In practice

How safe is your safe custody?

5 June 2026

It is understandable that, of late, most practitioners are focusing heavily on cyber security when it comes to client information. However, it is important to keep in mind that documents held on behalf of clients in safe custody must also be effectively secured.

Most of the documents held on behalf of clients contain information which is confidential and often sensitive; those documents must be secured in such a fashion that they are safe from theft or damage.

It is very important that practitioners understand that they are responsible for any documents held on behalf of the client, and for keeping the information in them confidential. Just as information held on-line has value to cyber criminals, documents held in hard copy have value to criminals who can access them physically.

Although neither the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2023 nor the Legal Profession Act 2007 mandate any criteria for adequate safe custody, it is clear that simply holding safe custody packets in a standard filing cabinet with a simple lock is unlikely to be enough.

There have been instances of break-ins at law firms where the perpetrators have targeted filing cabinets clearly seeking sensitive information, and the onus is on practitioners to ensure those documents are secured appropriately.

Best practice usually involves storing safe custody in an actual safe, or a lockable storeroom, and more detailed guidance can be found here.

Practitioners should also note that safe custody items should, to the extent possible, be held in a way that protects them from destruction. Securing documents in fire-rated safes, and above known flood levels, is highly recommended.

The office of a law firm is a gold mine for criminals, and not just for the contents of safe custody packets.

Laptops, phones and even back-up hard drives have been targeted in the past; having such things well-secured and out of sight (and carefully restricting the access members of the public and clients have to the premises) is imperative.