024 for 30 clients. Properties were only sold privately in particular circumstances. For example:

• the property did not meet the reserve price, so negotiations continued with the interested parties after the auction (5 of 43 sales) 
• the property was jointly owned by a non-client who preferred a private sale (4 of 43 sales)
• the property was in a retirement village (2 of 43 sales). State Trustees used the facility's default selling method. 

Of the 43 sales we looked at, we identified one instance in 2021 where State Trustees sold a client's property and disposed of the client's possessions against their will and preferences. 

In this instance, the client’s VCAT order was under the previous version of the Act, which only required State Trustees to consider the client's best interests. 

State Trustees sold the property and the client permanently moved into aged care because the property was not in a suitable condition to rent out without significant repairs. 

State Trustees later apologised for not adequately consulting the client about their property and possessions. 

In all the other files we looked at, State Trustees thoroughly documented the client’s will and preferences and sought VCAT's advice in complicated cases. 

Case study 3 shows an example of how State Trustees managed possible financial abuse and consulted with VCAT to sell a client's property.

Case study 4 shows an example of how State Trustees sold a client's property under difficult circumstances.