The four main causes
Moving house. Statements, cheques and notices go to the old address, mail redirection lapses after a few months, and the institution eventually marks the contact as invalid.
Changing your name. Marriage, divorce and deed poll changes leave older accounts under a name you no longer use and no longer think to search.
Changing jobs. Each new employer opens a new super account unless told otherwise, and small balances are quickly forgotten.
Death in the family. Estates are settled without anyone knowing about an old account, a share parcel or a childhood insurance policy.
Prevent it in an afternoon
Update your address with every bank, super fund, share registry and insurer whenever you move - not just the ones you use regularly.
Consolidate super into a single fund through myGov once you have checked the insurance attached to each account. Fewer accounts means fewer things to lose.
Keep one list of every financial account you hold: institution, account type and approximate value. Store it where your executor or next of kin can find it.
Use an account at least once every few years. Seven years of inactivity is what triggers a transfer to ASIC, and fees do not count as activity.
Make a yearly habit of searching
Run the free searches once a year. It takes ten minutes to check MoneySmart, the ATO super search and your state register, and money can appear on a register years after you last looked.
Search for older relatives too, with their permission - the largest unclaimed amounts tend to belong to people who have held accounts the longest.
I found a possible match, what now?
A listing is a record the authority holds, not proof the money is yours. Note the reference shown against it, check the details you recognise, then open the claim page on the official site and read what evidence it asks for before you start. You lodge the claim directly with that authority, never through this site.
What documents you may needI found nothing, what now?
A nil result usually means you searched the wrong register, the wrong spelling of a name, or too few variations of it. Try surname only, earlier surnames and each state you have lived in, then work through the troubleshooting steps before you give up.
Searched and found nothingTip: Set a yearly reminder to run the free searches - new records are added to the registers constantly.
Common questions
Official sources checked
- Researched and reviewed by
- Find Lost Money Australia
- Information last verified
- 1 August 2026
Find Lost Money Australia is an independent information service, not a government agency. Our review checks the responsible agency's current page, search location and claim instructions. Agencies can change their rules, so confirm details on the official site before you act.
Keep looking
Continue your lost-money search
Money goes missing in more than one place. These are the next things worth checking.
- Bank accounts, shares and dividendsASIC holds bank money inactive for seven years, plus unclaimed dividends and share proceeds.
- Lost superSuper from old jobs, plus balances the ATO is holding in your name.
- Your state or territory registerEach state holds unclaimed refunds, deposits and trust money from businesses in that state.
- Rental bondsBond authorities in each state hold refunds that were never collected by the tenant.
Searching is free. Every register we link to lets you search at no cost, and you can lodge a claim yourself. Be cautious of any business that asks for an upfront fee simply to search a public register on your behalf. Find Lost Money Australia is an independent information service. We are not a government agency and we do not hold or search unclaimed money databases.