As the new year begins almost $300 million is sitting in the state's unclaimed money pool - and the Minns Labor Government wants to see it returned to its rightful owners. Unclaimed money is money that you are legally entitled to, but where a business hasn't been able to find you.
Money typically becomes unclaimed when people forget to update their name or contact details with businesses, have lost paperwork, or when estates are unaware of funds belonging to deceased relatives.
The North Coast has as many as 41,208 registered items worth $12,432,295 just waiting to be claimed by families and households. The unclaimed money register, managed by Revenue NSW, includes funds from overpayments, uncashed cheques, dividends, refunds, and other amounts owed to individuals.
In total, more than 800,000 items of unclaimed money - ranging from a few dollars to millions of dollars - is sitting with Revenue NSW and registered to an NSW address.
To find out if you have any unclaimed money, you can search the Revenue NSW website at www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/unclaimed-money. If you have any money owing, you fill in a form and provide your ID and your connection to the money. Claims are typically verified and processed by Revenue NSW within a month.
Last year, the Minns Labor Government upgraded systems to simplify and speed up the unclaimed money process. This includes additional integration with Service NSW to help identify you during the claims process.
The Government also reduced the timeframe for businesses who are holding money from six years to two, ensuring that money is reported to Revenue NSW, and returned to its owners sooner.
These reforms help put more money back into the hands of North Coast families.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Finance, Courtney Houssos
"Across the state, almost $300 million is sitting unclaimed, and we want to make sure as much of that as possible finds its way back to families.
"Last financial year, Revenue NSW returned more than $21 million to its rightful owners. With these new reforms, we're making it faster and easier for people to get what they're owed.
"While Revenue NSW regularly contacts potential owners, incomplete data means people are sometimes missed. That's why we're encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to check online - you might be surprised with what you find."
Quotes attributable to Minister for the North Coast, Janelle Saffin
"There is over $12 million sitting in a vault that belongs right here in the North Coast community.
"We want that money out of government accounts and back into your pockets where it can actually make a difference.
"I encourage everyone on the North Coast to jump on to the Revenue NSW website today to check if they have anything to claim."
