Unclaimed Money Act 1990

A person shall for the purposes of this Act be taken to be the holder of unclaimed money if that person —

holds that money as a person who or which on behalf of other persons holds money in the normal course of a business, trade or profession;

borrowed that money, in the course of a business comprised wholly or in part by the borrowing or lending of money;

is a company or other body corporate, or the liquidator or receiver of a company or other body corporate, and that money is in respect of —

a deposit with or loan to;

a dividend payable by; or

securities related to,

holds or is liable to pay that money by way of salary, wages, pension or superannuation benefit due to any other person;

holds the money subject to a trust in respect of that money;

acts for or on behalf of another person who is a holder of that money, or is the personal representative of a deceased holder; or

is a person prescribed, or a person of a kind prescribed, for the purposes of this section.

Where a person ceases to carry on a business, or dies, and for a period of not less than 6 months after that date the person who had carried on the business, or who is the personal representative of the deceased, has held or been liable to pay money of which the owner is not known and which, had the appropriate period by then expired, would have been unclaimed money of which that person was the holder, on an application made by that person the Treasurer may accept a voluntary payment of that money into the Treasury, and on receipt of that money in the Treasury that money may be dealt with by the Treasurer as though it had been unclaimed money of which the applicant shall be deemed to have been the holder but without prejudice to any further liability which the applicant may have had to the owner.

Where any money is held or is liable to be paid by a person who would not by the operation of subsection (1) be taken to be a holder of that money but the money would have been unclaimed money had it been held by a person who was taken or deemed to be a holder, on an application made by the person who holds or is liable to pay the money the Treasurer may, on such conditions as the Treasurer may impose, agree that that person should be deemed to be a holder for the purposes of this Act in respect of that money and thereupon the Treasurer may issue a certificate that the person shall be so deemed and effect shall be given to that certificate.

An application made under subsection (2) or (3) shall not be approved unless the Treasurer is —

satisfied that particulars of the money to which the application relates, of the person on whose behalf the money was held or to whom it is liable to be paid, and of any trust affecting that money, have been furnished to the Treasury; and

provided with —

such further information relating to the application as the Treasurer may require; and

facilities for the inspection and examination of any books relating to accounting or financial information in respect of, or any other document relating to, that money or matters relating to that money,

For the purposes of subsection (1)(c) the reference to a dividend or to securities shall be construed by reference to the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth —

if the body corporate is a company; or

if the body corporate is not a company, if the money is of a kind that could have been so construed had it been payable by a company.