Trust Officer
Trust officers look after trusts and deceased estates, making sure assets are managed, accounted for and distributed as the trust deed or will requires.
- Median salary*
- $90,000
4.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 1,200
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +7.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 39/wk
−1h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Trust officers run the day-to-day administration of trusts, deceased estates and other fiduciary arrangements. They read deeds and wills to work out what a trustee is permitted to do, keep the accounts and records, arrange distributions and deal with the beneficiaries, solicitors and financial advisers involved. Most work for trustee companies, banks, law firms or public trustee offices, and the job sits closer to estate administration than to financial advice.
How much do trust officers earn?
The median full-time salary for a trust officer is $90,000 per annum, before tax, up $19,100 since 2018.
Pay depends more on who employs you than on the job title: public trustee offices work to fixed classifications, while private trustee companies and banks set their own bands and bonus structures. Experience with complex estates, a professional accounting qualification or a large portfolio of trusts usually moves you up a band. The biggest portfolios tend to sit in capital city offices.
What does a trust officer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Administering deceased estates and testamentary trusts from the first asset search through to final distribution
- Preparing trust accounts and distribution statements, usually in dedicated trust accounting software
- Reconciling trust ledgers and checking transactions each month, because a distribution can't proceed until the accounts balance
- Reading deeds and wills closely to work out what the trustee is actually able to do
- Fielding calls from beneficiaries, solicitors and financial advisers, including the difficult ones when a family disagrees about a will
What skills do trust officers need?
Employers look for financial reporting, regulatory compliance, financial analysis and modelling, backed by Xero fluency and strong client relationships and advisory.
Specialist skills
- Financial reporting
- Regulatory compliance
- Financial analysis and modelling
- Risk and internal controls
Software and tools
- Xero
- Class Trust
- Microsoft Excel
- IRESS
- Netwealth
General skills
- Client relationships and advisory
- Attention to detail
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 1,200 people work as trust officers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 7.8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a trust officer?
Here's the path most trust officers take, step by step.
- 1Finish Year 12 with solid English and maths
The work is document-heavy, and most entrants come in through an administration or client service role at a trustee company, bank, law firm or public trustee office, where Year 12 is the usual starting point.
- 2Take an entry-level trust or estate administration role
This is where you learn the systems, the ledger work and the lodgement calendar, and where you see how a deed plays out in practice. The work is office-based and paid.
- 3Study business, commerce, accounting or law while you work
A diploma or degree is what opens the more complex estates to you. Many employers support part-time study, and an accounting qualification also opens the move into financial control later.
- 4Add specialist trust and estate qualifications
The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners runs trust and estate qualifications, and estate planning or tax subjects build the expertise senior trust officers and team leaders are hired for. There is no single licence for the role, but positions that stray into financial product advice carry extra education requirements set by ASIC, so check the position description.
Ready to apply as a trust officer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a trust officer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a trust officer move to?
Moving into Financial Controller typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $61,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Controller Trust officers bring trust accounting and asset oversight, but financial control requires further accounting study.Known move | +$61,000 | 48% | reskill |
| Finance Manager Trust officers bring financial administration and reporting skills, though finance management requires a degree-level qualification.Known move | +$61,000 | 28% | requalify |
| Loan Officer Trust officers bring financial documentation and client assessment skills that suit assessing and processing loan applications. | +$3,900 | 82% | minimal |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a trust officer?
The typical trust officer is 45 years old; 79% are women, 71% work full-time, and full-timers average 39 hours a week.
- 45
- Median age
- 79%
- Female share
- 71%
- Full-time
- −1h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a trust officer?
The rhythm follows lodgement dates and distributions rather than a sales cycle, so the work is steady but document-heavy. Much of the day goes on reading, reconciling and recording, with the human side arriving in bursts when an estate settles or a beneficiary calls. It suits someone who likes precision and is comfortable being the calm point in a family's difficult year.
What people like
- The documents stop being abstract. A will written decades ago turns into a set of instructions you have to make work for the family sitting in front of you.
- You see an estate through. Trusts and estates can run for years, so you deal with the same beneficiaries and watch the outcome of your work rather than handing the file on.
- Predictable hours and deadlines. The pressure comes from lodgement dates and distribution deadlines rather than sales targets, which makes the week easier to plan around.
What people find hard
- Families under strain. You are often the person explaining what the will says to people who are grieving or already arguing with each other.
- Heavy on checking and paperwork. Deeds, correspondence, tax records and reconciliations take up more of the day than advisory conversations do.
- Limited discretion. A trustee's powers come from the deed and from the trustee company's own policy, so you sometimes have to explain an outcome you wouldn't have chosen yourself.
- A small set of employers. Roles sit mainly in trustee companies, banks, law firms and public trustee offices, so the number of employers in any one city is limited and changing jobs can take patience.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ trust officers?
Financial and Insurance Services employs the largest share of trust officers, followed by Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Financial and Insurance Services
- 2Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services
- 3Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 28.9% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 25.5% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 14.2% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 14.2% | |
| Postgraduate | 11.2% |
Will AI replace trust officers?
Trust administration sits in the middle range for AI exposure. Trust accounting software and document tools already handle much of the ledger work, standard reporting and compliance record-keeping, which changes how quickly the administrative side of the job gets done. Reading an ambiguous clause, deciding what the trustee is able to do and explaining that to a family stays with the officer.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Lodging trust tax returns and maintaining compliance recordsSoftware already prepares returns and tracks due dates, so this part of the week is mostly review, correction and sign-off rather than drafting.30%high
- Preparing trust accounts and distribution statementsTrust accounting software builds most standard statements from the ledger, but you still check classifications and the timing of distributions against the deed before anything goes out.25%moderate
- Reading deeds and wills to work out trustee powersSearch tools can surface similar clauses and past positions, but the wording of a particular deed often needs a judgement you have to defend to a beneficiary or to a court.25%low
- Dealing with beneficiaries, solicitors and financial advisersExplaining a distribution to a family after a death, or negotiating timing with a solicitor, depends on reading the room in a way no tool manages.20%low
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from trust officer work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Finance Manager
Some skill overlap (28%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a trust officer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do trust officers earn?
Trust officers earn $90,000 per year before tax. That is a median for full-time workers, so individual pay sits above or below it depending on the employer, the complexity of the trusts you handle and whether you hold accounting or legal qualifications.
How do you become a trust officer?
Most trust officers start in an administration or client service role at a trustee company, bank or public trustee office and learn estate and trust work on the job. A diploma or degree in business, commerce, accounting or law helps you take on more complex files, and many employers support part-time study.
Are trust officers in demand?
Trust officers are currently not in shortage, so employers aren't reporting widespread difficulty filling these roles. Employment is projected to grow 7.8% over the decade to 2035, and with about 1,200 people in the occupation, openings tend to come up as people move on rather than in large intakes.
Will AI replace trust officers?
It won't replace the job, but it already carries a share of it. Trust accounting software and document tools draft standard accounts, track compliance dates and pull information out of wills and deeds, while interpreting an ambiguous clause, deciding what a trustee can do and explaining it to a family stays with the officer.
What can trust officers move into?
Trust officers who add accounting study often move into financial control, where trust accounting and asset oversight overlap and pay is $61,000 more. Loan officer is a shorter step, since assessing and documenting loan applications draws on the same financial documentation skills, and it pays $3,900 more.
Do you need a law degree to be a trust officer?
No, but legal study helps. The job requires reading deeds and wills accurately, and a law or accounting qualification opens the more complex estates and the higher pay bands, while most day-to-day administration is learned on the job.
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