Guide
QBCC project trust accounts: a builder's guide
If you build in Queensland, you may need to run a project trust account. The rules come from the Building Industry Fairness (BIF) Act, and they shift depending on the size and type of your contract. Here is the plain version, and where Sabeam fits.
What is a project trust account?
A project trust account (PTA) is a bank account you hold on trust for a single building project. The money the owner pays you for the work goes into it, and you pay your subcontractors out of it. The idea is simple. If a builder goes under, the money owed to subbies for that job is protected, because it was never sitting in the builder's general account. A separate retention trust account holds retention money the same way.
Do you need one?
It depends on the contract. Queensland has been phasing project trust accounts in by project type and contract value, starting with government and larger private work and widening from there. Whether your next job needs one comes down to the sector, the value, and the date. Because those thresholds have moved as the rollout continues, check the current rules on the QBCC website or with your own adviser before you rely on them. This guide explains how a PTA works, not whether yours qualifies.
What running one involves
- Open the trust account, and a retention trust account, at an approved bank.
- Keep a trust ledger: every deposit, payment and transfer, per project, so the trail is clear.
- Hold retention money in the retention trust account, not your general account.
- Give the right statutory notices to the people you are holding money for.
- Keep records you can hand to the QBCC if they review the account.
It is the record-keeping that eats the time: a clean, current ledger for every project, reconciled and ready to show.
Where Sabeam helps
Sabeam does not hold your trust money. Your bank does that. What Sabeam does is the record-keeping around it. It keeps a per-project trust ledger as payments and subcontractor costs flow through, tracks retention, and drafts your TPAR from the payments you actually made. So the part that usually gets done badly at 9pm, the ledger and the paperwork, is kept current for you.
Common questions
What is a project trust account?
A bank account you hold on trust for a single building project. Money the owner pays you for the work goes in, and you pay your subcontractors out of it, so the funds for that job are kept separate from your general business money.
Do I need a project trust account for a residential build?
It depends on the sector, the contract value, and the date, because the rules have been phasing in over time. Check the current thresholds on the QBCC website or with your own adviser before you rely on them.
What is the difference between a project trust account and a retention trust account?
A project trust account holds the progress payments for a job. A retention trust account holds the retention money withheld on that job. They are separate accounts with separate records.
What records do I have to keep?
A trust ledger for each project showing every deposit, payment and transfer, plus the supporting documents, kept current and ready to show the QBCC if they review the account.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. The BIF Act rules and thresholds change. Check the QBCC website or your own adviser for what applies to your project.