In 2026, Queensland project trust accounts apply to eligible Queensland Government contracts of $1 million or more, and to private sector, local government, statutory authority and government-owned corporation contracts of $10 million or more. The planned rollout to smaller private contracts was paused in February 2025. If you're the head contractor on a covered contract, you're the trustee: you keep a separate project trust account for that contract, record every transaction in a trust ledger within three business days, and reconcile it every month within five business days of month end. The hard part isn't the bank account. It's keeping the trust ledger, your claims tool or job system, the bank and Xero or MYOB saying the same thing.
This is a plain-English summary of the QBCC's guidance, not legal or accounting advice. The scheme is under review, so check the current rules on qbcc.qld.gov.au and with your adviser.
Who needs a project trust account in 2026
The trust account framework started on 1 March 2021 under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 and was phased in. On 10 February 2025 the Queensland Government's Building Reg Reno paused the further rollout to smaller private projects. The QBCC says the framework continues to apply to:
- If your contract is with the Queensland Government and is worth $1 million or more (eligible contracts).
- If your contract is with a private sector client, local government, statutory authority or government-owned corporation and is worth $10 million or more.
The QBCC's trustee guide lists the eligibility tests: the contracting party and contract price fit a rollout phase, more than half of the contract price is for project trust work, and at least one subcontractor is engaged. The contract price is measured excluding GST, and there are exemptions. The QBCC has an online tool to check a contract.
Retention trust accounts
A retention trust account holds cash retentions you withhold from subcontractors on contracts covered by the scheme. The QBCC says you need a separate project trust account for each eligible contract, but only one retention trust account, which can be used across projects.
Is the scheme changing?
Possibly. In January 2026 the Government responded to the Queensland Productivity Commission's recommendation to review the trust account framework and remove it if the benefits can't be shown to outweigh the costs. The Government "notes" the recommendation and says work is underway to reduce the administrative burden on trustees. The proposed tranche 4 of the Building Reg Reno includes further reducing that burden. Until the law changes, the current obligations apply.
What the trustee must do
From the QBCC's Trustee guide: project trusts, the main obligations are:
- Open the account at an approved financial institution within 20 business days after entering the first subcontract. The account name must include "trust" and the trustee's name.
- Notify the QBCC and the contracting party within five business days of opening, and subcontractors when the subcontract is signed or within ten business days.
- Pay subcontractors from the trust account only, and only subcontractor beneficiaries. Retentions withheld go to the retention trust account.
- Give a notice of payment, such as a remittance advice, within five business days of paying.
- Record every deposit and withdrawal in the trust ledger within three business days, in date order, with the transaction date, a unique reference, the amount, the beneficiary and their entitlement, the reason, and each beneficiary's balance after the transaction.
- Reconcile monthly within five business days after month end: the bank statement to the deposits and withdrawals, and those to the trust account ledger trial balance.
- Keep trust records for at least seven years, including contracts, payment claims, payment schedules, variations, bank statements, reconciliations, trial balances and a record of any corrections.
- Close the account properly and notify the QBCC and contracting party within five business days.
You can withdraw interest only once every 12 months or on closure, and you can't pay your own fees from the trust. Since 1 July 2024 trustees no longer need an auditor's annual account review, though the QBCC monitors and can direct a review.
Where the systems get in the way
Most builders run a project trust alongside systems that weren't designed for it:
- The claims tool or job system (Payapps, or claims in the job system) knows what each subcontractor claimed and what was scheduled.
- The bank has one trust account per project, plus the retention trust account and your operating account.
- Xero or MYOB holds the general ledger, supplier bills and payments.
- The trust ledger must show each beneficiary's balance after every transaction. Neither Xero nor MYOB keeps a ledger by beneficiary in that form out of the box, so it's often a spreadsheet or a specialist trust app.
Each new project adds another bank account and feed, and each payment run has to be split correctly between trust and operating accounts. The three-business-day ledger rule leaves no room for a monthly catch-up.
Keeping it all reconciled
A routine that holds up:
- One job number everywhere. The same project code in the claims tool, Xero or MYOB, and the trust ledger.
- Pay runs that know about trusts. Subcontractor payments on trust projects come from the right trust account; supplier and staff payments don't.
- Bank feeds for every trust account, coded the same day, so ledger entries are made inside three business days.
- Beneficiary balances from the claims data. Payment schedules set what each subcontractor is owed; payments reduce it.
- A monthly reconciliation pack: bank to ledger to trial balance, signed off before the fifth business day.
- Retentions tracked by subcontractor, with release dates, tied to the retention trust balance.
Some builders use a specialist trust app that connects to Xero; the Queensland Government publishes a list of trust account software whose vendors self-assessed it against the requirements. If one does the job for your setup, use it. Where the claims tool, the trust app, the bank and Xero or MYOB still don't agree without rekeying, connecting them is the fix. Our construction cash flow forecasting and builder accounting software integration work covers this.
When you change systems, the trust guide says you must keep the old ledger records accessible in a readable form, so plan any migration with that in mind.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a project trust account for a smaller private job?
Not if your private contract is below $10 million, under the current rules. That part of the rollout was paused in February 2025. Check new contracts with the QBCC's trust account tool.
How often do I reconcile a project trust account?
Monthly, within five business days after the end of each month, reconciling the bank statement to the transactions and to the trust account ledger trial balance.
What is a retention trust account?
An account holding cash retentions withheld from subcontractors on contracts covered by the scheme. One retention trust account can be used across several projects.
Can I run a project trust account in Xero or MYOB?
You can record the bank account and transactions, but the trust ledger needs each beneficiary's balance after every transaction, which usually means a specialist app or a connected ledger alongside Xero or MYOB.
Are project trust accounts being abolished?
Not as of October 2026. The Government has noted a recommendation to review the scheme and is working to reduce the burden on trustees. Watch the QBCC website for changes.
If your trust ledger, claims and accounts only agree after a monthly scramble, book a free initial chat. We'll tell you honestly whether an off-the-shelf trust app will do, or what connecting your systems would take. See also our construction industry page.