During 2025-26 the Public Trustee continued to provide financial and administrative services to the people of South Australia. The following tables reflect outcomes and performance on each of the services in addition to achievements against the Public Trustee Strategic Plan.

Our Customers

  • Changed the name of our Personal Estates branch to Financial Administration to more accurately convey our primary role to our external stakeholders and better reflect what we do for our customers and their support networks.
  • Completed the integration of emails with the customer relationship management system to provide greater visibility of customer contacts and aid in response times.
  • Introduced automated telephone conversation summarisation to transcribe the key points and agreed outcomes of customer phone calls. This enables improved customer service, improved governance and saves considerable time in recording call details.
  • Conducted monthly information sessions for Private Administrators appointed by SACAT to manage the financial & legal affairs of protected persons’, providing important information regarding the roles, responsibilities and the resources available to assist administrators fulfill their reporting obligations.
  • Expanded the 2025-26 Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey to include feedback by phone, reaching a broader audience.

Our People

  • Reviewed and strengthened our human resources function to ensure the business has the support required for HR operational and organisational development priorities.
  • Performance and development discussions occurred for 96% of staff with the exceptions related to new employees or those on extended leave. This process supports both employees and leaders to embrace a culture of continuous feedback and professional growth.
  • Continuation of the University Graduate Placement Program to support student outcomes and provide workplace exposure.
  • Continued initiatives under the People Matter Employee Survey Action Plan with a focus on psychological safety, leadership, and culture, aligned to AGD reform.
  • Continued assessment of risk controls identified in the Psychological Safety Audit and delivered training to all staff on managing Psychosocial Hazards.

Our Business

  • Commenced the Financial Operations Transformation Program (FOTP) to modernise and strengthen financial operations. The project aims to uplift Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and related financial workflows by addressing systemic gaps, improving process consistency, strengthening governance and streamlining service delivery. FOTP also supports sustainable reform through enhanced staff capability, effective change management, improved organisational structures and a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
  • Continued stabilisation and improvement to both the customer relationship management (Connect) and financial (Transact) platforms.
  • Implemented a new system to record and monitor customer security items held by Public Trustee.
  • Migrated a number of legacy systems including Public Trustee’s intranet to SharePoint online
  • Completed application upgrades of customer financial and asset systems (HiPortfolio, HiTrust & Anova).
  • Refreshed ICT infrastructure, including notebooks, desktops, monitors and similar.
  • Continued to eliminate dependencies on unsupported ICT solutions.
  • Successfully tested ICT operational and cyber scenarios to ensure processes are current and appropriate, including quarterly simulated phishing exercises and disaster recovery events.
  • Audited PT's compliance under the South Australian Cyber Security Framework, the South Australian Protective Security Framework and Essential 8 frameworks/criteria.
  • Migrated PT to a virtual fax technology solution.
  • Reviewed and updated delegations to ensure strong governance, accountability and improve operational effectiveness.
  • Successfully completed the 2025-26 Control Self-Assessment Program was across the Agency. Second line assurance was conducted for Customer Service branch by the Governance and Compliance Team.
  • Seven (7) internal audits were completed focusing on post implementation reviews of the Transact Solution and its effectiveness, physical security. Information Technology vulnerability assessment and Safeguarding from Social Engineering Attacks.

Agency Program - Writing Wills & Powers of Attorney

Will and Power of Attorney drafting services were provided for all eligible South Australians who nominated the Public Trustee as their executor, attorney or substitute attorney.

Activity Indicators

2025-26

2024-25

  • New Wills

134

130

  • Revised Wills

285

240

  • New & revised Power of Attorney documents

51

30

Effectiveness/Efficiency Indicators

  • Customer satisfaction rating out of 5 with   Will making services

5.0

4.7

  • Wills customers who would recommend the   Public Trustee

97%

100%

Agency Program - Deceased Estates & Trusts Administration

The Public Trustee acts as executor of an estate where named executor in the Will, or as administrator when a person dies intestate (without a Will).

The Public Trustee manages court-awarded trusts, trusts established by a Will and trusts under deed for minors, as well as perpetual charitable and scholarship trusts.

Activity Indicators

2025-26

2024-25

  • Administration of new estates

408

461

  • Administration of new trusts

62

100

  • Finalised deceased estates

752

455

  • Finalised trusts

136

78

Effectiveness/Efficiency Indicators                  

  • Customer satisfaction rating out of 5 with   deceased estate administration services

3.6

3.6

  • Customer satisfaction rating out of 5 with   trust administration services

3.7

3.7

Agency Program - Personal Financial Administration

The Public Trustee can be appointed legally responsible for making all, or some, of a person’s financial and legal decisions where that person has lost capacity.

Activity Indicators              

2025-26

2024-25

  • Appointed administrator or manager of   financial and legal affairs - new customers

586

612

  • Active financial administrations as at 30 June

5 513

5 387

Effectiveness/Efficiency Indicators                  

  • Customer satisfaction rating out of 5 by   customer representatives

3.4

3.6

Agency Program - Monitoring Private Financial Administrators and Managers

The Public Trustee is required annually to examine and report on activities of private financial administrators and managers appointed by SACAT and the courts.

Activity Indicators              

2025-26

2024-25

  • Review of financial statements of private   administrators, managers and executors

4 356

3 937

  • Matters referred to SACAT for   non-compliance with reporting requirements

630

503

  • Information sessions held for newly   appointed administrators to explain their responsibilities

11

12

Effectiveness/Efficiency Indicators                  

  • Feedback from information sessions

Excellent/very good

Excellent/very good

Agency Program - Litigation Guardian

The Public Trustee may be appointed by a Court to act as ‘Next friend’ for customers unable to conduct their own legal proceedings.

Activity Indicators              

2025-26

2024-25

  • Appointed as litigation guardian - new   customers

24

40

  • Matters on hand at   30 June

118

88

Performance management and development system

Performance

Performance Management is captured using the MyHUB Learning & Development System. Public Trustee aims for a compliance rate of 100% of all active staff having a Performance Review during the year.

96% of staff as at 30 June 2026 are recorded as having had at least one performance management review in 2025-26*.

*Note: The exceptions relate to new employees or those on extended leave.

Program name

Performance

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

All staff have access to EAP services, offering a confidential counselling service to support and assist staff with both professional and personal issues. Additional support for line managers is also available.

AGD Health and Safety Committee

The Public Trustee has management and employee representation on this committee, which provides a consultative forum to support and continuously improve work health, safety and wellbeing systems and practices.

Work health and safety Inspections

As part of the commitment to the safety of employees, six-monthly inspections are conducted to identify any hazards or risks with corrective action taken as needed.

The Public Trustee Health & Safety Committee

The Public Trustee Health and Safety Committee provides a consultative forum to support local and continuous improvement activities relating to work health, safety and injury management systems and practices.

Workplace Consultative Committee

The Public Trustee has an active Workplace Consultative Committee that enables staff to discuss issues with management constructively and on a collaborative basis.

Work health and safety and return to work performance statistics for the Public Trustee are included in the Attorney-General’s Department Annual Report.

Executive classification

Number of executives

SAES1

2

SAES2

1

Data for previous years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/organization/attorney-general-s-dept (external site)

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (external site) has a workforce information (external site) page that provides further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.