The New South Wales government is issuing a call to action for residents and former residents to check if they are owed a portion of a massive $300 million pool of unclaimed money currently held by Revenue NSW.
What Constitutes Unclaimed Money?
This substantial sum is comprised of funds that have slipped through the cracks of everyday financial transactions. The pool includes money from sources such as overpayments, uncashed cheques, uncollected dividends, and various refunds. These funds typically go unclaimed when individuals move house and forget to update their details with a company, lose important paperwork, or when the estates of deceased relatives are unaware of existing accounts or owed payments.
Minister for Government Procurement, Courtney Houssos, emphasised the government's desire to reunite people with their money. "We want to make sure as much of that as possible finds its way back to families," Houssos stated.
Who is Eligible to Claim?
The opportunity is not limited to current NSW residents. Individuals living outside NSW who have previously conducted business in the state may also be eligible. In fact, there is an additional $395 million specifically allocated for people registered at interstate addresses, significantly widening the potential claimant pool.
Geographically, the Sydney city and eastern suburbs area holds the highest concentration of unclaimed money, with over $91 million waiting to be collected. Western Sydney follows with approximately $77 million, while in the regional areas, the Central Coast and Hunter have a combined $22 million in unclaimed funds.
Streamlined Claims Process
The government is implementing reforms to make the recovery process quicker and simpler. Houssos flagged legislative changes, including a proposal to reduce the time businesses can hold onto unclaimed money before transferring it to Revenue NSW from six years down to two years. "With these new reforms, we're making it faster and easier for people to get what they're owed," she explained.
To check for owed money, individuals should search their name on the dedicated Revenue NSW unclaimed money portal and lodge a claim directly. The required documentation includes:
- Two proof of identity documents (e.g., Australian driver's licence, Medicare card, birth certificate).
- One official document proving a connection to the money (e.g., an old utility bill, bank statement, or lease agreement from the relevant time).
Once a claim is submitted, Revenue NSW advises that verification can take up to 28 days to ensure the claimant is legally entitled to the funds. In the last financial year alone, the agency successfully returned more than $21 million to its rightful owners.
