As the new year begins, almost $300 million is sitting in the state’s unclaimed money pool – and the NSW government says it would like the cash to be returned to its rightful owners.
Unclaimed money is money that you are legally entitled to, but where a business hasn’t been able to find you.
Money typically becomes unclaimed when people forget to update their name or contact details with businesses, have lost paperwork, or when estates are unaware of funds belonging to deceased relatives.
The unclaimed money register, managed by Revenue NSW, includes funds from overpayments, uncashed cheques, dividends, refunds, and other amounts owed to individuals.
Sydney’s city and Eastern Suburbs have the highest amount of unclaimed money, with more than $91 million waiting to be claimed. The next largest is Western Sydney with $76 million. Outside of Sydney, the highest is Central Coast and the Hunter, with $22 million.
There is almost $5 million available to be claimed in the Richmond/Tweed area.
In total, more than 800,000 items of unclaimed money – ranging from a few dollars to millions of dollars – is sitting with Revenue NSW and registered to a NSW address.
Revenue NSW holds an additional $394 million in money for people registered at addresses outside NSW.
Unclaimed buckeroos
To find out if you have any unclaimed money, you can search the Revenue NSW website at www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/unclaimed-money. If you have any money owing, you fill in a form and provide your ID and your connection to the money. Claims are typically verified and processed by Revenue NSW within a month.
Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, Courtney Houssos, said, ‘Almost $300 million is sitting unclaimed, and we want to make sure as much of that as possible finds its way back to families.
‘Last financial year, Revenue NSW returned more than $21 million to its rightful owners. With these new reforms, we’re making it faster and easier for people to get what they’re owed.
‘While Revenue NSW regularly contacts potential owners, incomplete data means people are sometimes missed. That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to check online – you might be surprised with what you find.’
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