Law Firm Compliance Calendar Melbourne

March: Trust Account External Examination Cut-Off

The relevant date for most Victorian trust account external examinations is 31 March each year, with the examination report generally due to be lodged within 60 days of that date. The examiner needs finalised, fully reconciled trust records to work from — not a set of books that need three months of catch-up before they can even start. Firms that keep trust reconciliation current month by month sail through this; firms that treat it as an annual scramble routinely miss the window or lodge a qualified report.

July: Practising Certificates and PI Insurance

Practising certificates for Victorian solicitors run on a financial year cycle and renew from 1 July, typically alongside professional indemnity insurance through the scheme most Victorian solicitors are required to hold. Both renewals usually require confirmation of the firm's financial position — another point where clean, current books make a routine renewal fast instead of a fire drill.

Quarterly: BAS Lodgement

Most law firms lodge BAS quarterly, with standard due dates of 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July. GST on legal fees is generally straightforward, but disbursements paid on a client's behalf and later recovered need correct GST treatment — recovered disbursements aren't always a taxable supply in the firm's own right, and getting this wrong distorts both the BAS and the client's own tax position if it's a business client claiming input credits.

Monthly: Trust Reconciliation, Non-Negotiable

Independent of the annual external examination, Victorian trust account rules require reconciliation of the trust ledger, individual client ledgers and the trust bank statement on a monthly basis at minimum. This is the discipline that makes every other date on this calendar manageable — a firm that reconciles monthly always knows its trust position is clean; a firm that doesn't is gambling that nothing's gone wrong since the last check.

May or October: Income Tax Return

For firms lodging through a registered tax agent, the standard extended deadline is generally 15 May the following year; without an agent, it's 31 October. The exact date depends on the firm's specific ATO lodgement program, but either way, an accurate income tax return depends entirely on accurate books through the year — not a rebuild in April.

Superannuation and Payroll Dates Sit on Top of the Legal-Specific Calendar

Beyond the legal-industry-specific dates, a firm with employed solicitors and support staff still carries the standard payroll compliance calendar — quarterly superannuation guarantee contributions due 28 days after each quarter end, Single Touch Payroll finalisation by 14 July each year, and workers compensation (WorkCover in Victoria) renewal typically aligned with the policy anniversary. These dates are easy to lose track of when a firm's attention is understandably focused on trust compliance, but a missed super guarantee payment triggers the superannuation guarantee charge — a non-deductible penalty on top of the contribution itself — which makes it one of the more expensive dates on the calendar to miss. Building payroll obligations into the same compliance calendar as trust and BAS dates, rather than tracking them separately, reduces the chance either gets overlooked during a busy period.

What a Compliance Calendar Actually Protects

• Trust account standing — late or qualified examinations can trigger regulatory scrutiny beyond the paperwork itself.
• Practising certificate continuity — a lapsed certificate stops a solicitor practising, full stop.
• PI insurance cover — a gap in cover is a gap in protection for every matter running through the firm.
• Cash flow predictability — knowing BAS and tax obligations well ahead of the due date instead of discovering them at the deadline.

None of these protections come from the calendar itself — they come from the bookkeeping discipline that makes each date a formality rather than a scramble. A firm that reconciles trust monthly, processes payroll accurately each cycle, and reviews its BAS position before the quarter closes isn't relying on memory or a spreadsheet reminder to stay compliant; the records are simply ready whenever a date arrives. That's the real difference between a firm that treats compliance as a recurring source of stress and one that treats it as background administration.