The Unclaimed Money Act 2021 defines unclaimed money as:
"…. any sum of money (including, but not limited to, principal, interest, dividends, bonuses and profits) that—
- has come into the possession of a corporation by virtue of a transaction with the owner of the money occurring in this State; and
- has been held by the corporation for at least 5 years; and
- in respect of which there has been no claim by the owner against the corporation.
Your money becomes unclaimed when:
- the corporation has exhausted all avenues of finding the owner and the owner has been 'lost' for a period of five years.
The Department of Treasury and Finance can hold unclaimed:
- dividends (not company shares)
- deceased estates
- liquidation disbursements
- unpresented/void/stale cheques
- salaries and wages
- trust accounts
- refunds
The Department of Treasury and Finance can also hold other types of money:
Section 6 (1) (a) & (b) of the Unclaimed Money Act 2021 also states:
- a person (not being a corporation to which section 4 applies) has been in possession of money, of an amount not less than the prescribed amount, for at least 1 year; and
- the owner of the money cannot be found, the person may pay the money to the Treasurer ."
Such money may relate to unpresented/void/stale cheques issued by other SA Government Agencies.
Unclaimed superannuation is administered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
To search or submit an application for unclaimed superannuation, please contact the ATO on 132 865 or visit Australian Taxation Office - Search for Unclaimed Superannuation.
If you have been contacted by a money finding agent, consider performing the search yourself via our Unclaimed Money Register, as it is free of charge.
A money finding agent is a private business, company or individual that will generally charge a fee. They are not agents of the Department of Treasury and Finance, nor can we advise of their legitimacy.
A money finding agent searches public information such as unclaimed money registers held by various government agencies and matches them against names in electoral rolls and other public data sources. You can perform the same searches yourself, without incurring any fees.
The Department of Treasury and Finance only administers unclaimed money registered and paid by corporations that carry on business in South Australia.