Remuneration of solicitor administrators - scale of costs

10 May 2023

VCAT has engaged the help of an external consultancy service, Regulatory Impact Solutions (RIS), to explore the possibility of setting a scale for the remuneration of solicitor administrators appointed under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019.

A discussion paper has been prepared which proposes:

• a $300 hourly rate for complex administrator tasks or tasks that need to be carried out by the administrator themselves
• a $100 hourly rate for routine administrator tasks or tasks that can be performed by someone else (for example, junior or support staff)
• fee caps of $8,000 or $2,000 per year depending on the size of an estate.

After reading the paper and considering the proposal, VCAT welcomes any feedback or comments you might have. We ask that all responses be submitted via email in word or PDF format to the Office of the Principal Registrar (vcatprincipalregistrar@courts.vic.gov.au) no later than 5pm on Thursday 22 June 2023.

The feedback you provide can be general in nature, or be guided by a series of questions outlined on page 2 of the paper.

Background 

Section 175(2) of the Act confers on VCAT the power to make this scale. At the moment, solicitor administrators use the Practitioner Remuneration Order (PRO) when charging for their services. Solicitor administrators would still be able to charge according to the PRO for legal work that has been approved by VCAT. 

The paper was developed after a number of consultation rounds were held with stakeholders to understand how the current charging arrangements work and whether there are opportunities for improvement. Those consulted included law firms that act as administrators, seniors’ rights groups and a number of trustee companies. 

The paper also provides background to the existing remuneration arrangements and outlines the perceived issues with these arrangements before proposing the above scale for the remuneration of certain administrators under the Act.