More than 645,000 Australians have money sitting in unclaimed cash. Are you one of them?

There is currently more than $564 million in unclaimed money lying lost or forgotten in government coffers, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission  (ASIC) is encouraging all Australians to search the ASIC database. It's free to search the database and if any of the money is yours, there is no cost involved in claiming it back.

Unclaimed money generally ends up with ASIC and the Commonwealth Government after it has lain dormant for more than seven years in accounts with insurance  companies, banks, building societies, credit unions or friendly societies. It also includes money from company takeovers or from companies that have been unable to  contact shareholders for six years.

According to ASIC, the pool of lost money comprises amounts ranging from $1 to as much as $990,000 – with the latter amount sitting unclaimed in a Commonwealth Bank account in Western Australia. Thousands of Australians are reunited with millions in lost money each year – including one lucky person who found a massive $3.1 million in a forgotten deceased estate – but there are  still millions more to be claimed.

How to find missing money

Log on to ASIC’s online database at www.fido.gov.au and type in your name or call ASIC on 1300 300 630. If you find money you think may be entitled to, just lodge a claim to prove it’s yours or that you’re the beneficiary.

No matter how small the sum, it’s worth taking a few minutes to see if any of the unclaimed money is yours. For more information or assistance with claiming, please contact our office.