Other contacts for unclaimed moneys

The executor is either a person name in the deceased's will or approved by a court.

If you have a question regarding deceased estates, contact the executor.

To find out the executor of an estate, contact the Public Trustee or Probate Office in the state the deceased passed away in.

In the Northern Territory you can contact the Public Trustee.

If a bank account has been inactive for seven years and has a balance over $500 it is transferred to the Commonwealth Government.

This includes accounts at building societies and credit unions.

Contact the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) for information on unclaimed moneys.

ASIC can help you find information on old deposit accounts with banks, credit unions and building societies, life insurance policies which have matured and shares or other money from companies.

For more information go to ASIC's MoneySmart website.

For accounts with balances less than $500, contact the bank directly.

You can only search for a life insurance policy once it has matured.

If the life insurance policy has been unclaimed for seven years after maturity, it is transferred to the Commonwealth Government.

Before contacting ASIC, you must contact the life insurance company or the financial adviser who arranged it on your behalf for information on the policy first.

Any unclaimed superannuation from Northern Territory Government funds are required under the Act to be transferred to the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF). Read the Unclaimed Superannuation Benefits Act 1998.

The trustee of the superannuation fund will do this.

An unclaimed benefit for superannuation is an amount payable to a member who has reached the eligibility age for an aged pension or to the beneficiary of a member who has died.

Benefits become unclaimed if a member:

• is eligible for a benefit from the fund
• has not applied to the fund’s trustee to have a benefit paid
• is unable to be paid because the member cannot be located.

The only superannuation office that currently transfers unclaimed benefits to DTF is the Northern Territory Superannuation Office.

The only unclaimed superannuation benefits held by the department are those which are owed to employees that have commenced working prior to 10 August 1999.

If you are searching for unclaimed benefits, you must have been a contributing member of a Northern Territory administered superannuation scheme prior to 10 August 1999.

The schemes include:

• Northern Territory Government and Public Authorities Superannuation Scheme (NTGPASS)
• Northern Territory Supplementary Superannuation Scheme (NTSSS).

Government employees who commenced after August 1999, would have had their superannuation deducted and held by the default fund or other fund of their choice.

Unclaimed benefits held by these funds are transferred to the Australian Taxation Office.

There are limits on how long you can take to claim winnings in some forms of gambling or betting in the Northern Territory.

Read about unclaimed gambling prize money.