Thursday, 18 April 2019
BPAY payments
Section 42 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2007 (ACT) (the Regulation) permits payments of trust money by electronic funds transfer (EFT). In recording EFT payments, certain provisions (s 42(5), s 45(2), s 46(6)) require the payee's BSB and account number to be included. While BPAY transactions are generally considered to be a form of EFT, BPAY payments do not involve the use of the payee's BSB and account number. In recording the particulars of a BPAY payment, compliance with these provisions is therefore problematic.
On 16 April 2019, the Council invoked s 81 of the Regulation to waive the BSB and account number recording requirements in relation to BPAY payments, subject to the following conditions:
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The waiver of the BSB and account number requirements contained in s 42(5)(c), s 45(2)(c) and s 46(6)(c) applies only to withdrawals from trust made using BPAY.
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BPAY can only be used for withdrawals from trust via internet banking.
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The BPAY biller code and customer reference numbers must be recorded in the same way that the BSB and account numbers are required to be recorded pursuant to s 42(5)(c), s 45(2)(c) and s 46(6)(c).
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Payments made by BPAY are considered EFTs and trust records should reflect payment has been made by EFT.
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Manual records must record the BPAY biller code and customer reference numbers in the same way that the BSB and account numbers are required to be recorded pursuant to s 42(5)(c), s 45(2)(c) and s 46(6)(c).
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Computerised accounting systems will request the input of a BSB and account number when the EFT method is selected. Where the BPAY Biller Code and reference number does not satisfy the computerised accounting program EFT field, users are permitted to insert 000-000 000000000, but must ensure the BPAY biller code and customer reference number is recorded in the payment narratiion field instead.
If you have any questions about this topic, please contact the Society's Trust Account Compliance Officer on (02) 6274 0300 or trustaccounts@actlawsociety.asn.au.
