Unclaimed Funds in Australia and New Zealand

Perhaps you lived in Australia or New Zealand for a while before moving back to the UK, or perhaps a relative or friend emigrated out there and named you as heir in their will.

But what if there's unclaimed money, either of yours or the deceased, still out there? How do you discover its existence and claim it? It may be a dormant bank account, it could be a pension, or even from life insurance policies.

Naturally, working at a distance will be a disadvantage, but the governments of Australia and New Zealand do make it as easy as possible for people - whether their own citizens or others - to claim money that's due to them.

Australia

In Australia bank accounts become dormant after seven years of no activity. The banks are obliged ever year to give the Treasurer a list of all dormant accounts worth more than $500 Australian. That list is then printed annually in the Government Gazette.

Anyone wanting to make a claim on a dormant account has to contact the bank itself, not the Treasurer. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission maintains a database of unclaimed money in bank accounts, building societies, credit unions and other institutions. Although they make no guarantee of it being complete, it's a good place to begin.

Information on unclaimed pension money - that is, state pension money - can be obtained from each of the states or territories, rather than being in a single government database. That means, of course, you'll need to check the residence state of the person to begin your search and claim.

Securities become classed as abandoned after six years of non-activity, and are then reported to the Australian Securities Commission. Each year companies have to publish a list of all dormant accounts, and the details of all dormant accounts worth more than $10 are published. After that, if they're not claimed within a year, the monies in the accounts go to the Registrar-General.

New Zealand

With New Zealand bank accounts, a lot depends on the type of account as to how long a period passes before it becomes dormant. In most cases it will be six years, but with fixed term accounts, it won't be until six year after the fixed term expires. Finally, if the account is with a savings bank (a term that covers most banks and building societies, in fact), then 25 years must elapse before dormancy occurs.

Upon dormancy, if no account owner can be found, the money is given to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). To make a claim, you'd need to establish whether the account is yet on the IRD unclaimed money list. If it is, you'd contact them. If not, you'd deal directly with the bank.

The IRD unclaimed money list covers several types of monies, not just banks but also life insurance policies, unpaid wages and benefits, and money that's in solicitors' trust accounts.

However, it doesn't cover everything.

In the event of a trust being wound up because no further beneficiaries can be found, the money is then held by the Treasury, which publishes a list of what it holds in trust accounts every year. If you feel you have a claim on one of these trusts, you'll need to contact the Legal Group of the Treasury.

There are also various public and private superannuation schemes. If you feel you have a claim with the National Provident Fund, contact the NPF Scheme Administrator. For NZ Superannuation, or Pension as it's known, contact Work and Income Contact Centre, and for private schemes, write or e-mail whoever runs the scheme.