Revenue NSW holds payments, refunds, unpresented cheques, dividends and other money that organisations can’t track down as unclaimed money.
Typically, unclaimed money is referred to Revenue NSW when someone has moved address, changed their name, lost the relevant paperwork, changed banks or a relative has passed away.
Revenue NSW is holding more than $234 million for people in NSW to be returned to its rightful owners.
The largest Sydney metro areas with unclaimed money are Sydney City and Inner South ($41.2 million), North Sydney and Hornsby ($25.6 million) and Inner South West ($18.6 million). The top areas in regional NSW are Newcastle and Lake Macquarie ($7.4 million) and the Illawarra ($5.8 million).
A further $343 million in unclaimed money is available to claim for people who live outside NSW or for whom there are no available details.
The average amount of unclaimed money owed on the register is $391.
In the last 10 years, more than $154 million worth of unclaimed money has been returned by Revenue NSW.
Revenue NSW proactively contacts individuals to reunite them with their unclaimed money. Over the last year, Revenue NSW sent 11,619 letters to individuals with unclaimed money worth around $8 million. A quarter of that funding – $2 million – was ultimately returned.
Searching the unclaimed money register is easy and free. Individuals who then want to get back their unclaimed money will need to check they have the right supporting documents to support their claim. Revenue NSW then sends their funds within 28 days.
For more information on unclaimed money and to search the register, people can visit the Revenue NSW website.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos:
“It’s great we’ve been able to get more than $21 million back into the hands of families and households and set a new record.
“With $230 million still available in unclaimed money for people in NSW, I encourage everyone to get online, search the register, and get the money that’s owing to you.”
Quotes attributable to Chief Commissioner of State Revenue Scott Johnston:
“Despite doing our best to give unclaimed money back to the people it’s owed to, we’re still seeing more money referred to us than people are claiming.
“We want to make sure everyone knows about the unclaimed money register, so they can jump online, find out if any money is owed to them and undertake the process to get it back.
“That way we can ensure more money is being returned to those it belongs to, rather than sitting with us for extended periods of time after enterprises and organisations pass it on.”
Unclaimed money by financial year dating back to 2014/15:
| Financial year | Amount paid: |
| 2014/15 | $18,664,977 |
| 2015/16 | $14,441,538 |
| 2016/17 | $15,437,928 |
| 2017/18 | $12,477,685 |
| 2018/19 | $13,456,711 |
| 2019/20 | $17,442,841 |
| 2020/21 | $16,313,820 |
| 2021/22 | $10,686,786 |
| 2022/23 | $13,288,422 |
| 2023/24 (to 19 June 2024) | $21,885,947 |
| Total | $154,096,700 |
Top 5 Sydney Metro regions with money available to claim:
| Metro Sydney region | Amount owed |
| Sydney City and Inner South | $41,202,666 |
| North Sydney and Hornsby | $25,685,385 |
| Inner South West | $18,619,396 |
| Eastern Suburbs | $17,602,242 |
| Inner West | $13,084,666 |
Top 5 Regional NSW areas with money available to claim:
| Top 5 NSW Regional Areas | Amount owed |
| Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | $7,427,216 |
| Illawarra | $5,853,046 |
| Capital Region | $4,638,608 |
| Central West | $4,389,039 |
| New England and North West | $4,083,104 |
Reasons why someone might have unclaimed money include:
- New address
- Name change
- Lost paperwork
- Forgotten about the money
There are several examples of money owed including:
- Refunds and overpayments from a purchase
- Sale of property, goods, or services
- Deposits and premiums
- Principal and interest
- Share dividends
- Cheques that have not been cashed or deposited
- Trust account funds
- Commissions
- Creditors
- Expenses
- Royalties
- Debentures
- Bonds
- Convertible notes
- NSW Public Sector superannuation.
