This precedent is a trust deed of funds collected for dependents of persons killed in a bushfire.

As the trustee legislation now confers upon trustees a general power to invest in any form of investment and to vary investments from time to time, this clause is, strictly speaking, superfluous. The issue for settlors (and therefore drafters of trust deeds) is now, rather than broadening the scope of investment powers, to consider whether to limit the scope of this power. If a limit to certain forms of investment, or a prohibition on certain forms of investment, is deemed appropriate, any limit must be expressly and clearly stated in the trust deed.

Charity structures

There are four main options available for structuring a vehicle to achieve charitable purposes. They are:

·                trust deed;

·                incorporation under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);

·                incorporation under associations incorporation legislation; and

·                application for a Royal Charter.

This precedent has been authored for LexisNexis by Phillip Burgess, Associate Professor of Law, University of New South Wales and F Maxwell Bradshaw and updated by GE Dal Pont, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Tasmania.