How We Research
Where our information
comes from.
Find Lost Money Australia only has value if what it says is accurate. This page sets out the method behind every guide, register page and figure on the site, so you can judge it for yourself.
1. Start at the authority that actually holds the money
Before anything is written about a register, we open the website of the body that holds the money. For bank accounts, shares and life insurance that is ASIC. For super it is the ATO. For recovered wages it is the Fair Work Ombudsman. For state unclaimed money it is that state's revenue office or public trustee, and for rental bonds it is that state's bond authority.
Where two bodies describe the same process differently, the one holding the money wins. A summary on a general government portal does not override the instruction on the claim page itself.
2. Read the claim page, not just the landing page
Most errors on money websites come from reading an overview page and assuming the detail. We open the actual search tool and the actual claim form instructions, because that is where waiting periods, evidence requirements, thresholds and exceptions live.
When an authority publishes a claim guideline document, we read that document rather than paraphrasing a news article about it.
3. Write it in plain English, then link back
We do not copy government text. We write our own summary aimed at someone who has never done this before, then link to the source so you can confirm it in one click.
Every outbound search or claim link is labelled with the agency name, so you always know when you are leaving this site for an official service.
4. Every figure carries a source and a date
We only publish a dollar figure, a record count or a timeframe if the responsible authority published it. The source and the date the source carries are printed next to the number.
If we cannot confirm a current official figure, we say so and print nothing in its place. We never estimate, round up for effect, or repeat a number that only appears in news coverage as though the agency published it.
Amounts from different jurisdictions are not always comparable, because authorities define unclaimed money differently and report at different times. Where that matters, we say so on the page.
5. Links are tested, not assumed
Government URLs change often, and a dead link on a money website is worse than no link at all. Official links on this site are held in one central list so a change can be made in one place and flow through every page that uses it.
When a link is tested and the destination has moved, we follow it to the new official page rather than deleting the reference. If an official page blocks automated checking, we note that we could not verify it rather than claiming we did.
6. Pages are re-checked, and the date shown is real
Guides and register pages show the date their information was last checked. That date is only changed when someone has actually re-opened the sources and compared them with what the page says.
We do not automatically refresh review dates, and we do not stagger them to look active. A date that has not moved simply means the page has not been re-checked since then.
7. Corrections are made quickly and openly
If a reader reports that an instruction, requirement or link is wrong, we verify it against the authority and correct it. If the authority's position is genuinely unclear, we say that on the page instead of picking an answer.
Report anything that looks wrong through the contact form. Please include the page address and what you believe is incorrect.
What we deliberately do not do
- We cannot see any register's results. We do not run searches for you and we never receive the outcome of a search you run.
- We cannot confirm whether a specific amount belongs to you. Only the authority holding it can do that.
- Requirements vary by authority and change without notice, so the official page always overrides ours.
- Nothing on this site is personal financial, legal or tax advice.