[1] The site of the Perpetual Trustee Company building was part of a town grant made to William Henry Roberts on 4 July 1837.

The property changed hands numerous times and was subdivided into two lots in 1881 before the Perpetual Trustee Company Limited gained freehold possession of the subdivision on the corner of Hunter and Castlreagh Streets in June 1913.

Previous owners included Elizabeth Catherine Countess of Carnarvon, the Right Honorable Henry John Earl of Dill and Edward Stafford Howard, all of England, in the 1880s.

The intent of the company in purchasing the site was the erection of a new office building to house their own operations together with additional space for leasing.

The shaft's plain appearance is modulated by the presence of a string course at the Level 2 ceiling height and flanking the east and west bays of smooth faced rusticated stonework.

The Perpetual Trustee Company Building is of state significance by virtue of its historic, social, architectural, aesthetic and scientific values.

It embodies Edwardian architectural and construction techniques with respect to multi-storey office buildings and has the ability to inform research in this area.

Perpetual Trustee Company was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

The Perpetual Trustee Company is significant because, when first established in 1888 it was a new type of commercial venture, one which sought to identify a growing community need for an agency to professionally manage deceased estates.

[1] The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The Perpetual Trustee Company Building is a fine example of Edwardian Office Architecture and major work by the respected and long established firm of Sydney architects, Robertson and Marks.

It is aesthetically significant for its confident classical elevation treatment to Hunter Street, including the rare use of sculptured pediments by the award-winning sculptor J. C. Wright.

The listing of the building itself is a result of community appreciation of its ability to demonstrate a particular phase of the development of Hunter Street and its inherent aesthetic qualities.[1][3]: 87.

The building has the ability to inform understanding of pre-World War I use of masonry (sandstone and brickwork) as cladding/faing to a proprietary "fire proof" concrete frame structure.