In the case of any trust estate administered by a trustee corporation, a solicitor or accountant authorised in writing by a beneficiary shall be entitled as of right to examine at any reasonable time the accounts of that estate, and for that purpose shall have access to the trustee corporation’s books and vouchers (but not the file) relating to that estate, and to the securities and documents of title held by the trustee corporation on account of that estate.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations made under this Act, and unless the Court otherwise orders, the condition and accounts of any trust estate (being an estate which is not being administered by a trustee corporation) shall, on an application being made and notice thereof being given in the prescribed manner by or on behalf of any trustee or beneficiary in that estate, be investigated and audited by such solicitor or such member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants as may be agreed on between the applicant trustee and his co-trustees and the Public Trustee, or between the applicant beneficiary and the trustees and the Public Trustee, as the case may be, or, in default of any such agreement, by a solicitor or a member of the New Zealand Society of Accountants appointed by the Public Trustee:

“Provided that—

The person making the investigation or audit (in this section called “the auditor”) shall have a right of access to the books, accounts, and vouchers of the trustees, and to any securities and documents of title held by them on account of the estate, and may require from them such information and explanations as may be necessary for the performance of his duties.

Upon the completion of the investigation and audit, the auditor shall forward to the applicant, and to every trustee, and to the Public Trustee, a copy of the accounts of the estate, together with a report thereon, and a certificate signed by him to the effect that the accounts correctly show the state of the affairs of the estate, and that he has had the securities of the trust fund investments (if any) produced to and verified by him, or (as the case may be) that such accounts are deficient in such respects as may be specified in that certificate.

Every beneficiary shall, subject to the provisions of any regulations made under this section, be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect and take copies of the accounts, report, and certificate, and, at his own expense, to be furnished with copies thereof or extracts therefrom.

The auditor may be removed by order of the Court; and if any auditor is removed, or resigns, or dies, or becomes bankrupt or incapable of acting before the investigation and audit are completed, a new auditor may be appointed in his place in like manner as the original auditor was appointed.

The remuneration of the auditor and the other expenses of the investigation and audit (including the Public Trustee’s charges) shall be such as may be prescribed by regulations under this section or (in the absence of any such prescription) as may be determined by the Court, and shall, unless the Court otherwise orders, be borne by the estate; and, in the event of the Court so ordering, such expenses shall be borne by the trustees personally or any of them, or by the applicant, or be apportioned between them or any of them, or between them and any of them and the estate, in such proportions as the Court thinks just.

If any person having the custody of any books, accounts, vouchers, securities, or documents to which the auditor has a right of access under this section fails or refuses to allow him to have access thereto, or in anywise obstructs the investigation or audit, the auditor may apply to the Court, and thereupon the Court shall make such order as it thinks just.

Subject to any rules of Court, applications under or for the purposes of this section to the Court shall be made to a Judge in Chambers.

If any person in any statement of accounts, report, or certificate required for the purposes of this section wilfully makes a statement that is false in any material particular, he shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, and in either case to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds instead of or in addition to that imprisonment.

The Public Trustee shall not be liable for any expenses or costs under this section.

All expenses and costs for which the estate is liable under this section shall be a charge on the assets of the estate, and that charge may be enforced in such manner as the Court directs.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for specifying the procedure and regulating the remuneration, expenses, charges, and other matters in regard to the investigation and audit of trust estates. All regulations that have been made under the Public Trust Office Act 1908 for the purposes of section eleven of the Public Trust Office Amendment Act 1913 and are in force at the commencement of this section shall continue and have effect as if they had been made under this subsection and as if this subsection had been in force when they were made.

All regulations made under this section shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the date of the making thereof if Parliament is then in session and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within twenty-eight days after the date of the commencement of the next ensuing session.”