The Tasmanian Government’s decision to restructure the Public Trustee and outsource parts of its operations to private companies has sparked concerns from the organisation’s board and opposition politicians.
Under the plan, large portions of the Public Trustee’s work, including commercial wills, estate and trustee services, will be transferred to private entities over the next 18 months.
The move comes despite a 2021 review by Damien Bugg KC that recommended maintaining the Public Trustee’s current structure.
Attorney-General Guy Barnett revealed the plan during budget estimates committee hearings on Monday.
“Our government is determined to ensure the Public Trustee’s services are effective and efficient for those clients who access these services, with further independent examination to be undertaken to ensure the service is best practice,” he said.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff insisted the changes aim to improve services for vulnerable Tasmanians, claiming they would “actually, in fact, improve Public Trustee services for all Tasmania.”
“The changes to Public Trustee is all about making sure vulnerable Tasmanians are looked after and get better service from the Public Trustee,” he said.
However, Public Trustee Chair Therese Taylor said the announcement had caught the board by “surprise”.
“The board remains committed to working constructively with the government to represent the interests of our clients, to help inform the transition to ensure the restructured services continue to be best practice and that all clients receive a quality, effective and efficient service,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we are committed to doing what’s right for our clients, our staff and the community.”
“We will absolutely play as constructive a role as possible as the government decides on how it will now manage these very complex, very sensitive issues.”
Opposition politicians have raised concerns about the potential impact of the move, particularly the shift towards a for-profit model.
Labor leader Dean Winter questioned how such a model could benefit vulnerable Tasmanians.
“Under questioning from Labor, Jeremy Rockliff admitted his minority government’s budget disaster has gotten so bad that he is going to sell off the Public Trustee to keep the lights on,” Winter said.
“Placing the Public Trustee into private hands will risk history repeating itself.”
