ACT Unclaimed Money: The $88 Claim Fee PTG Doesn't Advertise

The Australian Capital Territory is the only Australian jurisdiction identified in this research where claiming your own unclaimed money carries a stated fee. The Public Trustee and Guardian's current fee determination sets a flat $88.00 fee, including GST, per approved claim, a fee its own consumer-facing 'Making a Claim' page never mentions.

Who holds unclaimed money in the ACT

Two separate ACT bodies hold unclaimed money, and they hold different kinds of it.

The Public Trustee and Guardian (PTG) runs the main consumer-facing register. It covers money that businesses and organisations could not return to the people who own it: unclaimed dividends and shares, money from real estate agents, refunds that were never collected, money from telecommunications providers, and money from lawyers' and solicitors' trust accounts.

ACT Treasury holds a separate, smaller pot: unclaimed trust money under the Financial Management Act 1996 (ACT), meaning money the Territory Government itself holds rather than money businesses owe. Examples include money received pending the outcome of a dispute or transaction, money paid into a Territory court for possible repayment, money the Territory collected under an agreement, and money held in trust for other lawful purposes. Treasury's own page draws a clear line: unclaimed superannuation, bank account balances, life insurance policies, company shares and dividends, and unclaimed TAB dividends are NOT held by ACT Treasury. Those go to PTG, ASIC, the ATO or the gambling regulator instead, the same split described on the Australia unclaimed money hub.

Three Acts, three thresholds

PTG's register draws on three separate Acts, and each sets its own trigger for when money becomes "unclaimed" and must be lodged with PTG.

The Unclaimed Money Act 1950 (ACT) is the general Act. It applies once 6 years have passed since an amount became payable with no request for payment from the person entitled to it. A company holding such money must keep an alphabetical register, updated by 31 January each year (section 7). By 31 March of that year, the company must lodge a copy of the register with PTG and publish a newspaper notice (section 8). If the money is still unpaid to its owner within 1 year after that 31 March notice, the company must then pay it to PTG, within 1 month of that 1-year mark (section 10). There is no separate "12-month inspection period" step in the Act; the two clocks that matter are the 31 March notice date and the 1 year that follows it.

The Agents Act 2003 covers licensed agents, including real estate agents. Unclaimed trust money they hold for more than 3 years, measured as of 1 July, must be reported to the commissioner for fair trading by 31 July each year, under section 119 of the Act (the Office of Regulatory Services is the administrative body commonly associated with this role, but "commissioner for fair trading" is the term the current Act itself uses). After a notice-and-publication process of about 6 months, plus a further 3 months, a written notice directs the agent to pay the money to PTG.

The Legal Profession Act 2006 covers solicitors' trust accounts. Money becomes unclaimed after 6 years with no knowledge of the entitled person's existence or address, or if a tendered payment was refused, and the solicitor must pay it to PTG within one month of it becoming unclaimed.

This three-Act structure is more granular than most other Australian states' single-Act model, and it is worth knowing which category your money might fall into if you are trying to work out how long it may have taken to reach PTG's register in the first place.

The $88 claim fee PTG's own how-to-claim page doesn't mention

PTG's currently in-force fee-setting instrument, the Public Trustee and Guardian (Fees) Determination 2025 (DI2025-127, effective 1 July 2025), sets a flat $88.00 fee, including 10% GST, under Schedule item 64, described as applying "where unclaimed money is administered." The determination's own explanatory note records last financial year's figure as $85.00, confirming this is a flat dollar amount reviewed annually, not a percentage of the claim. That makes the ACT the only jurisdiction identified in this research where claiming your own unclaimed money is not free.

PTG's consumer-facing "Making a Claim" page, the one that walks a claimant through document requirements and processing times, never mentions this fee. It is a genuine gap between two of PTG's own published pages, not a rumour: the Fees Determination is the authoritative, currently in-force legal instrument, and PTG's own live claim-information page independently confirms the same figure in its own words: "An administrative fee of $88 will apply to each approved claim."

A separate 1.1% figure also appears in the same Fees Determination, but it applies to a different PTG service entirely, item 66, "Acting as an agent, attorney or financial manager in administering or managing property," and has nothing to do with claiming unclaimed money. Do not conflate the two: the unclaimed-money claim fee is the flat $88 figure.

How to search and claim

Searching PTG's register is free, through the ACT Government's online search service.

Unlike NSW, WA and SA, the ACT does not warn consumers away from paid "money finder" services. PTG's own page lists "a money finder with authority from your client" as one of the legitimate categories of person who may lodge a claim, alongside the owner and a legal or otherwise authorised representative, and notes that agents such as solicitors, accountants or money finders may submit claims for owners. You are not required to use one: the register search is free, and an owner can search and claim directly.

Document requirements are detailed and vary by claimant type. An individual generally needs two certified copies of ID (one primary photo ID plus one secondary document), with a fallback of requesting address history from Medicare or the Australian Electoral Commission if proof of address is missing. A deceased-estate executor or administrator needs identification, a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (or the will and a death certificate), and a linking document, with all executors named if there is more than one; intestate cases need Letters of Administration from the relevant State or Territory Supreme Court, see who inherits without a will in Australia. A company needs at least two current directors' ID (one if there is a sole director) plus current and historical ASIC extracts; deregistered companies are routed to ASIC instead of PTG. A trust needs all current trustees' details plus the current trust deed, and a charity needs at least two approved officers plus its current governing document.

Processing can take up to 60 days. If PTG needs further or better documents, it allows 30 days to supply them, after which an incomplete claim is cancelled and must be resubmitted from scratch.

No deadline, and no confirmed interest position

No claim-deadline language appears anywhere in PTG's "Making a Claim" section of its consumer page, and this is now confirmed against the Act's own text: Part 5 of the Unclaimed Money Act 1950 (sections 26 to 31), read in full, sets no time limit, limitation period or extinguishment clause on an owner's claim. A person may apply at any time, PTG decides the claim, and that decision is reviewable through ACAT.

No statement about interest, whether payable or not payable, appears on PTG's consumer page or its fee determination. This page does not assert a position either way; ask PTG directly if the answer to that question matters to your claim.

Where non-ACT money actually is

For anything outside PTG's or Treasury's registers: superannuation is handled by the ATO, not PTG, through myGov; and bank account balances, life insurance policies, company shares and dividends go to ASIC under the national 7-year, $500 rule, not to any ACT agency. Unclaimed TAB dividends go to the relevant gambling regulator. Deceased-estate money more broadly, including from Grant of Probate matters, is covered on probate in the Australian Capital Territory.

This page covers unclaimed money in the Australian Capital Territory only. For the federal ASIC and ATO systems and how all eight Australian jurisdictions compare, see the Australia unclaimed money hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the ACT charge a fee to claim unclaimed money?

Yes. The Public Trustee and Guardian's current Fees Determination sets a flat $88.00 fee, including GST, for each approved unclaimed-money claim. This makes the ACT the only jurisdiction in this research where claiming carries a stated fee. PTG's own consumer-facing claim walkthrough does not mention this fee, so do not assume claiming is free just because that page is silent about it.

Is the ACT's unclaimed-money claim fee a flat amount or a percentage?

It's a flat dollar amount, not a percentage. The Public Trustee and Guardian's current Fees Determination (DI2025-127, effective 1 July 2025) sets the claim fee at $88.00 including GST, up from $85.00 the previous financial year. A separate 1.1% figure does appear in the same determination, but it governs a different PTG service, acting as an agent or financial manager administering property, and does not apply to unclaimed-money claims.

Who holds unclaimed money in the ACT: the Public Trustee and Guardian or Treasury?

It depends on the source of the money. The Public Trustee and Guardian holds money that businesses could not return to their owners, such as unclaimed dividends, real estate agent money, telecommunications refunds, and solicitor trust money. ACT Treasury separately holds unclaimed trust money the Territory Government itself holds, such as money paid into a Territory court or collected under an agreement. Treasury's own page states this pot does not include superannuation, bank balances, life insurance, shares or TAB dividends, which go to PTG, ASIC, the ATO or the gambling regulator instead.

Is it free to search for unclaimed money in the ACT?

Yes. Searching the Public Trustee and Guardian's register is free, using the ACT Government's online search service. The fee applies only if you go on to make and successfully complete a claim.

Does the ACT warn against using a paid money finder?

No, and this is an outlier compared with states such as NSW, WA and SA, which explicitly warn readers away from paid finder services. PTG's own page lists a money finder acting with a client's authority as one of the normal categories of person who may lodge a claim. You do not need one: the register search is free, and you can search and claim directly.

How long does an ACT unclaimed money claim take, and what documents are needed?

PTG states processing can take up to 60 days. Requirements vary by claimant type: an individual generally needs two certified ID documents; an executor or administrator needs a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (or the will and death certificate); a company needs at least two current directors' ID plus current and historical ASIC extracts (deregistered companies are routed to ASIC instead); a trust needs all current trustees plus the current trust deed; and a charity needs at least two approved officers plus its governing document. If PTG needs further documents, it allows 30 days to supply them before the claim is cancelled and must be resubmitted.