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Unclaimed Moneys

What is Unclaimed Moneys?

Funds in bank accounts are considered “unclaimed” when the account has a balance ≥ $500 and is inactive (meaning customers have not made a deposit or a withdrawal on the account for 7 years or longer) and you have not notified us that you wish to treat the account as active.
 

Note: Interest earned and fees charged do NOT constitute items that can activate an account.

Exemptions for particular account types do apply.  


Westpac is required to close these accounts and remit the funds to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) by 31 March each year. Before this is done, Westpac may notify you by letter, email, message centre notification and/or phone call (depending on what mailing address, email address and contact number we have for you on file) that your account will be closed if you do not take steps to activate it.


You can activate your account by making a transfer or deposit of at least $0.01. If you would like to activate your account but are unable to, please call us on 132 032 and we can do this on your behalf.  

If you don’t activate your account, Westpac can assist you in claiming the funds from ASIC once they’ve been transferred.


ASIC maintains a database of unclaimed moneys transferred from financial institutions for this purpose.
 

How to make a claim?

Please note that this process can take up to 3 months.


Westpac must remit unclaimed moneys to ASIC by 31 March each year. Once this money is received by ASIC and customer details are loaded on to their Moneysmart website, usually by late April, you can commence the claims process by following these steps:

  1. Check if ASIC is holding any unclaimed funds on your behalf on their Moneysmart website.
  2. Make a note of the Original Transaction Number (OTN) for each account (you’ll need it in step 3).
  3. Print and complete the relevant sections of the unclaimed moneys form below or request one from your local branch.
  4. Visit and return the form to your local Westpac branch, where a staff member will complete the balance of the sections while you are present.


Please note: You’ll need to provide:

  • Two forms of ID (one being a photo ID e.g. driver’s licence, passport or credit/debit card with signature) for us to verify your identity, and
  • Evidence to prove you’re the account owner (e.g. bank statement)

 

If you’re a business or company, you’ll need to provide the Certificate of Registration and Business extract to verify the business owners or Minutes of the meeting showing the names of the officers/directors.

 

If you’re overseas or unable to visit a branch, individuals will also need to complete a Certified Identification Form (CIF) (PDF 654KB) and businesses will need to complete Certified Copy Certificate (PDF 662KB). Copies of the above documents also need to be certified by an authorised certifier once completed.

 

Westpac will then send the Claim form to ASIC on your behalf to release your money and any interest earned. It usually takes up to 28 days for the money to be released to us. We’ll then transfer the money to a bank account of your choice.

 

Unclaimed moneys form (PDF 2MB)

Things you should know

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