What public trustees hold
Public trustees administer estates where there is no executor, manage the finances of people who cannot manage their own, and hold funds in trust for minors until they reach adulthood.
Where a beneficiary cannot be located, the money is held and, in most states, published on the public trustee's own unclaimed money list - separate from the state revenue office register.
Trust money held for a child is a common example: funds set aside from an estate or a compensation payment, still waiting years after the person turned eighteen.
Money paid into court
Courts hold money paid in as part of litigation: compensation and damages awards, settlement funds for minors, and amounts paid in as security that were never collected.
This money is administered by the court or the relevant public trustee depending on the state. It is not searchable through the national registers, so it must be checked separately.
How to search
Check the public trustee in every state and territory where the person lived or held assets - each maintains its own list and there is no combined national search.
Search under all former names and, for an estate, the deceased person's name as well as your own. Then check the state revenue office register for the same jurisdiction, as older amounts are sometimes transferred there.
Tip: Check the public trustee in every state your family has lived in - there is no single national list.
Common questions
Official sources
This guide is based on the official Australian registers and the bodies that administer them. Always search and claim through these sites directly - they are free.