Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) An Australian legal practitioner is guilty of an offence if the practitioner causes:
(a) a deficiency in any trust account or trust ledger account; or
(b) a failure to pay or deliver any trust money.
Maximum penalty: 500 penalty units.
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) if the practitioner has a reasonable excuse.
(3) In this section:
"account", in relation to an Australian legal practitioner, includes an account of the practitioner or of the law practice of which the practitioner is an associate.
"cause" includes be responsible for.
"deficiency" in a trust account or trust ledger account includes the non-inclusion or exclusion of the whole or any part of an amount that is required to be included in the account.