Key takeaways
- Institutions are required to hand dormant balances to a government body, not keep them.
- There is no deadline: money from the 1990s is still claimable today.
- Every official search is free, and you claim directly through the register.
The system is designed to hold money, not return it
When a bank account sits untouched for seven years, the bank cannot simply keep the balance. Under the Banking Act it must transfer the money to ASIC, which lists it on a public register. Share registries do the same with dividends they cannot deliver. State revenue offices do the same with unclaimed refunds, deposits and proceeds held by businesses operating in their state.
That transfer protects your money - it is held indefinitely and cannot be absorbed by the institution. What it does not do is find you. No agency writes to your new address, because the whole reason the money was transferred is that nobody had a current address for you.
The four life events that create unclaimed money
- 1Moving house. Statements stop arriving, an account goes quiet, and seven years later the balance is transferred out.
- 2Changing your name. Marriage, divorce or anglicising a name means the register holds money under a name you no longer use.
- 3Changing jobs. Each new employer can open a new super account. A short casual job can leave a balance you never think about again.
- 4A death in the family. Estates are frequently finalised before anyone searches the registers, leaving money in the deceased person's name.
Where the money actually ends up
| Type of money | Who holds it | Where to search |
|---|---|---|
| Inactive bank accounts, shares, life insurance | ASIC | MoneySmart unclaimed money register |
| Lost and ATO-held superannuation | ATO | myGov linked to the ATO |
| Unpaid wages and entitlements | Fair Work Ombudsman | Fair Work unclaimed wages |
| Money from bankruptcies | AFSA | AFSA unclaimed monies |
| Refunds, deposits, proceeds held by businesses | Your state revenue office | State unclaimed money register |
| Rental bonds | State bond authority | State bond authority register |
There is no single national register that covers all six. That is the practical reason money stays lost: people search one place, see nothing, and reasonably conclude they have nothing waiting. A complete search means checking each register that applies to your history, including every state you have lived in.
Why it is worth an hour of your time
Most balances are modest - a few hundred dollars in a closed account, a forgotten bond, a final pay run. But superannuation is different. A single forgotten account from an early job, left invested for twenty years, is frequently worth several thousand dollars by the time its owner finds it.
The money is never forfeited. It waits, indefinitely, until somebody claims it.
Doing the search properly
- 1Write down every name you have used and every suburb you have lived in.
- 2Search ASIC's MoneySmart register by surname alone before narrowing it.
- 3Log in to myGov and check the ATO's super section for lost and held accounts.
- 4Search the unclaimed money register of every state you have lived in - not just your current one.
- 5Repeat the whole process for parents or grandparents if you may be entitled to their estate.
Ready to search?
Start with your state or territory - every register we link to is official and free to use.
Start your search