115Regulations relating to trust accounts

1. The Governor-General may, from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:

2. regulating the use and audit of trust accounts of practitioners and of related persons or entities and of incorporated firms, and prescribing the duties of practitioners and of related persons or entities and of incorporated firms in regard to trust accounts:
3. prohibiting or regulating the collection of money of a client by a lawyer or class of person connected with a lawyer or an incorporated law firm:
4. regulating the lending of money of a client by a practitioner or class of person connected with a practitioner or incorporated firm:
5. prohibiting or regulating the borrowing of money of a client by a practitioner or class of person connected with a practitioner or incorporated firm:
6. regulating the receipt, banking, payment, investment, and recording of money and other valuable property entrusted to practitioners, related persons or entities, or incorporated firms:
7. requiring the keeping of registers of properties, authorities, and appointments held by practitioners and related persons or entities and incorporated firms:
8. requiring that a practitioner who intends to set up on his or her own account or to become a director or shareholder of an incorporated firm, or who manages or administers trust accounts, must undertake training in trust account management and in the obligations of lawyers or conveyancing practitioners or incorporated firms, as the case may require, in relation to trust accounts:
9. prescribing the duties of persons appointed under section 109 to conduct examinations of accounts, and prescribing the duties of practitioners and related persons or entities and incorporated firms in relation to such examinations and the circumstances in which a practitioner, related person or entity, or incorporated firm may be required to pay the cost of any such examination:
10. establishing a scheme for the protection of money entrusted to practitioners, related persons or entities, or incorporated firms:
11. providing for the establishment of an inspectorate by the New Zealand Law Society or the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers or by both:
12. prescribing functions, duties, rights, and powers of the Law Society inspectorate or the Conveyancers Society inspectorate or both:
13. authorising any inspector appointed to the Law Society inspectorate or the Conveyancers Society inspectorate to delegate any function, duty, right, or power conferred on that inspector in his or her capacity as a member of the inspectorate (other than the power of delegation):
14. providing for payment by lawyers and by related persons or entities and by incorporated law firms of fees and costs of the Law Society inspectorate:
15. providing for payment by conveyancing practitioners and by related persons or entities and by incorporated conveyancing firms of fees and costs of the Conveyancers Society inspectorate:
16. authorising any auditor or the Law Society inspectorate or the Conveyancers Society inspectorate to communicate directly, for the purpose of establishing whether the regulations have been complied with,—
    1. with clients of lawyers and with related persons or entities; and
    2. with clients of incorporated law firms; and
    3. with clients of conveyancing practitioners and with related persons or entities; and
    4. with clients of incorporated conveyancing firms; and
    5. with other persons:
17. prescribing the persons to whom the reports of auditors must be sent for inspection, information, or record:
18. prescribing the persons to whom written communications between the auditor or inspector and the lawyer or incorporated law firm and between the auditor or inspector and any person who, or body that, is, in relation to the lawyer, a related person or entity may be disclosed:
19. prescribing the persons to whom written communications between the auditor or inspector and the conveyancing practitioner or incorporated conveyancing firm and between the auditor or inspector and any person who, or body which, is, in relation to the conveyancing practitioner, a related person or entity may be disclosed:
20. providing that a practitioner, a related person or entity, an incorporated firm, an auditor, the Law Society inspectorate, and the Conveyancers Society inspectorate are subject to an obligation not to divulge, otherwise than as prescribed, any matter of which the practitioner, the related person or entity, the incorporated firm, the auditor, or the inspectorate is informed in the course of an audit, review, or inspection, and are also subject to the like liability in damages to a client of the practitioner, the related person or entity, or the incorporated firm as the practitioner or the incorporated firm would be if the practitioner, related person or entity, or incorporated firm divulged any such matter:
21. prescribing fees or costs, or scales of fees or costs, to be paid to auditors, or the Law Society inspectorate or the Conveyancers Society inspectorate, or providing for the determination of the amounts of such fees or costs in such manner as may be prescribed; and providing that the Law Society inspectorate or the Conveyancers Society inspectorate may charge fees for performing any of their respective functions:
22. prescribing the circumstances (if any) in which, and the conditions subject to which, any trust account may be kept in a name other than that by which the client is usually known; and requiring trust accounts to be kept in all other circumstances in the names by which the clients are usually known:
23. requiring practitioners and related persons or entities and incorporated firms to keep registers of documents and information:
24. requiring practitioners, related persons or entities, incorporated firms, banks, and other persons to supply (either at specified times or upon request) to auditors, the Law Society inspectorate, the Conveyancers Society inspectorate, the New Zealand Law Society, or the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers such information and returns as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the regulations:
25. prescribing offences in respect of the contravention of or non-compliance with any regulations made under this section, and the amounts of the fines that may be imposed in respect of any such offences, not exceeding $25,000 in respect of any offence:
26. prescribing generally such requirements as may be necessary to ensure that trust accounts are duly kept, and that persons beneficially entitled to money and securities held by practitioners, related persons or entities, or incorporated firms on trust are informed of the money and securities held and of the investment of any such money or securities.

27. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).