When your trust account reconciliation is actually due

Your monthly trust reconciliation is due 15 working days after the end of the month. Not the end of the month, and not 15 calendar days.

What the rule says

Rule 48 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 sets the deadline in one sentence:

The statements must be prepared within 15 working days after the end of the month concerned.

What you actually have to prepare

Rule 48(2) requires two statements, not one. Firms that prepare only the bank reconciliation have done half of it.

• The bank reconciliation. Rule 48(2)(a) requires a statement reconciling the trust account balance as shown in the ADI's records with the balance of your trust account cash books, and showing the date it was prepared.
• The trust ledger reconciliation. Rule 48(2)(b) requires a statement reconciling the balance of the trust ledger accounts with the same cash books, listing every trust ledger account with its name, identifying reference, balance and a short description of the matter, and showing the date it was prepared.

Rule 48(4) then says the statements must be kept by the law practice.

One account at a time

Rule 48(1) says a practice that maintains one or more general trust accounts must reconcile the trust records relating to each account. Each account is reconciled on its own. A balance summed across two bank accounts is a figure that exists in neither.

What goes wrong

• Unpresented cheques carried forward. They are a reconciling item, not a permanent feature.
• A receipt against the wrong matter. The account still balances, so nothing fails until somebody asks which matter the money belongs to.
• Bank fees or interest in the trust account. Neither belongs there.
• A transfer recorded as two entries. One saved and one did not. The ledger is append only, so it cannot be edited afterwards to put the money back.

This article is general information about the rules, not legal advice, and does not take account of your practice's circumstances. It is current as at 11 September 2026. The Uniform Law applies in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia; other states and territories have their own rules. Check your own regulator before relying on any of it.