Unclaimed money
There鈥檚 around $2.3 billion of lost money to be claimed from bank accounts, shares, investments and life insurance policies. We explain how it becomes unclaimed and how to find out if you have lost money.
- Why does ob体育 hold unclaimed money?
- How do you find unclaimed money?
- Other places to search for lost money
Why does ob体育 hold unclaimed money?
The 鈥榰nclaimed money鈥� which ob体育 administers is money in bank accounts and life insurance policies which has not been touched or claimed for a certain amount of time.
This can happen when people change address or go overseas and forget to update their details with a financial institution or company. Or people may be unaware there is money to which they have a rightful claim.
Bank accounts become unclaimed after 7 years if the account is inactive. Life insurance policies become unclaimed 7 years after the policy matures and is not claimed. Find out more about unclaimed money laws.
Unclaimed money received by ob体育 is transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia Consolidated Revenue Fund. ob体育 maintains and publishes a database of which helps people find and claim their lost money. The rightful owner can claim their money at any time 鈥� there is no time limit.
Interest is payable to the claimant on the unclaimed money held by ob体育 since 1 July 2013. Find out how .
How do you find unclaimed money?
Finding unclaimed money is easy. Simply use the on ob体育鈥檚 Moneysmart website. If the name you are searching for has unclaimed money, you will see the details of how to make a claim.
If a private money search company approaches you to find money for you for a fee, remember that you can search unclaimed money for free on the Moneysmart website.
Other places to search for lost money
There are other processes for tracking and claiming lost superannuation, money held by state governments, and unpaid wages on these government websites:
- 鈥� Find lost superannuation by registering for the Australian Taxation Office's online services on myGov.
- 鈥� Find lost money from deceased estates, lost share dividends, salaries and wages, cheques, over-payments, proceeds of sale and more.
- - Check your bank account details are up to date to make sure you're getting the Medicare benefits you're entitled to.
Related links
- To find out more about how ob体育 serves you, read more about ob体育鈥檚 service charter.
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