If you appointing a new company or individual to act as the trustee for a family trust, you will need a Deed of Substitution of Trustee. This is also known as a Deed of Appointment and Retirement of Trustee.
This document formally records the change of the trustee role from an old trustee to a new trustee. The assets of the trust can then be transferred, accordingly, to the new trustee without losing their character as trust assets.
Unless you have a proper substitution deed in place, the new entity (purported trustee) will not be properly appointed as the trustee and a transfer of the assets to the new entity may be regarded as a breach of trust.
When you go to change bank accounts or property title deeds for the trust assets, you will be expected to present a Deed of Substitution of Trustee to your bank and government authorities such as the land titles office and state revenue office in your state or territory of Australia. This may be required to evidence that the new trustee has the power to manage the trust.
