Who wouldn't like a bit of extra money?
Well, there's probably some uber-rich, who don't actually need any more dosh, but for most of us a few extra dollars in the wallet or bank account would be very welcome and very useful.
So how come there are hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed monies sitting in state and terrritory government coffers just waiting to change the financial lives of Australians for the better?
Because the rightful owners of all this loot, lucre, bread, cha-ching, dinero... call it what you will, don't actually know there's a fortune waiting for them to claim.
In New South Wales, for example, more than $467 million of unclaimed money is sitting with Revenue NSW ready to make its way into the hands of deserving people, many of who may have taken a hard financial hit recently.
The unclaimed money register holds money that has not made it to the correct owner for any number of reasons, including a change of address or name, misplaced paperwork or it has simply been forgotten!
The forgotten money includes share dividends, trust accounts, refunds, commissions, deceased estates and money from a range of other sources.
Revenue NSW periodically undertakes data matching activities and attempts to contact potential owners of new items received from enterprises, but there is still plenty left unclaimed.
"We know many people are doing it tough, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with most households having to keep a close eye on their budget. This is why I am encouraging people to check their eligibility on the Revenue NSW website to see if you are owed any money, you could have hundreds or thousands of dollars that you didn't know about," said NSW Finance and Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope.
"The largest single amount held on the NSW unclaimed money register is more than $1 million from a deceased estate in Cabramatta, while there are 10 amounts of more than $500,000 each, waiting to be collected by the rightful owners."
"There are also more than 255,000 unpresented cheques worth $108 million waiting to make their way to the proper accounts," said Mr Tudehope.
Anyone can search for unclaimed money on the Revenue NSW website. It is a free service offered by the NSW Government to get money back into the hands of its owners.
The top Sydney suburbs for unclaimed monies are: Sydney $14,616,327, North Sydney $1,972,686, Randwick $1,784,616, Cabramatta $1,721,682 and Chatswood $1,720,521.
I am encouraging people to check their eligibility on the Revenue NSW website to see if you are owed any money, you could have hundreds or thousands of dollars that you didn't know about.
- NSW Finance and Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope.
In the NSW regions Wollongong is in the lead with $742,777 in unclaimed monies, Orange has $708,025, Newcastle $670,558 and Goulburn $601,134.
All the states and territories have caches of unclaimed monies - just search on the web for unclaimed monies in your state. Some are easier than others to check, but there could be a windfall in store for you.
Some unclaimed money also finds its way to the Commonwealth of Australia Consolidated Revenue Fund and is available to be claimed at any time by the rightful owner with no time limit on claims. Some of these monies are bank accounts which become unclaimed after seven years if the account is inactive (no deposits or withdrawals); and life insurance policies which become unclaimed seven years after the policy matures and is not claimed. Visit MoneySmart for more information.