‘Lost’ millions owed to WA residents

By PETER ROWE

Over $170 million of lost or forgotten money is sitting on the WA Register of Unclaimed Money – and it could be yours.

WA residents Western Australians have been encouraged to head to the State Treasury website or use the ServiceWA app to check if they have money that can be returned to them.

The unclaimed monies relate to WA-based organisations that have been unsuccessful in returning funds to the rightful owners, and typically relate to:

• dividend payments
• rental bond refunds
• vehicle licence refunds
• overpayment of utility bills
• refunds from education providers

“The WA 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,” Treasurer Rita Saffioti said.

“It’s very easy to check the register online or via the ServiceWA app, so I encourage all Western Australians to take these simple steps and check if they’re entitled to any of the funds.”

The register has recently been updated with around 147,000 new records, including large individual unclaimed amounts of around $185,000 and $165,000.

The full register now contains more than 1.2 million records totalling over $170 million.

To search the register, visit http://www.wa.gov.au/treasury/unclaimed-money or use the ServiceWA app.