Before you start, have these ready
- Every surname you have used, including maiden and previous married names
- Addresses you lived at when the account or shareholding was active
- Any old statements, passbooks, share certificates or a holder identification number (HIN/SRN)
- Photo ID and proof of your current address for the claim stage
Where the money ends up
Banks, credit unions and building societies transfer inactive account balances to ASIC under the Banking Act. Share registries transfer undelivered dividends, share sale proceeds and unclaimed capital returns under the Corporations Act.
ASIC publishes all of it in a single searchable register on the MoneySmart website. Searching is free, and ASIC does not set a claim deadline: money from the 1990s is still sitting there.
How to search properly
Search your surname on its own first. The register matches on name, so a narrow search with initials and middle names will miss records entered differently by the institution.
Then repeat the search with every name you have ever used: maiden names, married names, anglicised names, and common misspellings. Also search the names of parents or grandparents whose estates you may be entitled to.
Results show the amount, the institution that transferred it and a record number. Match the entry to yourself using the last known address shown against the record.
Making a claim
Claims are lodged with the institution that originally held the money - the bank or the share registry - not with ASIC. The register tells you which one to contact.
You will generally need photo identification, proof of your current address, and something linking you to the account: an old statement, a passbook, a share certificate or a holder identification number.
There is no fee at any stage. Interest is payable on bank money transferred to ASIC after 2013.
Step by step
- 1
Open the MoneySmart unclaimed money search and enter your surname only. Do not add initials yet.
- 2
Scan the results for your first name or initials and, most importantly, an address you once lived at. The address is how you match a record to yourself.
- 3
Repeat the search with each previous surname, then with likely misspellings.
- 4
Note the record number, the amount and the institution shown against any match.
- 5
Contact that institution (the bank or the share registry), not ASIC, and ask for its unclaimed money claim form.
- 6
Lodge the form with your ID, proof of address and anything linking you to the account. Keep a copy.
- 7
Wait for the institution to verify the claim. Processing times vary; the institution can tell you what to expect.
Example: an account from a first job
Someone opened a savings account at 16 with a small balance, moved interstate at 20 and forgot it. The bank kept sending statements to the old address until the account had been inactive for seven years, then transferred the balance to ASIC. Searching their surname on MoneySmart years later shows a record under their initial and surname at their parents' old address. They contact the bank named in the record, provide ID and the old address, and the bank pays the balance plus the interest accrued since transfer.
Common mistakes
- Searching your full name first. Records were entered by the institution, often as an initial and surname, so narrow searches miss them.
- Stopping after one surname. A maiden-name account looks exactly like no account at all.
- Contacting ASIC to claim. ASIC runs the register but the original institution processes the claim.
- Paying a third party to lodge the claim. The institution's process is free and you can do it yourself.
- Assuming a recently dormant account is on the register. It takes seven years of inactivity before a bank transfers a balance.
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: Have old statements or share certificates handy - they speed up identity checks considerably.
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.
- Lost superSuper from old jobs, plus balances the ATO is holding in your name.
- Life insurance and friendly societiesUnpaid policies and super death benefits that were never claimed by a beneficiary.
- Your state or territory registerEach state holds unclaimed refunds, deposits and trust money from businesses in that state.
- Every official registerEvery official register we have verified, filterable by state and type of money.
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.