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Award Funds

Award funds represent an award of damages, or compensation, for a person under a legal disability, who has had a proceeding in a Court brought for and on his or her behalf. A person for whom the Court holds funds is called a beneficiary.

A legal disability may be:

• Minority, that is, the beneficiary is under 18 years of age, in which case the funds are normally paid out to the beneficiary upon their attaining their age of majority at 18 years, or
  
• Intellectual or physical disability, in which case the funds are held until such time that the beneficiary is able to adequately prove they have the capacity to manage their own affairs. (Such funds are said to be held "until further Order".)

Management of Funds for Beneficiaries

Funds paid into Court are "pooled" in Common Funds and invested. The investment of the Common Funds is assured by their investment in Government and Semi-Government, or otherwise Trustee authorised, securities. Separate accounts in the Common Fund are held for beneficiaries, with returns accruing to their individual accounts. No direct fees are charged by the Senior Master in respect of the administration of the Funds in Court.

In order to maximise the return to "long term" beneficiaries, and protect their investments from erosion by inflation, investments are also made, where appropriate, outside the Common Funds in equities and inflation indexed annuities. All such investments by the Senior Master's Office are also governed by the requirements of the Trustee Act 1958 (Vic). The investments are made on the advice of an independent Investment Review Panel, which consists of experienced and senior investment experts.

A beneficiary or his or her representatives, such as family, can submit requests to the Court for any reasonable application for or on behalf of the beneficiary. The Senior Master currently administers funds held in Court for over one thousand beneficiaries. The Senior Master's duties prevent him from dealing with beneficiaries personally, save in exceptional circumstances, and he is assisted by the staff of the Senior Master's Office in meeting his responsibilities in respect of funds held in Court.

The Office

Given his other judicial responsibilities, the Senior Master requires assistance of staff of the Office to discharge his duties with respect to Funds in Court. The Office consists of staff with various responsibilities, some of which are as follows.

Responsible Officers

A Responsible Officer is allocated for the funds held for an individual beneficiary. It is the role of the Responsible Officer to represent the Senior Master to the beneficiary. However, it must be understood that, as is the case, the Senior Master makes any decision in respect of the funds, not the Responsible Officer, whose role is to make recommendations to the Senior Master

Responsible Officers act as the point of contact with beneficiaries, their representatives and all other interested parties. They advise and assist beneficiaries with respect to their requests for payments from their funds. Requests can be made by letter, or phone call, or the submission of quotes or invoices, depending on the nature of the requests, and their complexity. Responsible Officers guide and assist the beneficiaries in making requests. They prepare Orders and other documents for consideration by the Senior Master. They also deal with other parties, such as, Centrelink, the Ministry of Housing and the Transport Accident Commission for and on behalf of beneficiaries. Responsible Officers see to all administrative requirements to effect desired outcomes, such as payments or increased benefits, for beneficiaries. They also constantly review the financial position of beneficiaries to ensure that financial positions are maintained or, where possible, improved.

Client Liaison Officers

Client Liaison Officers travel throughout the State, and often interstate, to visit beneficiaries, to better ascertain their needs and to assist them with their dealings with the Office, and with others. They report on the availability of independent services to assist with their needs, and supervise the provision of such services. They are "the eyes and ears' of the Office. They advise other staff as to the suitability of various services available in the market, particularly with respect to special needs of beneficiaries.

Information Technology Staff and the Trust Management (Computer) System

The Senior Master's Office has developed and operates its own computer system called "the Trust Management System" for keeping of records and accounts of all funds, investments, and other assets held for and on behalf of beneficiaries. The computer system is all-encompassing so that most administrative functions of the Office are performed through or with it. Information Technology staff ensure that the Trust Management System functions efficiently at all times, that it is kept up-to-date with both software and hardware developments and that it satisfies audit, taxation, accounting, security and privacy standards, as they are revised from time to time.