Almost $300 million in refunds, dividends and cheques remain unclaimed by households and businesses across New South Wales, with locals urged to take action to secure the money they are owed.
Unclaimed cash is held by businesses and can accumulate when money is unable to be returned due to missing paperwork or contact information.
Money is then passed on to Revenue NSW when further attempts to return the funds are unsuccessful.
Areas with the most unclaimed cash include Sydney’s CBD and eastern suburbs, where more than $91 million in total is waiting to be snapped up by rightful owners.
The items range in value from a few dollars to into the millions. (ABC News: Sharon Gordon)
About $76 million of the money is located in Western Sydney, with $22 million held in the Central Coast and the Hunter.
Some of the individual unclaimed items are valued in the millions of dollars.
Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos said there were more than 800,000 individual payments that remained unclaimed.
Ms Houssos says there are more than 800,000 unclaimed payments. (ABC News: Victoria Pengilley)
“This is money that belongs to residents of New South Wales, and we want to get that money back to you,” she said.
“It ranges from a few dollars to much larger amounts, but we encourage you to jump online and to check it out.
“This might be that little bonanza that you are waiting for.
“All you need to do is jump onto the website and search your name.”
Money unclaimed for years
Revenue NSW holds an additional $394 million for people registered at addresses outside the state.
Ms Houssos said some of the money had been sitting unclaimed for “many, many years”, with changes implemented to limit the amount of time businesses could hold onto cash.
“We’ve also made some legislative changes that mean businesses can only hold onto money for two years instead of six years to make it again easier for people to get access to their money,” she said.
“We think it’s really important that businesses return that money. If they’re not able to, they return it to the government, and we use our efforts to try and get that money back to residents.
“Even if someone has passed away, and you’re able to inherit that money, there is also a mechanism for you to access it.”
Last year, more than $21 million in unclaimed cash was returned to NSW households.
Anyone who suspects they may not have received money they are owed can visit the Revenue NSW website, where they will be asked to verify their identity and connection to the money.