The State Government has returned more than $21.8 million in unclaimed money to families, households and businesses this financial year, setting a new record.
Revenue NSW holds payments, refunds, unpresented cheques, dividends and other money that organisations can’t track down as unclaimed money.
There are several examples of money owed including:
● Refunds and overpayments from a purchase
● Sale of property, goods, or services
● Deposits and premiums
● Principal and interest
● Share dividends
● Cheques that have not been cashed or deposited
● Trust account funds
● Commissions
● Creditors
● Expenses
● Royalties
● Debentures
● Bonds
● Convertible notes
● NSW Public Sector superannuation
Typically, unclaimed money is referred to Revenue NSW when someone has moved address, changed their name, lost the relevant paperwork, changed banks or a relative has passed away.
Revenue NSW is holding more than $234 million for people in NSW to be returned to its rightful owners.
The top areas where money is unclaimed in regional NSW are Newcastle and Lake Macquarie ($7.4 million) and the Illawarra ($5.8 million).
A further $343 million in unclaimed money is available to claim for people who live outside NSW or for whom there are no available details.
The average amount of unclaimed money owed on the register is $391.
Revenue NSW proactively contacts individuals to reunite them with their unclaimed money. Over the last year, Revenue NSW sent 11,619 letters to individuals with unclaimed money worth around $8 million. A quarter of that funding – $2 million – was ultimately returned.
Searching the unclaimed money register is easy and free. Individuals who then want to get back their unclaimed money will need to check they have the right supporting documents to support their claim. Revenue NSW then sends their funds within 28 days.
For more information on unclaimed money and to search the register, visit here.
The information for this report was provided by the NSW Government.
