Unclaimed money

You may be owed money that can be returned to you.
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Western Australian organisations and government agencies may have tried to return money that is rightfully owed to you, but have been unsuccessful because you:

  • moved house
  • changed your name
  • misplaced a cheque.

There is approximately $160 million in unclaimed money on the Department of Treasury’s register. We would really like to see that money returned to its lawful owners.

You can search the register by clicking the button below. Don’t forget to encourage your friends and family to check as well.

More information

What is unclaimed money and why is Treasury holding it?

Unclaimed money in Western Australia is governed by the Unclaimed Money Act 1990. 

Under the Act, monies that have been held by an organisation for 6 years without being successfully returned to the rightful owner are deemed to be unclaimed.

Western Australian organisations are required to lodge their unclaimed monies with the Department of Treasury.

To help reunite unclaimed money with its lawful owner, the Department of Treasury maintains and publishes a searchable register. The register is updated annually, with records held indefinitely until the funds are successfully claimed.

Examples of unclaimed money on the register includes:

  • rental bond refunds
  • dividend payments
  • vehicle licence refunds
  • refunds from education providers
  • overpayments of utilities bills.

The Department of Treasury register does not include the following unclaimed monies, which you can search for separately using the search other jurisdictions link:

  • superannuation
  • life insurance
  • stale bank account balances
  • money from organisations based in other states and territories.

Although the Act specifies that monies equal to or greater than $100 can be deemed as unclaimed, the Department of Treasury accepts all values less than $100 as a voluntary transfer of money.

Copies of the Unclaimed Money Act 1990 can be obtained from the legislation website.

How to claim

You have found some money that could be yours? That’s great.  Next, you will need to make a valid claim to that money. We have a new online process that now makes it quicker and easier to make a claim.

The online search details which organisation currently holds your money and where you should direct your claim. The following directions relate to claiming money held by the Department of Treasury only. The Department of Treasury has a duty to ensure that money is only paid to the lawful owner or their authorised representative.

What you’ll need

Before you make an online claim, you will need some identification and your bank details handy, together with a bit of paperwork. The online process will step you through what documents are required in order to make a successful claim. 

The following User Guide can also be downloaded to assist you with the new online claim process.

Forms

Making an online claim is strongly encouraged as it will result in a faster processing time. If you wish to submit a claim via the previous paper-based method, a Statutory Declaration form is required.
Please use one of the following downloads to print a Statutory Declaration and claim instructions. Left click on the links below to open the files or use the right click and 'Save Target As' to save the file to your computer:

Investigators and agents

Treasury has no connection with any investigator or agent that approaches people offering to recover their unclaimed money for a fee.

Investigators or agents have been known to approach people listed with unclaimed money and offer a fee-based recovery service.

These investigators and agents are not registered, nor are they regulated, by the Department of Treasury.

The Department of Treasury has no connection with any investigator or agent and accepts no responsibility for their actions.

Deceased estates

How is unclaimed money handled for deceased estates?

The affairs of deceased estates are generally administered by the 'Executor'.

Queries regarding deceased estates should be directed to the Executor.

The Executor may be a person so specified in the deceased’s Will or approved by a Court through the issue of a 'Grant of Probate'.

If you do not know the identity of an Executor, you should contact the Public Trustee or Probate Office of the State in which the deceased passed away.

The Department of Treasury is not directly involved in the administration of deceased estates.

Search other jurisdictions

You may also have unclaimed money that is held somewhere else.

If you have lived in another state, you may be owed money from other jurisdictions. You may also have money owed by commonwealth organisations and agencies.

A comprehensive list of contacts can be found on the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) website.

Warning - you should not enter any of your personal details into any other sites you may be directed to via Google search results for unclaimed money.

Contact us

Before contacting the Unclaimed Money Administrator at the Department of Treasury, please ensure that you have read the information on this page.

Due to office security requirements, the Unclaimed Money Administrator is unable to meet personally with the public.

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