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the administration of unclaimed moneys

Part of the daily work of the staff of the Government Finance and Accounting Branch involves the acceptance and administration of unclaimed moneys on behalf of the Treasurer and the community, in accordance with the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1918. Unclaimed moneys include share dividends, salaries and wages, rents and bonds, debentures and interest, unpresented cheques, trust moneys, unclaimed Tattersall's winnings, betting exchange moneys and superannuation benefits.

We maintain a record of the unclaimed moneys and unclaimed superannuation received from those in the business community who are required to lodge this information. Our role is to meet the needs of those members of the community who search for unclaimed moneys and then process the claims of legal owners. The total amount of unclaimed moneys held in trust by us at 30 June 2008 was $9.3 million.

Unclaimed moneys received during 2007–08 were $1.24 million, with around $100 000 being paid to claimants. The major sources of unclaimed moneys in 2007–08 were unclaimed Tattersall's winnings of $1 million and unclaimed betting exchange moneys of $200 000.

On average, we handle around 500 unclaimed moneys queries each year. During 2007–08, we finalised 372 claims and the relevant amounts were paid to their legal owners. The average value of each claim was $277, while the maximum value of a single claim was $11 466 of unclaimed superannuation. The number of superannuation claims processed is expected to decline from 2007–08. This follows the Australian Government's decision to transfer unclaimed superannuation moneys to the Australian Taxation Office from 1 July 2007, with the exception of those received from the Retirement Benefits Fund.

Following the granting of a betting exchange licence, pursuant to the Gaming Control Act 1993, we commenced receiving unclaimed moneys receipts from Betfair Australasia Pty Ltd in October 2007. In response, we developed new internal procedures and processes so that we could meet the needs of both Australian and international claimants of unclaimed betting exchange moneys.