Millions of dollars owed in unclaimed money

​Tuesday, 8 November 2016

• ​Nearly $8.2 million in unclaimed money reported in 2015-16
• More than $1.6 million paid out to West Australians in 2015-16

West Australians are being urged to ensure they are not missing out on a share in nearly $8.2 million in unclaimed money reported in 2015-16, Treasurer Mike Nahan said today.

Dr Nahan said there was no time limit on claims and anyone who could clearly establish a rightful claim would be paid their money regardless of how long it had been held.

In 2015-16, the Department of Treasury received unclaimed money notifications relating to more than 30,000 separate amounts, totalling nearly $8.2 million.

The Treasurer said 2,000 accounts were resolved in 2015-16, resulting in more than $1.6 million being paid out to people who had claimed from the register. 

"Millions of dollars owed to thousands of West Australians is lying unclaimed within the Department of Treasury's Register of Unclaimed Money database," he said.

"In the past 12 months, the largest individual unclaimed amounts of $289,877 and $178,185 have been added to the register, just waiting for people to claim them.

"I would encourage every West Australian to check the register to see if they are entitled to any of the funds, as the register contains 454,000 unclaimed amounts totalling more than $67 million."

Fact File

• The register can be checked here: http://www.treasury.wa.gov.au/unclaimedmoney/
• People claiming money will require documents to help Treasury verify claims, including an original, signed and witnessed statutory declaration; a form of identification (such as driver's licence, passport or Health Care Card); and evidence of connection to the address in the database
• Treasury receives unclaimed monies from WA-based organisations in accordance with the Unclaimed Money Act 1990.  The purpose of the Act is to protect the interests of people due monies that they may not be aware of or may have forgotten about