Unclaimed Money Act 1995

This Act is the Unclaimed Money Act 1995.

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

In this Act—

account includes a record of money held on account of another person or body.

applicant means a person who applies under section 17 for the repayment of unclaimed money paid to the Chief Commissioner.

Chief Commissioner means the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue.

Commonwealth Superannuation Act means the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.

compliance notice—see section 26N(1).

enterprise means a person, partnership, association, society, institution, organisation or other body, whether or not incorporated, that—

operates in any way (or, in the case of a natural person, has a residential address) in the State, and

holds money on account of another person or body,

but does not include a bank (within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth) or a building society, credit union or friendly society.

exercise a function includes perform a duty.

function includes a power, authority or duty.

officer of an enterprise or public sector superannuation provider that is not a natural person means a person who is concerned in or takes part in the management of the enterprise or public sector superannuation provider, and includes a person in accordance with whose instructions the enterprise or public sector superannuation provider is managed or controlled.

owner of money means the person who is entitled to the money (or the person who would be so entitled except for the operation of the Limitation Act 1969), and includes the person’s executors, administrators and assigns and the lawful attorney or agent in the State of the person, executor, administrator or assign.

public sector superannuation provider means a public sector superannuation provider within the meaning of Part 3A.

record includes—

any book, account, deed, writing or document, and

any other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form, or on microfilm or by electronic process, or stored in any other manner or by any other means.

return means a return required by section 10 or 13B.

unclaimed superannuation benefit means an amount that is taken to be unclaimed money under the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth.

For the purposes of this Act, an account is taken to be operated on during any period that money is held in the account pursuant to an agreement (other than an implied agreement) to hold the money for a fixed term.

However, the debiting of a fee, duty, tax or charge, or the crediting of interest or a dividend, to an account does not constitute an operation on the account.

In this Act, a reference to money held by an enterprise—

includes a reference to money that is in the hands or under the control of the enterprise, and

is, in relation to an enterprise that does not have a separate legal personality, taken to be a reference to money held by the members for the time being of the enterprise for the purposes of the enterprise.

In this section, member of an enterprise means a person, body or organisation that is, under its rules of membership, a member of the enterprise, or, if the rules do not provide for membership of the enterprise, a person, body or organisation that is a member of the body that governs or has the management of the enterprise.

This Act binds the Crown in right of New South Wales and, in so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

This Part does not apply to money that is unclaimed money under Part 2A (Trust money under Property and Stock Agents Act 2002).

For the purposes of this Act, money is unclaimed money if it is money of a kind referred to in section 8 that an enterprise holds in an account that has not been operated on for at least—

2 years, or

for a particular enterprise—a shorter period of at least 12 months that is—

requested by the enterprise, and

approved by the Chief Commissioner.

The account may include—

money whose owner is not identifiable, and

money owned jointly or severally by 2 or more persons.

Money may be unclaimed money only if it is one of the following kinds—

money (including principal and interest, dividends, bonuses and profits) the recovery of which has been or may be barred by operation of law,

money on deposit,

share capital subscribed for a share in a body from which the capital subscribed may be withdrawn by the subscriber.

An enterprise that holds any money of a kind referred to in section 8 in an account referred to in section 7 (1) must make reasonable efforts—

to identify and locate the owner of the money, and

to ensure that the money is paid to the owner of the money.

Maximum penalty—

for an individual—250 penalty units, or

otherwise—500 penalty units.

Money held by an enterprise in an account is not unclaimed money (despite section 7) unless, after making reasonable efforts and after a reasonable period has passed, the enterprise is unable to ensure that the money is paid to the owner of the money.

This section does not apply in respect of any money that is not unclaimed money because of section 9.

Money held by an enterprise in an account is not unclaimed money at any particular time (despite section 7) if, at that time, the recovery of the money by its owner is not barred by operation of law and—

the enterprise holding the money also holds other money (not being unclaimed money) of the owner in an account, or

the enterprise (or an officer of an enterprise that is not a natural person) knows or has reason to believe that the owner of the money wishes to retain the money in the account.

However, an enterprise (or an officer of an enterprise that is not a natural person) does not have reason to believe that an owner wishes to retain money in an account merely because the owner does not respond to a communication from the enterprise (or does not respond as specified in the communication), even if the terms of the communication suggest that the owner’s failure to respond indicates such a wish.

Money held by an enterprise in an account is not unclaimed money if the enterprise, or an officer of an enterprise that is not a natural person, knows or has reason to believe that the account has not been operated on for the period specified in section 7(1) because of a dispute between 1 or more persons about who the owner of the money is.

For the purposes of this Act, money is not unclaimed money if—

the money is, or is of a class, prescribed by the regulations as exempt from the operation of this Act, or

the money is held by an enterprise that is, or is of a class, prescribed by the regulations as exempt from the operation of this Act, or

the amount of money in the account concerned does not exceed $100.

In this Part, licensee, former licensee and trust account have the same meanings as in the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002.