Claim unclaimed money

4 min read

What is unclaimed money under section 254 of the Bankruptcy Act?

A trustee or debt agreement administrator will send funds from AFSA to the Commonwealth (Consolidated Revenue Fund) where:

Any dividends or other money that has remained unclaimed for a period exceeding six months, after reasonable attempts to contact the person/entity who is entitled to the funds, have been made.
Any money where it is proposed not to distribute or pay that money to any person (or other entity), for example where funds too small to distribute.

How do I claim money I am entitled to?

Step 1:	Contact the Registered Trustee, Official Trustee or Debt Agreement administrator that was administering the administration to confirm – that funds were sent to the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund the date of payment and amount in writing evidence to support your claim to the funds If you cannot make contact with the administrator please send an email to registry@afsa.gov.au with the information you do have in relation to unclaimed money and we will contact you.
Step 2:	Provide evidence and proof of identity Before starting the online form you must have the identity or proof of entitlement documents described below ready to attach. The form cannot be submitted if they are not attached For individuals Copy of two forms of your identity with a minimum of 60 points ID certified by an authorised witness . Evidence of proof of entitlement to the money, such as a letter from the trustee or debt agreement administrator stating you are entitled to the money paid, the original proof of debt, a claim and vote lodgment or an invoice. Any forms of identity will be destroyed after verifying. For businesses, trusts or companies: Evidence of proof of entitlement to the moneys such as a letter from the trustee or debt agreement administrator stating that the business, trust or company is entitled to the money paid, the original proof of debt, a claim and vote lodgement or an invoice. Accepted format for these documents are – word, pdf or jpeg A total of 14 megabytes (MB) can be attached
Step 3:	Download and complete the Electronic Payment Application (EPA) form This form is required to be completed in order to provide your bank account details. Electronic Payment Application [PDF 143.48 KB] Please sign and scan the signed form, and attach it to the online unclaimed money claim form.
Step 4:	Complete and Submit the section 254 Unclaimed Money Application form Please complete the online form, and click the submit button. Unclaimed moneys claim form AFSA will take up to 28 days to process the claim. We will contact you if we require further information to prove your claim.

What you can expect from AFSA once your application is submitted

If further information is required to substantiate the claim AFSA may contact you to request this before we can determine if you are entitled to the funds.
Once we have reviewed your application we will make a written determination to inform you of the decision to pay all or part of the funds you have claimed or inform you we are not satisfied you are entitled to the funds.
If you are entitled to the funds they will be deposited into the bank account you provided in the application form.
If we determine you are not entitled to the funds you may apply to the Court to have the determination reviewed

How to certify a document

A certified copy is a copy (often a photocopy) of a primary document that has on it an endorsement or certificate that it is a true copy of the primary document. It does not certify that the primary document is genuine, only that it is a true copy of the primary document (example shown below).

Example image of How to certify a document.

Authorised witness

A full list of authorised witnesses is available on the Attorney General's Department website.

Practitioners

Forwarding unclaimed moneys (s254) to AFSA

To make a payment for S254 Undistributable Balances and Unclaimed Moneys, make an EFT payment to the following account:

Account Name: AFSA Administered Receipts
BSB: 062987
Account No.: 10001950

Once a payment is made, please complete the Statement where moneys are paid to the Commonwealth form

If you have any questions about forwarding unclaimed monies, please contact our Banking team at bankingteam@afsa.gov.au.

For more information about the guidelines for the payment of monies to the Commonwealth pursuant to section 254 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 see Unclaimed money.