Section 101(1) of the Trusts Act 1973 (Qld) confers a broad discretion to authorise trustee remuneration, the only qualification being that the circumstances appear to the Court to justify it. There is no requirement to demonstrate exceptional or special circumstances. Where it is common ground that some remuneration is appropriate, the dispute is as to quantum and the Postle criteria (degree of responsibility, skill and knowledge required and applied, and value to beneficiaries) guide the assessment. The reluctance expressed in Plomley v Shepherd to authorise remuneration for past services of a trustee is of limited significance where all parties recognise that some remuneration order is appropriate.
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