Public Trustee Act 1978

The public trustee may retain or pay out of an estate the public trustee is administering, in priority to any other claims—

expenses (including liabilities) a trustee may retain or pay out of trust property, or that the public trustee considers are necessary or expedient for the management of the estate; and

fees payable for a service the public trustee provides.

The public trustee is to decide whether the fees and expenses payable under this section are to be paid from capital or income.

The public trustee has a general lien on all property comprised in an estate the public trustee is administering for the payment of—

fees and expenses payable, including fees and expenses payable under this section for the administration of the estate; and

costs, fees and allowances and charges earned by the official solicitor or another lawyer who is a public service officer for the public trustee in connection with a proceeding relating to the estate.

The public trustee’s interest under subsection (1) or (3) in relation to personal property is declared to be a statutory interest to which section 73(2) of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cwlth) applies.

The public trustee has the same rights of lien a lawyer who is not a public service officer would have for costs and charges for work of a legal nature—

done by the public trustee or the official solicitor; or

done for the public trustee by a lawyer who is a public service officer.

In this section—personal property see the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cwlth), section 10.