Are

you

missing

out

on

part

of

the

$25bn

in

lost

funds

This week I chatting with a client about an old business they had and they were not sure if they closed down all of their accounts properly. So we decided to have a look at the state and federal government lost money registers.

We first started with ASIC's Moneysmart and found a business bank account balance of $500 that had been sent from the bank to ASIC because our client didn't close the account and the bank lost contact.

We then searched the NSW revenue lost money register and found a further $150 which was an unpaid dividend for an investment the company held.
So it pays to occasionally look and see if you have any lost money. Here is a summary of where you can look and what you can find:

Federal

The federal government holds three main types of lost money. ASIC holds money that banks, life insurers and companies couldn’t return to their owners, such as bank accounts left untouched for seven years (if the balance was over $500), matured life insurance policies, and money from shares and takeovers. The ATO looks after lost and unclaimed super. Services Australia holds Medicare refunds it can’t pay because it doesn’t have the person’s bank details.

ASIC Moneysmart (~$2.7bn)
https://moneysmart.gov.au/find-unclaimed-money

ATO (lost super, $21bn+; search through myGov)
https://www.ato.gov.au/media-centre/21-billion-dollars-in-lost-super-find-yours

Medicare (~$270m)
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/getmedicarebenefits

State and territory

The states hold most of the rest: uncashed cheques, overpayments and refunds, wages, deceased estates, rental bonds, unclaimed lottery and TAB prizes, and, importantly for shareholders, unpaid dividends. Which state holds money from a company often depends on where the company was based, not where you live, so check them all.

NSW, Revenue NSW (~$300m)
https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/unclaimed-money/return-unclaimed-money

VIC, State Revenue Office ($109m+)
https://sro.vic.gov.au/unclaimedmoneysearch

QLD, Public Trustee ($180m+)
https://www.pt.qld.gov.au/other-services/unclaimed-money/about-unclaimed-money

WA, Department of Treasury ($170m+)
https://wa.gov.au/service/business-support/business-accounting-and-reporting/unclaimed-money

SA, Department of Treasury and Finance
https://www.treasury.sa.gov.au/Our-services/unclaimed-money/search-for-unclaimed-money

TAS, Department of Treasury and Finance
https://www.treasury.tas.gov.au/budget-and-financial-management/guidelines-instructions-and-legislation/unclaimed-money

ACT, ACT Treasury / Public Trustee and Guardian
https://www.treasury.act.gov.au/unclaimedmoneys

NT, Territory Revenue Office
https://treasury.nt.gov.au/dtf/territory-revenue-office/unclaimed-money

All searches are free.