Senior Trust Accountant

Job Description – Trust Accountant

Location: St Leonards / Hybrid flexibility Employment Type: Full-time Business: Real+ Reports To: Outsourced Team Leader / Head of Operations Direct Reports: Nil Liaises With: Clients, Property Managers, Principals, internal team members and third-party stakeholders

Ready to use your trust accounting experience in a broader way?

You know trust accounting. The detail, the deadlines, the compliance, the pressure and the importance of getting things right.

Real+ is looking for a Senior Trust Accountant who brings accuracy, ownership and practical real estate experience to a client-facing outsourced services role.

This is not a standard in-office agency trust accounting position. You will support multiple real estate businesses, work across different systems and procedures, help clients keep their trust accounting processes on track, and play an important role in the delivery of Real+ Outsourced Services.

This role will suit someone who enjoys structure, takes pride in accuracy, communicates clearly and can stay calm when things need to be resolved quickly.

About Real+ and why this role matters

Real+ is an established professional services, training and support business working with real estate businesses and property management teams across Australia.

We deliver education, consulting, outsourced support, membership, webinars, events and practical business solutions that help real estate teams operate better, lead better and grow stronger.

Our Outsourced Services division supports agencies with important back-office and trust accounting functions. The quality, accuracy and reliability of this work directly impacts our clients, their teams, their landlords, their tenants and their business confidence.

As a Senior Trust Accountant, you will help ensure our clients receive accurate, timely and professional trust accounting support. You will also assist with troubleshooting, process improvement and client communication where required.

In simple terms, you help keep the wheels turning properly.

About the role

The Senior Trust Accountant is responsible for delivering accurate and timely trust accounting services across multiple third-party real estate agency clients.

The role includes daily receipting, banking, reconciliations, invoice processing, creditor and supplier disbursements, mid-month and end-of-month processes, reporting, bond-related tasks where included in scope, and client support.

You will work across trust accounting platforms such as Property Tree, PropertyMe and other real estate systems, following documented client procedures and Real+ service standards.

This role requires strong attention to detail, excellent communication, sound judgement and the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple clients.

Key Competencies

1. Trust Accounting Accuracy & Compliance

This is the foundation of the role.

The person needs to consistently process receipting, banking, reconciliations, disbursements, bonds and reporting accurately, while following client procedures and trust accounting requirements.

What good looks like:

• High attention to detail
• Accurate receipting and reconciliations
• Strong understanding of trust accounting processes
• Follows documented procedures
• Identifies errors or risks early
• Maintains confidence and care around compliance-sensitive work

2. Client Service & Communication

Because this is an outsourced role, they are not just “doing accounts.” They are representing Real+ to multiple clients.

They need to communicate clearly, respond professionally and help clients feel supported, even when the issue is technical, urgent or frustrating.

What good looks like:

• Responds to client enquiries within agreed timeframes
• Explains issues clearly and calmly
• Builds trust with Property Managers, Principals and client teams
• Knows when to answer, investigate or escalate
• Provides practical guidance without overstepping
• Protects the Real+ client experience

3. Systems, Process & Multi-Client Workflow Management

This role needs someone who can work across multiple clients, systems and procedures without things falling through the cracks.

It is not enough to be good at one agency’s way of doing things. They need to stay organised across different client scopes, platforms, deadlines and service expectations.

What good looks like:

• Confident using Property Tree, PropertyMe and similar platforms
• Manages multiple client accounts and priorities
• Follows client-specific procedures
• Keeps work moving to deadline
• Spots process gaps or scope creep
• Maintains clean records, notes and handover points

4. Problem Solving, Judgement & Escalation

Senior Trust Accountants will inevitably deal with messy transactions, misallocated payments, unclear client instructions, system changes, reporting issues or urgent requests.

The competency here is not just solving everything alone. It is knowing how to assess the issue, take practical action, and escalate at the right time.

What good looks like:

• Troubleshoots transaction and reporting issues
• Stays calm under pressure
• Uses sound judgement
• Supports junior team members with problem solving
• Escalates risks early
• Provides solutions, not just problems

Key responsibilities

Trust Accounting Service Delivery

In this role, you will:

• Provide trust accounting services to multiple third-party real estate agency clients
• Follow client-specific documented procedures and agreed service scopes
• Download and process rental banking daily across assigned client accounts
• Accurately receipt rental payments in line with client instructions
• Complete daily banking reconciliations within agreed timeframes
• Process creditor, supplier and landlord disbursements in line with client schedules
• Complete mid-month and end-of-month payment processes
• Prepare and distribute end-of-month reports
• Complete non-standard reporting where required, such as WA bond reports or client-specific reporting
• Complete daily, weekly, monthly and annual portfolio reporting as required

Invoicing, Bonds and Transactions

You will also:

• Ensure invoices and supporting files are entered correctly into the relevant trust accounting system
• Coordinate with junior team members, clients and internal stakeholders to ensure invoices are processed within agreed timeframes
• Assist with creditor disbursements, outstanding disbursements, overdue expenses and tenant-related payment enquiries
• Where bonds are included within the client service scope, support prompt lodgement and release of bonds in line with client procedures
• Identify and resolve transaction issues such as misallocated receipts, incorrect coding or process gaps

Client Support and Communication

You will:

• Respond to client enquiries in a timely, professional and helpful manner
• Provide practical support and guidance to clients where account-related questions arise
• Communicate clearly with Property Managers, Principals and client team members
• Escalate complex, sensitive or out-of-scope matters to the Team Leader or Head of Operations
• Support a high standard of client service and customer experience
• Assist clients where new processes or systems are introduced, such as changes to invoice platforms, communication tools or workflow processes

Team Support and Operational Improvement

You will:

• Support junior team members with troubleshooting and problem solving
• Share knowledge and assist with process clarification where required
• Provide feedback to the Team Leader where service levels may be compromised
• Identify scope creep where clients request additional services outside agreed procedures
• Help ensure client work is completed accurately, consistently and within agreed timelines
• Contribute to continuous improvement across Outsourced Services processes and client delivery

What we’re looking for

For this role, strong trust accounting knowledge and real estate industry experience are highly valued.

We are looking for someone who is:

• Experienced in real estate trust accounting, property management administration or agency operations
• Confident working across multiple client accounts, systems and procedures
• Highly accurate, organised and detail-focused
• Calm under pressure and able to manage competing deadlines
• Clear and professional in written and verbal communication
• Comfortable troubleshooting trust accounting or transaction issues
• Client-focused and able to provide helpful, practical support
• Systems-driven and willing to follow documented processes
• Proactive, accountable and comfortable taking ownership
• Collaborative and willing to support the broader team

Skills and attributes

The successful person will bring:

• A positive, can-do attitude
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills
• A calm, considered and solutions-focused approach
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Good judgement and the confidence to escalate when required
• Resilience when working through problems or pressure points
• Strong IT and computer skills
• A genuine commitment to client service and team success

Knowledge and experience

Highly regarded knowledge and experience includes:

• Trust accounting within a real estate agency environment
• Residential property management processes
• Residential Tenancies legislation
• Fair Trading and relevant industry obligations
• Microsoft Office suite
• Property Tree
• PropertyMe
• Re-Leased
• Rex
• Agentbox
• Console Cloud
• Zenu
• Other real estate or trust accounting platforms

Education and certification

Desirable qualifications include:

• Certificate of Registration or Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice
• Previous experience in real estate agency trust accounting, property management, accounts or administration support

Measures of success

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Accurate receipting of rents in accordance with client instructions
• Daily banking reconciliations completed within agreed timeframes
• Client enquiries responded to on the same day, or within 24 hours where received after 3pm
• Client invoices processed within agreed service standards
• Mid-month and end-of-month processes completed accurately and on time
• Client reports delivered correctly and within agreed timeframes
• Scope issues, risks or client process concerns escalated early
• Positive feedback from clients, team members and leaders
• Consistent adherence to Real+ systems, procedures and service standards

You’ll love this role if you…

You enjoy trust accounting and take pride in getting the detail right.

You like structure, process and clear expectations, but you are also comfortable solving problems when something does not quite line up.

You are confident working across multiple clients and systems, and you understand that accuracy and communication are both critical to good service.

You enjoy being part of a team, supporting others and helping clients feel calm, confident and looked after.

You want to use your real estate and trust accounting experience in a role where your work has real impact across multiple businesses, not just one agency.