Unclaimed WA cash swells to $160m

The amount of unclaimed money in the Department of Treasury’s register has grown almost 35 per cent since 2020, to around $160 million in 2023.

More than a million records of unclaimed cash are now in the register, accounting for lost and forgotten money such as rental bond refunds, dividend payments and vehicle licence refunds.

A total of 111,000 new records were added to the register during 2023, adding $16.5 million to the overall unclaimed cash figure.

The register’s value has jumped more than $40 million since 2020, despite reuniting WA residents with around $2 million of unclaimed cash last financial year.

The register includes individual unclaimed sums of money as high as $180,000.

WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti encouraged Western Australians to check the register through the ServiceWA app or on the treasury website.

“The register of unclaimed money continues to grow, and there would be many Western Australians who wouldn’t be aware of outstanding money owed to them,” she said.

Ms Saffioti said there no time limit applied to claims, and no fees were associated with returning the money to rightful owners.

The treasury register does not include superannuation, life insurance, stale bank account balances or money from organisations based in other states or territories.