Find your lost savings and super

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02.Where to search

Lost and unclaimed super

If you’ve changed your job, address or name recently and forgotten to tell your super fund, you might have some lost or unclaimed super.

  • Search the ATO Superseeker database for lost super.
  • Search AUSfund's unclaimed super website. AUSfund is an Eligible Rollover Fund, and acts as a holding account for super funds that have lost track of their members.
  • Contact the fund. Making direct contact with any super fund you’ve been a member of is the quickest way to find your money. Your previous employer should have the fund’s contact details. The fund may also be able to confirm if you’re listed on the Lost Members Register; most super funds are signed up to SuperMatch, a system that allows the fund to search the ATO's database. Some funds may advise you on how to transfer unclaimed super to your current super account.
  • Contact the correct state agency. When you reach 65, responsibility for unclaimed superannuation is transferred to the state or territory where the super fund has its head office and no further accruals occur.
  • Consider the benefits of consolidating all your super accounts into one. Having your money divided up between lots of little nest-eggs means more paperwork and expenses — multiple fees and charges can eat into the value of your super.

When an account has been inactive for two years and two pieces of mail addressed to the member have been returned undelivered, the member is considered ‘lost’ and the fund should report details to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Information is added to the ATO’s Lost Members Register (LMR).

If you haven’t yet reached retirement age your money stays invested in the fund and may continue to grow. Remember, super is only ‘paid out’ to eligible people — those who’ve reached retirement age or qualify for payment because of a disability. Generally, it only becomes ‘unclaimed’ when the member reaches age 65 or dies and no claim is made on the fund. When you reach 65 any unclaimed super should pass from the fund to the ATO, unless it's a state or territory super scheme. 

Bank accounts, life insurance and company money

Search the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) consumer website.

Other unclaimed monies

State and territory agencies may have your unclaimed super (if you're over 65), and may also help you find other unclaimed money such as:

  • shareholders’ dividends
  • pre-1992 building society and credit union accounts
  • refunds and overpayments
  • rental bonds
  • royalties and commissions
  • trust account funds
  • uncollected goods
  • unpresented cheques.

However, each state differs (some don’t have these funds while others have different types of funds). See the table below.

 

 
Unclaimed money: federal, state and territory contacts
Please note that some of these organisations may have difficulty in dealing with high volumes of telephone enquiries. Check their websites for the best ways to search for unclaimed money.
Organisation Online search Phone search Phone number Email address
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
www.fido.gov.au 		• • 1300 300 630 infoline@asic.gov.au
Australian Taxation Office
www.ato.gov.au		 • • 13 28 65 supermail@ato.gov.au
State agencies
ACT: Public Trustee — Unclaimed Moneys
www.publictrustee.act.gov.au 		• • 02 6207 9800 publictrustee@act.gov.au
NSW: Office of State Revenue — Unclaimed money
www.osr.nsw.gov.au 		• • 1300 366 016 unclaimedmoney@osr.nsw.gov.au
NT: Treasury — Unclaimed Moneys
www.nt.gov.au/ntt 		• 1300 305 353 ntrevenue.ntt@nt.gov.au
Qld: Public Trustee Unclaimed Moneys service
www.pt.qld.gov.au 		• 07 3213 9368 unclaimedmoney@pt.qld.gov.au
SA: Department of Treasury and Finance — Unclaimed Money
www.treasury.sa.gov.au 		• 08 8226 3106 unclaimedmonies@saugov.sa.gov.au
Tas: Department of Treasury and Finance
www.treasury.tas.gov.au 		03 6233 2948 unclaimed.money@treasury.tas.gov.au
Vic: State Revenue Office — Unclaimed Moneys
www.sro.vic.gov.au 		• 13 21 61 sro@sro.vic.gov.au
WA: Department of Treasury and Finance — Unclaimed Monies
www.money.dtf.wa.gov.au 		• • (limited) 08 9222 9185 unclaimed.money@dtf.wa.gov.au

If you think you might be entitled to proceeds of a will or unclaimed money from a deceased estate, try contacting the Public Trustee in your state or the state of the deceased person. They sometimes (but not always) have responsibility for unclaimed estates while they try to track down beneficiaries. These funds may later get passed to the government agency in the appropriate state (see table above).

For more details on Public and State Trustee services check out:

 

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