Yes, in some states you have to pay stamp duty when you set up a discretionary trust deed, and in others you don’t. The answer depends entirely on which state the trust is established in, how quickly you lodge the deed, and whether the trust is acquiring property at the same time. Getting this wrong can delay your bank account, trigger penalty interest, or leave your trust in a legally awkward position.
- NSW stamp duty on a trust deed is now $750. It was raised from $500 on 1 February 2024. You have 3 months from execution to lodge.
- Four states charge duty; four don’t. NSW ($750), Victoria ($200), Northern Territory ($20), and Tasmania ($20) require payment. QLD, WA, SA, and ACT do not.
- Missing the deadline costs you more than money. Late lodgement attracts penalty interest. Many banks won’t open a trust bank account until the deed is stamped.
- The deed stamp and property stamp duty are two separate things. Transferring property into the trust triggers a second, much larger stamp duty obligation based on the property’s value.
- Even $0-duty states may require lodgement. In some jurisdictions, the deed still needs to be lodged with the revenue office to be marked as no-duty-payable before third parties will accept it.
Two things trip people up when they’re setting up a trust for the first time. The first is assuming stamp duty works the same way everywhere in Australia. It doesn’t. The second is confusing the stamp duty on the deed itself with the stamp duty triggered when property moves into the trust. Both can catch you out, and the consequences of getting them wrong are real.
What is stamp duty on a trust deed?
Stamp duty (also called transfer duty or general duty depending on the state) is a state-based tax applied to certain legal documents and transactions. When it applies to a trust deed, it’s a one-off payment you make to the relevant state revenue office to have the deed assessed and officially stamped.
For a standard discretionary (family) trust deed, the duty is nominal: a flat fee set by the state, not based on the value of the trust’s assets. That’s very different from property stamp duty, where the tax is calculated as a percentage of the property value and can run into tens of thousands of dollars. The amounts for a trust deed range from $20 to $750 across the states that charge it. That’s the easy part. The harder part is knowing the deadlines and what happens if you miss them.
Which states charge stamp duty on a trust deed?
Here’s the current position across all eight Australian jurisdictions for a standard discretionary trust deed. These figures apply to the establishment of the trust only, not to any subsequent transfer of property into the trust.
| State/Territory | Duty payable | Deadline to lodge |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | None | — |
| NSW | $750 (from 1 Feb 2024) | 3 months from execution |
| NT | $20 | 60 days from execution |
| QLD | None | — |
| SA | None | — |
| TAS | $20 | 3 months from execution |
| VIC | $200 | 30 days from execution |
| WA | None | — |
Victoria has the shortest window: 30 days. If you’re setting up a trust in Victoria, act on stamping the same week the deed is signed. NSW gives you 3 months, but the OSR (Office of State Revenue) processes lodgements electronically and turnaround is typically 3–5 business days, so there’s no reason to leave it late.
How much is stamp duty on a trust deed in NSW?
In NSW, stamp duty on a trust deed is currently $750. This applies to most discretionary (family) trusts established in New South Wales, with the main exception being superannuation trust deeds.
The $750 figure is worth double-checking any time you read about this topic. NSW increased the rate from $500 to $750 on 1 February 2024. A significant number of older articles, accounting software tools, and legal guides still show the old $500 figure. If you see $500 referenced without a date, the source is out of date.
The deadline for NSW is 3 months from the date the deed is executed. Lodgement is electronic via Revenue NSW’s Duties Online portal. If you use a registered stamping agent, they handle the submission on your behalf for a service fee on top of the $750 duty. Turnaround from Revenue NSW is typically 3 business days. For paper-signed deeds, you get the deed returned with an official duty stamp. For digitally signed deeds, you receive a Duties Notice of Assessment by email. Keep this with your trust records.
If you’re setting up a family trust in NSW ahead of a property purchase, stamp the deed as soon as it’s signed. Banks in NSW consistently ask for a stamped deed before opening a trust account, and a 3-month window shrinks fast once you’re in a property settlement timeline.
Do you pay stamp duty on a trust deed in Queensland?
No. Queensland does not charge stamp duty on the establishment of a standard discretionary trust deed. There is no lodgement requirement and no fee payable to the Queensland Office of State Revenue for simply creating the trust.
This surprises some people because Queensland does impose transfer duty on property transactions. So if the trust buys or receives Queensland real estate, transfer duty applies on the property. But for the deed itself, QLD is clean.
One practical note: if you’re dealing with interstate banks or advisors who aren’t familiar with Queensland’s rules, they may ask for a “stamped deed” out of habit. You can point them to the Queensland duties legislation or have the deed voluntarily lodged with the OSR for a “nil duty” marking. Most Queensland-based banks and accountants won’t require this.
What happens if you miss the stamping deadline?
Missing the deadline doesn’t mean your trust is void, but it does create problems. Penalty interest starts accruing from the due date. The revenue office may waive interest below a minimum threshold (typically $20), but for anything above that, you’ll pay.
The more immediate problem is practical. Banks routinely ask for a stamped copy of the trust deed before they’ll open a trust bank account. If you’ve missed the window, you’re in a position where you can’t easily operate the trust until you’ve lodged late and paid whatever interest applies. In practice, Lawpath advisors regularly see this catch clients who set up a trust quickly before a property settlement, then discover they can’t open the trust bank account on time because the deed hasn’t been stamped yet. The lodgement should happen immediately after the deed is signed, not at the last possible moment.
Late lodgement is accepted by most state revenue offices, but the interest bill can add up. NSW, for example, charges interest on the outstanding duty from the date it should have been paid, not from when you eventually lodge. Sort it early.
How do you actually lodge and stamp a trust deed?
The process differs between states, but here’s how it works for the two most common jurisdictions.
New South Wales
Lodge electronically through Revenue NSW’s Duties Online portal within 3 months of execution. You’ll need the fully executed deed plus details of the settlor, trustee, and appointor. Paper-signed deeds come back with an official duty stamp; digitally signed deeds receive a Duties Notice of Assessment by email. Turnaround is typically 3 business days. Registered stamping agents can handle the full submission for a service fee on top of the $750 duty.
Victoria
Victoria also uses an online lodgement system through the State Revenue Office (SRO). The duty is a flat $200 and the deadline is 30 days from the date the deed was executed. The SRO doesn’t issue a physical stamp. Instead, it generates a Certificate of Duty once payment clears, which typically takes 3–5 business days. Keep this certificate with your trust documents; you’ll need it for bank account openings and other third-party requirements.
Northern Territory and Tasmania
For NT ($20) and Tasmania ($20), the process is more manual. You’ll typically need to post or deliver the executed deed to the relevant revenue office along with the required form. For NT, the Territory Revenue Office accepts postal lodgement. For TAS, contact Service Tasmania or the State Revenue Office of Tasmania. Service fees from third-party agents apply if you use one.
States with no duty (QLD, WA, SA, ACT)
In these jurisdictions, no stamp duty is payable on the establishment of a standard discretionary trust. However, some industry participants and advisors recommend voluntarily lodging the deed with the relevant revenue authority to obtain a “no duty payable” marking. This can make it easier to deal with third parties, particularly interstate banks or accountants who are unfamiliar with the local rules and ask for a stamped deed as a default.
Is the trust deed stamp duty the same as property stamp duty?
No. This is one of the most common points of confusion Lawpath advisors see when clients set up a trust for investment property purposes.
The nominal duty on the trust deed itself ($750 in NSW, $200 in VIC) applies simply to creating the trust: the deed that establishes it. This is payable regardless of whether the trust holds any assets at all. Most newly established discretionary trusts start with a nominal settlement sum of $10.
The second, much larger stamp duty obligation arises when dutiable property (land, in most cases) is transferred into the trust or purchased by the trust. This duty is calculated at the standard rates for the state, based on the property’s value. So a trust buying a $1 million property in NSW would pay standard land transfer duty (tens of thousands of dollars), in addition to the $750 trust deed duty.
Across Lawpath consultations, advisors consistently flag a related trap: clients who already own investment properties personally and want to move them into a new family trust. That transfer triggers full stamp duty based on the property’s current market value. In most cases, the stamp duty cost makes the transfer uneconomical. The general advice is: set up the trust before you acquire properties, not after.
Does amending a trust deed trigger more stamp duty?
It depends on the nature of the amendment and the state. Amendments that simply vary administrative provisions (such as changing trustee contact details or updating the distribution clause) and generally don’t trigger additional duty. But amendments that involve the acquisition of new dutiable property, a change of beneficial ownership, or structural changes to unit entitlements in a unit trust can trigger a fresh duty assessment.
Changing the trustee is also a situation where duty can arise. In NSW and the ACT, duty is payable if the incoming trustee is also a beneficiary of the trust and the trust holds dutiable property at the time of the change. This is an area where you want specific legal advice before making the change, not after.
If you need to update your trust deed (most well-used trusts are amended over time as family circumstances or business structure changes), a Change of Trustee Deed handles the trustee change specifically, while amendments to the main deed should be reviewed by a lawyer for potential duty implications before signing.
What Lawpath advisors see in practice
Two patterns come up repeatedly in Lawpath consultations on trust setup, and both are worth knowing before you proceed.
First: clients setting up a family trust alongside an investment property purchase often underestimate the total compliance costs. The trust deed stamp duty is the small number. The bigger variable is the land tax treatment once the trust holds property. In Victoria, for example, trusts don’t receive the land tax-free threshold that individual owners get. A trust holding a $1.3 million investment property may face $5,000 to $10,000 in annual land tax, on top of the initial stamp duty obligations. This doesn’t make the trust the wrong choice, but it does mean the decision needs to account for the ongoing cost, not just the setup cost.
Second: stamp duty on the deed and stamp duty on property are often conflated when clients are doing early research online. It’s common for people to arrive at a consultation believing that setting up a family trust is “expensive from a stamp duty perspective” when they’ve actually been reading articles about property transfer duty, not trust deed duty. For the deed itself, the costs are modest. For the property going into it, the costs are significant. That’s exactly why getting the structure right before acquiring assets matters.
How to draft your trust deed
Your trust deed is the legal document that creates the trust and governs how it operates. It sets out who the relevant parties are (the settlor, trustee, appointor, and beneficiaries), how income and capital can be distributed, what the trustee’s powers are, how the trust can be varied, and how it can be wound up.
You’ll need to decide on these points before drafting:
- Who will act as trustee (an individual, a company, or both)
- Who the beneficiaries are, and whether you want discretion over how distributions are split
- What the initial trust property will be (this can start as a nominal $10 settlement sum)
- Who holds the power of appointment (the person who can change the trustee)
You can create a discretionary trust deed online through Lawpath. It’s customisable and covers the key provisions for Australian discretionary trusts in any state or territory. If your trust structure is complex, involves multiple classes of beneficiaries, or will hold significant assets from the outset, it’s worth having a lawyer review it before you sign. You can connect with a Lawpath lawyer for a fixed-fee review.
Once the deed is signed, follow the three steps: settle the trust (have the settlor transfer the nominal settlement sum), apply for the trust’s ABN and TFN, and stamp the deed in the timeframe required for your state. There’s a useful overview of what to do after completing your discretionary trust deed that walks through each of these in detail.
If you’d prefer a hands-off approach, particularly if this is your first trust, Lawpath’s Assisted Trust Setup service has a specialist lawyer manage the entire process, including stamping.
Frequently asked questions
How much is stamp duty on a trust deed in NSW in 2026?
$750. NSW raised the duty from $500 to $750 on 1 February 2024. You have 3 months from the date the deed is executed to lodge and pay through Revenue NSW’s Duties Online portal. Late lodgement attracts penalty interest from the due date.
Do I need to pay stamp duty on a trust deed in Queensland?
No. Queensland does not charge stamp duty on the establishment of a standard discretionary trust deed. However, if the trust acquires Queensland land, normal transfer duty applies based on the property’s value.
What happens if I don’t stamp my trust deed on time?
Penalty interest applies from the due date. The practical consequence is that banks often refuse to open a trust bank account without a stamped deed, which can stall the trust’s ability to operate. Late lodgement is accepted, but you’ll need to pay any interest owing before the revenue office processes the assessment.
Is stamp duty on a trust deed the same as stamp duty on a property?
No. The duty on the trust deed itself is a flat nominal amount ($20 to $750 depending on the state) payable simply for establishing the trust. Stamp duty on a property is calculated at progressive rates based on the property’s market value, and applies separately if the trust acquires real estate.
Does Victoria charge stamp duty on a trust deed?
Yes. Victoria charges $200 flat duty on the establishment of most discretionary trust deeds, with a 30-day lodgement deadline from the date of execution. This must be lodged through the Victorian State Revenue Office (SRO) online portal or via a registered SRO agent.
Does changing the trustee trigger stamp duty?
It can. In NSW and the ACT, stamp duty is payable if the incoming trustee is also a beneficiary of the trust and the trust holds dutiable property (such as land) at the time of the change. In other states the position varies. Get specific legal advice before making a trustee change if the trust holds property.
Can I open a bank account for a trust before the deed is stamped?
It depends on the bank. Some banks will open a trust account on the basis of an executed (but not yet stamped) deed, particularly in states where no duty is payable. Others, especially when processing larger accounts or in states that require stamping, will ask for a stamped deed first. As a practical matter, stamp it before you approach the bank.
Do superannuation trust deeds need to be stamped?
In most states that charge stamp duty on trust deeds, superannuation trust deeds (including SMSFs) are exempt from the requirement. NSW and Victoria, for example, explicitly exclude superannuation trust deeds from the nominal duty charge that applies to discretionary trusts. Always check the current rules for the relevant state.
Setting up a trust isn’t as complicated as it can seem from the outside. The stamp duty side of it (for the deed itself) is a manageable one-off cost in the states that require it. What takes more care is understanding the total picture: the deed duty, the property duty (if relevant), the ongoing land tax treatment, and the timing of each step. You don’t need to work all of that out before you start.
If you’re ready to get the deed drafted, you can create a discretionary trust deed online today and have it ready to sign in minutes.
