Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet is encouraging families and businesses to check if they are entitled to any of the $218.65 million in “forgotten” unclaimed money held by the NSW Office of State Revenue (OSR).
“The OSR currently holds more than 464,000 items of unclaimed money, worth over $218 million, just waiting to be claimed by its rightful owners,” Mr Perrottet said.
“During the Christmas season the hip pocket often gets a bit of a workout, so now is a great time to get on the OSR’s website and check if any of that unclaimed money is yours,” he said.
Unclaimed money held by OSR could be from deceased estates, dividends, bonds, refunds, overpayments and a range of other sources. The money is sent to OSR by private enterprises, government agencies, local councils, and State Trustees because they have not been able to locate and return the money to the owners.
Items range from $20 share dividends to $1.06 million from a deceased estate trust fund.
In the past 12 months, OSR has paid 9,189 claims worth almost $20 million. The largest payout was $345,306 from unclaimed share dividends.
“One man was recently paid more $190,566 after he found the proceeds of a property sale by searching the OSR’s unclaimed money database,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Another woman claimed more than $174,000 from overpayments she had made, while another was reunited with an overpayment of more than $57,750,” he said.
“OSR’s website is easy to navigate, and the unclaimed money search facility is free, so it’s well worth having a look – if it’s your money, you’re entitled to claim it.”
OSR publishes information about unclaimed money on its website to help reunite people with their lost funds.
The website shows the name of the unclaimed money owner, the type and source of the funds and, if available, the owner’s last known address. Owners must prove their identity and that they are entitled to the money before it is released.
For more information visit www.osr.nsw.gov.au.
