Deregistered company bank accounts
A bank account identified as being held in the name of a deregistered company should be immediately frozen by the bank. ob体育 recommends banks have systems in place to ensure proactive monitoring of the account holder鈥檚 registration status.
Please note that on this page "bank" includes credit unions, building societies and other authorised deposit-taking institutions.
Bank accounts with a credit balance
Any funds in a deregistered company's bank account which belong to the deregistered company vest in ob体育. If an account registered in the name of a deregistered company is identified it should be immediately frozen.
ob体育 recommends banks contact their client, advising them the company's account is frozen, and providing them with a reasonable opportunity (up to 60 days) to reinstate the company. If the company remains deregistered the account should be closed and those funds determined by the bank to be company funds should be sent to ob体育's Unclaimed Monies Unit (Part 9.7 Corporations Act 2001).
Information on how to lodge money can be found here . Follow the links to s601AD(2) [if the company was not acting as a trustee] or s601AD(1A) [if the company was acting as a trustee of a trust].
Funds sent to ob体育 on behalf of a deregistered company will be searchable on ob体育's . Any party wishing to claim should go to for more information.
Bank accounts with a debit balance (i.e. overdrawn transaction accounts)
If an account registered in the name of a deregistered company with a debit balance is identified it should be immediately closed or frozen pending closure whilst the ADI undertakes relevant inquiries or exercises its rights in relation to a debt.
If the bank is a secured creditor of the company ob体育 has no objection to them enforcing their security to recover the outstanding debt. Alternatively, if the bank does not have security they will need to reinstate the company to recover any outstanding debt.
Bank accounts with a nil balance
Even if a deregistered company bank account has a nil balance, it should be closed as soon as it is identified to prevent further transactions on the account.
Bank accounts held as trustee of a trust
Where a deregistered company held a bank account as trustee of a trust ob体育 has no objection to the bank account being transferred to the new trustee where the bank is satisfied of the new trustee's appointment.
This is only a general guide as to ob体育's approach to the property and rights that pass to ob体育 and the Commonwealth on deregistration of a company. This document does not represent legal advice and should not be interpreted as such. Each application or enquiry will be considered on its facts and decided on its individual merits, based on all the information available to ob体育 at the time. We encourage you to seek your own professional advice to find out how the law applying to deregistered companies affects your individual circumstances.