In these ISO times it’s important to find have access to all your funds. Even those that may have fallen down the crack in the couch! (so to speak) There are billions of dollars of unclaimed and lost money held in trust in Australia.
So like a lot of people in ISO during the Covid 19 pandemic I’ve been looking laterally on a few things. Maybe it’s a result of a little bit more time as things slowed down. One of those things for me was searching for any “Government Lost Money”!
What is Government Lost Money?
So “Government Lost Money” is unclaimed or lost funds that are held by the Federal and State Governments from various sources like superannuation, lotteries, wills, tax, shares, businesses, councils, utility bills, over payments, dividends, un-presented cheques etc. In some States it could even be an unclaimed raffle prize. Looking for it can be a bit like a Treasure Hunt!
Looking and searching for unclaimed funds, reminds me of my younger days fossicking for gold and coins with my father. Sometimes there’s a fair bit of preparation and activity to get nothing and other times you just stumble on El Dorado!
In just doing some simple broad searches using the Australian and State Government Search functions I’ve been able to identify a fair few items that looks promising for some friends and family etc. Some of the examples of unclaimed items even have the people at the exact address they currently reside. Others may have moved and hence a refund cheque only got returned to sender and eventually is sent to the government Trusts.
Most of the unclaimed funds we have identified are smaller amounts and not a massive goldmine. But like an old fossicker, where there’s a little bit of colour, there could be more. Importantly, it’s your money!
It doesn’t cost you anything to search for your funds. Nor does it cost anything to apply for YOUR funds. In our experience it’s just a bit of time and some correlating documents.
We’ve identified potential claims in Vic, WA, Qld, NSW, and Federally for friends and family. We’ve worked out a few ways to search quickly. Some State website search tools are better than others. Some States records are better than others.
Where to look for Unclaimed Lost Money.
One spot to look is the Victorian State Revenue Office.
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/unclaimedmoneysearch
To collect in Victoria, just follow the State Revenue Office instructions .
https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/unclaimed-money/apply-your-unclaimed-money
Then Federally Unclaimed Funds. are administered by ASIC and can be searched for at their Money Smart site.
https://moneysmart.gov.au/find-unclaimed-money
Your “Lost Money” is worth searching for and investigating. Certainly let me know if I can help further and who knows it could be Big Days Indeed!