Unclaimed Money Queensland: Public Trustee Act 1978 Guide

In Queensland, unclaimed money is split across two separate holders, Queensland Public Trustee for most categories and the Treasurer's Unclaimed Monies Fund for gaming money, and both are governed by Part 8 of the Public Trustee Act 1978, not the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 that is sometimes cited.

Two Separate Holders: Queensland Public Trustee and the Treasurer's Fund

Queensland runs its unclaimed money system across two distinct bodies rather than one, a structure not seen the same way in New South Wales or Victoria. As with every state in this series, both are separate from ASIC's federal register for banks, life insurers and companies, and from the ATO's superannuation system.

Queensland Public Trustee holds unclaimed money from Queensland government departments and agencies, including hospitals, correctional centres, statutory authorities and schools, from businesses such as solicitors, real estate agents, accountants and nursing homes, from unpaid wages or salary under a Queensland State Award, and from deceased estate entitlements. Separately, the Treasurer's Unclaimed Monies Fund, run by Queensland Treasury, holds all uncollected gaming money statewide from casinos, keno and pokies, plus any money that was transferred into the fund from other Queensland Government agencies before October 2010. Treasury describes this money as held in perpetuity, waiting to be paid to a person who can prove ownership to the Treasurer's satisfaction. Claims for post-October-2010, non-gaming money go through Queensland Public Trustee, while gaming money and pre-October-2010 claims go through the originating Queensland Government agency, or Queensland Treasury Finance directly if the agency is unknown.

Correcting the Governing Law: It Is the Public Trustee Act 1978

Some older sources and search summaries cite the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 as Queensland's governing law. Checking directly against Queensland Public Trustee's own published guidance, that citation does not match current law. Its own how to lodge page states that the Public Trustee Act 1978 requires the accountable person to pay unclaimed money to the Public Trustee of Queensland, and the operative provisions are Part 8 of that Act, sections 98 through 117A. No live reference to a standalone 1965 Act appears on any Queensland Government unclaimed money page reviewed for this article.

What Ends Up in the Register, and What Does Not

Queensland Public Trustee's own guidance is explicit about what it does not hold: money from dormant or old bank or credit union accounts, life insurance, superannuation, and residential tenancy bond money. Unclaimed or abandoned tenancy bond money instead runs through the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008, a separate framework entirely. There is one narrow exception to the superannuation exclusion: Queensland Public Trustee does separately hold some superannuation for people who have reached age 65, though the detail of that specific process was not covered in the sources reviewed for this article.

How Long Before Money Becomes Unclaimed: The Per-Category Table

Under section 98 of the Public Trustee Act 1978, money generally becomes unclaimed once it has been in the accountable person's possession for 2 years or more. Queensland Public Trustee's own published table goes further, setting different periods for different categories:

For solicitors, real estate agents, accountants and auctioneers, Queensland Public Trustee's guidance frames the trigger as funds held as at a particular stated date rather than a fixed number of years since the money was received; that phrasing was not fully resolved from the source page and should not be read as a fixed annual cutoff without checking the underlying Legal Profession Act 2007 and Trust Accounts Act 1973 provisions directly. No blanket minimum dollar amount was found in Part 8 of the Act, unlike NSW's $100 or Victoria's $20 minimum, though the Act leaves room for a regulation to prescribe additional detail that was not checked for this article.

How to Search and Claim: Free, but JP Witnessed

Queensland Public Trustee states there is no cost to the applicant, though it does carry out identity verification at its own discretion. The process is to note the search reference number, download and complete the Application for Unclaimed Money form, gather the required identity and supporting documents, and then take the completed form to a registered Justice of the Peace to sign and witness, a step not required the same way in New South Wales or Victoria, before posting it to Queensland Public Trustee. Processing is guided at up to 28 days from receipt of all required documents, though it can run longer during busier periods.

One practical tip from Queensland Public Trustee's own guidance: its search engine is an exact match on the words entered, so searching Smith will not surface Smyth, but it treats a multi word search as any words present, so searching Smith J P can also return results for John Peter Smith or Paul Joseph Smith.

Claiming a Deceased Estate's Unclaimed Money

Only the executor named in the will may lodge a claim for a deceased person's unclaimed money. Required documents include the completed form signed by all executors, identity documents for each executor, a document linking the deceased to the unclaimed money, proof of the deceased's last known address, a bank statement in the estate's name, the latest will, the death certificate, and a grant of probate or letters of administration. Where a grant is not yet available, a statutory declaration from all executors confirming that no legal proceedings or grant application are underway can substitute, though Queensland Public Trustee is explicit that payment without probate is not guaranteed. Company claims need the signatures of two company officers, either two directors or one director and one secretary, plus a current ASIC company extract dated within the last 30 days. See probate in Queensland and who inherits when there is no will for how the broader estate process works.

Is There a Deadline to Claim?

The answer differs depending on which of the two Queensland systems the money sits in. The Treasurer's Unclaimed Monies Fund is described directly by Queensland Treasury as held in perpetuity, an unambiguous no deadline position for that gaming and pre-October-2010 money. For money in Queensland Public Trustee's own unclaimed moneys fund, section 117, which lets the Public Trustee pay a claimant, sets no explicit deadline either. A separate provision, section 113, states that "nothing in this division" affects the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 or any other Act setting a limitation period. Section 113 is itself the last section of Division 2, immediately before the Division 3 heading (sections 115 to 117A) that creates the unclaimed moneys fund, which reads as section 113's limitation-period language applying to Division 2's broader unclaimed property provisions and not reaching the unclaimed moneys fund in Division 3, though this article treats that as the better reading of the text rather than a conclusively litigated point. On that reading, no general limitation period has been found that applies to a claim against the unclaimed moneys fund itself.

Interest on Queensland Unclaimed Money

Under section 116, interest that has accrued on money held to the credit of an estate under administration is placed into the unclaimed moneys fund along with the money itself once that money has sat unclaimed for the prior 2 years, confirming that interest does accrue while money sits in an individual estate account before the transfer. Section 117, which covers paying a claimant out of the fund, does not itself contain language about paying interest to that claimant. Whether interest continues accruing once money is inside the fund, and whether any of it reaches a successful claimant, was not resolved from the sources reviewed for this article.

Money Finding Agents

Neither Queensland Public Trustee's published guidance nor the Public Trustee Act 1978 contains an explicit consumer warning against paid money finding agents, or a statutory cap on what one can charge, the same gap found in Victoria. Queensland Public Trustee's own FAQ goes further than merely staying silent: it tells a money finding agent directly that registering with Queensland Public Trustee is not required, simply asking the client to sign the claim form and provide a copy of ID together with the signed authority. That confirms paid finders can and do operate in Queensland without any registration step or stated fee limit. Because the official search and claim process has no cost, using a paid third party is not necessary.

Lost Superannuation Is a Different System

Superannuation, aside from the narrow age 65 exception noted above, sits outside both Queensland unclaimed money systems. Lost and unclaimed super is handled federally by the ATO, either held by the fund itself while it tries to make contact, or transferred to the ATO once required, and it is searched separately through myGov.

Checking Other States Too

Queensland's systems only cover money held in Queensland. Anyone who has also lived or worked in New South Wales or Victoria should separately check unclaimed money in New South Wales and unclaimed money in Victoria, along with ASIC's federal register for banking, insurance and company money.

This article provides general information about unclaimed money in Queensland and does not replace guidance from Queensland Public Trustee, Queensland Treasury, or advice from a legal practitioner. Figures and thresholds reflect the Public Trustee Act 1978 (Qld) as accessed in August 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Queensland unclaimed money governed by the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965?

No. That citation is commonly repeated but does not match current law. Queensland Public Trustee's own guidance names Part 8 of the Public Trustee Act 1978 as the operative law.

Why does Queensland have two different unclaimed money holders?

Queensland Public Trustee holds most categories, including government agency money, business trust money, unpaid wages and deceased estates. The Treasurer's Unclaimed Monies Fund is a separate pool for all uncollected gaming money and for money transferred from other agencies before October 2010.

Is it free to claim unclaimed money through Queensland Public Trustee?

Yes, Queensland Public Trustee states there is no cost to the applicant, though the completed form does need to be signed and witnessed by a registered Justice of the Peace.

How long does money have to be held before it becomes unclaimed in Queensland?

The general rule is 2 years or more under section 98 of the Public Trustee Act 1978, but Queensland Public Trustee publishes a detailed table with shorter periods for some categories, such as 3 months for hospitals and 12 months for pawnbrokers after sale.

Does Queensland Public Trustee hold my old bank account or superannuation?

No. Its own guidance states it does not hold dormant bank or credit union account money, life insurance, superannuation or residential tenancy bond money, apart from a narrow exception for some superannuation belonging to people who have reached age 65.

Is there a deadline to claim unclaimed money in Queensland?

The Treasurer's Unclaimed Monies Fund is described as held in perpetuity. For Queensland Public Trustee's own unclaimed moneys fund, no explicit deadline was found either. Section 113's limitation-period language sits in Division 2, immediately before the unclaimed moneys fund provisions in Division 3, which points toward no general limitation period reaching that fund, though this has not been tested in litigation.

Does Queensland warn against paid money finding agents?

No explicit warning or fee cap was found in Queensland Public Trustee's guidance or the Act, the same gap found in Victoria. Because the official process has no cost, a paid finder is not necessary.

How do I claim unclaimed money for a deceased relative in Queensland?

The named executor lodges the claim with identity documents, proof linking the deceased to the money and their last address, the will, the death certificate, and a grant of probate or letters of administration, or a statutory declaration if a grant is not yet available.