Missing Accounts and Unclaimed Assets

The Public Trustee for the Australian Capital territory administers moneys in the ACT that have been declared unclaimed under the Unclaimed Moneys Act, the Legal Practitioners Act and the Agents Act. Claim requirements differ under each of the three acts:

Unclaimed Moneys Act

Unclaimed moneys accounts include those that have been inactive for six years or more, and include deposits, dividends, trust account funds, interest, refunds, overpayments, sale proceeds, bonds, superannuation benefits and retirement savings accounts.. Unclaimed money does not include bank, building society and credit union accounts, which are payable to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. Publication is required by the last day of March each year for all accounts worth $10 or more, both in a daily newspaper and in the Government Gazette. All funds that have not been paid within one year after publication are paid to the Public Trustee of Unclaimed Moneys within one month after the end of that year.

Agents Act

Unclaimed Money under the Agents Act are trust moneys held by licensed agents for more than three years as declared unclaimed to the commissioner for fair trading.

Legal Practitioners Act

Unclaimed Money under the Legal Practitioners Act consists of moneys held in trust accounts by solicitors for more than six years, where those entitled cannot be found, or in cases where an individual has refused to accept the funds.

To search the ACT Unclaimed Moneys Register for unclaimed moneys - the online database includes all unclaimed funds since responsibility for unclaimed moneys was transferred from the Commonwealth Government in 1989 - go to: http://www.publictrustee.act.gov.au/um_search.html

For additional information and assistance visit: http://www.publictrustee.act.gov.au/um_claim.html or contact:

Public Trustee for the ACT of GPO
Box 515
Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone 02 62079800
Fax 02 62079811
E-mail publictrustee@act.gov.au