Trusts Act 2019

Trustees’ powers and indemnities - Powers of trustee - Exercise of trustee powers and functions by others

68: Trustee’s duties to keep appointments under review and to fulfil general duty of care

You could also call this:

"Trustees must check and control decisions made by others to ensure they are fair and responsible."

When you are a trustee and you give someone else the power to make decisions, you must keep an eye on how they are doing it. You need to check if the arrangements are working and think about whether you should step in if something is not right. You might need to give the person directions or change the arrangement if it is not working.

You have a general duty of care, which is explained in section 29, and this applies when you are giving someone else the power to make decisions under section 67(1). This means you must be careful and make good decisions.

This rule applies even if section 28 says something different, so you must always follow it when you are a trustee and giving someone else the power to make decisions.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7382966.

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67: Trustee’s power to appoint others to exercise or perform certain powers or functions, or

"Trustees can choose someone to help with certain trust jobs, but not all decisions."

69: Trustee’s liability for acts of appointee limited, or

"A trustee is not responsible for an appointee's mistakes unless the trustee made a mistake too."

Part 4Trustees’ powers and indemnities
Powers of trustee: Exercise of trustee powers and functions by others

68Trustee’s duties to keep appointments under review and to fulfil general duty of care

If a trustee exercises a power under section 67(1) or any comparable power in the terms of the trust, the trustee must—
keep under review the arrangements under which the appointee acts and how those arrangements are being put into effect; and
if the circumstances make it appropriate to do so, consider whether the trustee should exercise any power to intervene (for example, a power to give directions to the appointee, or to amend, revoke, or replace the appointment).

The general duty of care in section 29 applies to the exercise of a power under section 67(1).
This section applies despite section 28.