The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has advised that monthly trust account certificates should still be submitted online where possible.

The Law Society has contacted all trust account supervisors with information on the process around the coming deadline.

"With the end of month approaching, many practitioners will be questioning whether they will still need to submit their monthly trust account certificate," Law Society Chief Executive Helen Morgan-Banda says.

"We appreciate that these are very difficult times and there are issues around access and availability of information, but the March monthly certificate should still be submitted online where possible. The March monthly and quarterly certificate is due on 16 April.

"We quite understand that the normal procedures undertaken in the monthly reconciliation of your trust account may be limited. If you are unable to reconcile your trust account or are doing so in a limited capacity please note that on your certificate. This will give us visibility and allow us to assist where possible. "

Ms Morgan-Banda says several trust account software systems also allow remote access so the Law Society suggests contacting the supplier of these to see if that is possible.

"Ensuring your trust account remains reconciled and continues without issues is an important part of your business continuity planning," she says.