From 1 January 2022 the NSW Trustee & Guardian (NSWTAG) increased investment fees for directly managed clients.
This was no surprise to those who had expressed concerned in 2016 when the NSW government had lowered fees to an unsustainably low level.
We knew in 2016 that this would likely mean that personal injury clients without capacity to manage their own settlement funds would end up undercompensated once fees inevitably increased (as they now have).
The lower NSWTAG fees over the last 6 years have also made it difficult for plaintiffs to recover adequate damages for funds management - public and private.
The injured people of NSW without the capacity to manage funds have effectively been subsidising the insurers of those who have been found to have caused the injuries and damage.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance has written to the NSW Attorney General seeking relief - at least for those being directly managed by the NSWTAG whose personal injury claims resolved between 2016 and the start of 2022.
Going forward, the higher NSWTAG fees will need to be factored into plaintiff claims for funds management - better enabling plaintiffs who prefer private management to recover adequate damages for funds management.
A small shift towards private management for seriously injured plaintiffs should help take away some of the the growing pressure on the NSWTAG to cope with otherwise the steadily growing demand for their services for some of the state’s most vulnerable people.