Unclaimed Money Act 1990 (Western Australia)

The Unclaimed Money Act 1990 (WA) centralises the administrative treatment of certain sums that have not been claimed by their owners. Mechanically the Act does four things.

First, it defines "unclaimed money" and sets statutory time triggers after which money held or owed by a person becomes unclaimed for the purposes of the Act (see s 3 and s 6). The principal time triggers are: six years for a liquidated sum payable where no claim is made (s 6(2)); six years after expiry of a fixed term for deposits not re‑invested or where the owner has not dealt with the account for six years (s 6(3)); and, for certain deposit arrangements without time limit, a 25‑year inactivity trigger (s 6(3)(a)). The Act also permits other categories to be prescribed (s 6, s 9).

Second, it imposes notification and reporting duties on persons who are "holders" of unclaimed money. Persons who on 31 December are in possession of or liable to pay unclaimed money and are holders must notify the Treasurer by 31 January of the succeeding year of specified particulars and provide supporting information and facilities for inspection (s 8(1)). There is a further reporting obligation when notified money is later paid to an owner (s 8(2)). Regulations may specify form and timing for these obligations (s 11(2), s 9(3)).

Third, it requires the Treasurer to publish advertised particulars of unclaimed money (s 11). The advertisement regime is structured to distinguish between voluntary payments proposed by holders and money required to be paid under the Act (s 11(3)). If advertised money remains unpaid after the statutory advertising cycle, holders must pay that money to the Treasurer (s 14(1)); advertised prescribed retained money must be paid in the prescribed manner (s 14(2)). Money received by the Treasurer is credited to the Consolidated Account (s 18).

CrestWestern Australia

Unclaimed Money Act 1990

Western Australia

Unclaimed Money Act 1990

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Short title 2
Commencement 2
Interpretation 2
Application 3
Questions as to jurisdiction 5

Part 2 — Unclaimed money

Unclaimed money 6
Persons taken, or deemed, to be holders of unclaimed money 7
Treasurer to be notified of unclaimed money, or its payment 9

Part 3 — Prescribed retained money

Prescribed retained money 11
How prescribed retained money shall be dealt with by the Treasurer 13

Part 4 — Treasury procedures

Division 1 — Advertisement

Treasurer to advertise 15
Effect of advertisement of moneys 16

Division 2 — Payments to or from Treasury

Money not claimed, and voluntarily paid to Treasury otherwise than as unclaimed or prescribed retained money 16
Advertised money unpaid payable to the Treasurer 17
Treasurer may make payment to claimant 18
Interest on payments made 19
Money recoverable by Treasurer 19
Payment into Consolidated Account 20

Part 5 — Administration

Exemption 21
Exemptions in respect of money subject to a trust 21
Delegations and authorisations 21
Offences 24
Regulations 25
Repeal 25
Transitional provision 25

Notes

Compilation table 26

Other notes 28

Defined terms

Western Australia

Unclaimed Money Act 1990

An Act to provide for the advertisement of unclaimed money and of certain prescribed retained money, for the payment of that money into and out of the Consolidated Account, to repeal the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1912, and for related purposes.

[Long title amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]

Part 1 — Preliminary

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Unclaimed Money Act 1990.

2. Commencement

The provisions of this Act shall come into operation on such day as is, or days as are respectively, fixed by proclamation.

3. Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

claim, in relation to any account or deposit, includes any payment in or withdrawal or any instruction given;

disbursable, in relation to prescribed retained money, has the meaning given in section 10(2);

holder, in relation —

(a) to unclaimed money, includes a person who is by section 7 taken, or deemed, to be for the purposes of this Act the holder; and

(b) to prescribed retained money, means the person who holds the money under the written law by virtue of which the money is for the purposes of section 9 to be taken to be prescribed retained money;

owner, in relation to any unclaimed money or prescribed retained money, means a person who is entitled to that money, or to possession or control of that money as against the holder, and a reference to the owner includes a reference to —

(a) a person acting for or on behalf of the owner;

(b) the personal representative of a deceased owner; or

prescribed retained money means money to which section 9 applies;

the repealed Act means the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1912;

unclaimed money means money to which section 6(1) applies, and a reference to unclaimed money includes a reference to —

(a) money deemed to be unclaimed money by the operation of section 7(2) or (3) or section 10(1); and

(b) money to which section 13(2) applies.

(2) References in this Act —

(a) to money, include the principal and, subject to section 16(1), any interest paid or payable in relation to that money;

(b) to interest, include any amount in the nature of interest, and any dividend, bonus or profit derived from the principal; or

(c) to money which is held, include an amount which although not in the possession of the holder is subject to the control of the holder,

and “holder”, and any other cognate expression, is to be interpreted accordingly.

(3) For the purposes of this Act, money may be taken to be liable to be paid notwithstanding that, as between a holder and an owner, a notice or demand would be required before that money became owed or payable.

4. Application

(1) This Act applies —

(a) to money payable voluntarily to the Treasurer under this Act;

(b) to money which is unclaimed money and is, or may be required to be, paid to the Treasurer under this Act; and

(c) to prescribed retained money, subject to any trust or other specific requirement affecting the disposal of that money which is imposed by the written law by virtue of which that money is to be taken for the purposes of section 9 to be prescribed retained money.

(2) Where a holder pays money to the Treasurer in accordance with this Act, the holder in respect of the money so paid shall, subject to section 7(2), thereafter be relieved of all further liability to any person claiming as owner, notwithstanding that any relevant period of limitation in respect of a claim to which that money relates has not expired.

(3) This Act does not apply to or in relation to money to which —

(a) any of the following provisions of Acts of the Commonwealth apply, namely —

(i) section 53 of the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959;

(ii) section 69 of the Banking Act 1959;

(iii) section 106 of the Life Insurance Act 1945 1;

(iv) section 254 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966;

(v) section 12 or 14 of the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999;

(b) a provision of an Act of the Commonwealth prescribed for the purposes of this subsection applies.

[(4) deleted]

(5) Part 2 of this Act does not apply to or in relation to —

(a) money in respect of which the liability for payment, or the amount that is payable, is disputed or not ascertained;

(b) unpresented traveller’s cheques; or

(i) is an amount of less than $100, or such other amount as may be prescribed; or

(ii) has been obtained or dealt with in such a manner, or is of such a kind, as may be prescribed,

for the purposes of this subsection.

(6) This Act binds the Crown.

[Section 4 amended: No. 73 of 1990 s. 45; No. 73 of 1994 s. 4; No. 19 of 2003 s. 26.]

5. Questions as to jurisdiction

Where a liability would arise to pay unclaimed money both —

(a) to the Treasurer under this Act, but for this section; and

(b) to a Minister of the Crown under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory,

any question as to the law applicable to that money shall, for the purposes of this Act, be determined by reference to the law which is applicable in the place where the person to whom the money is owed last had a known address.

Part 2 — Unclaimed money

6. Unclaimed money

(1) Subject to section 4(3) and (5), any money which is situated in the State and to which this Part applies shall be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be unclaimed money.

(2) Any money, other than money to which subsection (3) applies or prescribed retained money, which represents a liquidated sum liable to be paid by a holder for 6 years after the date on which —

(a) the money became payable by that holder; or

(b) payment might have been demanded or enforced,

without any claim having been made in that time in respect of that money by the owner against the holder, and notwithstanding that the recovery of that money from the holder may have been barred by lapse of time, is money to which this Part applies.

(3) Any money, other than prescribed retained money, which was deposited with or lent to the holder —

(a) so as to bear interest —

(i) without time limit; or

(ii) for a fixed term or terms, to be re‑invested from time to time on expiry of the preceding fixed term,

where in either case the owner has not operated on the account for 25 years;

(b) so as to bear interest for a fixed term but not thereafter to be re‑invested, and has remained in the possession of that holder for 6 years after the expiry of that fixed term; or

(c) not so as to bear interest, whether upon current account or otherwise, but where the owner has not dealt with the money deposited for 6 years,

is money to which this Part applies.

[Section 6 amended: No. 73 of 1994 s. 4.]

7. Persons taken, or deemed, to be holders of unclaimed money

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

(a) 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;

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

(c) 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 —

(i) a deposit with or loan to;

(ii) a dividend payable by; or

(iii) securities related to,

the body corporate;

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

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

(f) 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

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

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

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

(a) 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

(b) provided with —

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

(ii) 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 this Act.

(5) 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 —

(a) if the body corporate is a company; or

(b) 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.

[Section 7 amended: No. 20 of 2003 s. 51.]

8. Treasurer to be notified of unclaimed money, or its payment

(1) A person who, on 31 December in any year, is in possession of or is liable to pay any unclaimed money and is a person who by this Act is taken or deemed to be a holder of that money shall —

(a) not later than 31 January in the succeeding year notify the Treasurer in the prescribed manner of —

(i) the amount of that money;

(ii) the person on whose behalf it is held or to whom it is liable to be paid;

(iii) the manner, or the respective manners, in which the holder came into possession of the money and the date of so doing; and

(iv) such other matters as may be prescribed in relation to that money;

and

(b) provide to the Treasurer —

(i) such further information relating to that money as the Treasurer may require; and

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

for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Not later than 31 July in any year, a person who pays to the owner or any other person any money of which notification was given under subsection (1) to the Treasurer in that year, shall notify the Treasurer, in writing or in such other manner as may be prescribed, of —

(a) the amount and date of the payment, and to whom it was made; and

(b) such other matters relating to that payment as may be prescribed,

and provide to the Treasurer in respect of that money the like information and facilities as would have been required had that notification been given under subsection (1).

Part 3 — Prescribed retained money

9. Prescribed retained money

(1) Where money —

[(a) deleted]

(b) being money to which section 28 of the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1970 applies, is, or is liable to be, deposited with the Treasurer;

(c) under section 10(3) of the Warehousemen’s Liens Act 1952 is, or is liable to be, paid to the Treasurer for payment to the Consolidated Account;

(d) under section 8 of the Escheat (Procedure) Act 1940 is, or is liable to be, paid to the Treasurer;

(e) under section 45(1) of the Public Trustee Act 1941 is paid to the Treasury for the public service;

(f) having been paid into the Supreme Court by a person under section 99 of the Trustees Act 1962, or under an Act repealed by that Act, and not distributed, is vested in the Public Trustee and is for the time being held in the Common Account as defined in section 2 of the Public Trustee Act 1941;

(g) is money, or the proceeds of a sale of property, unclaimed by the person entitled, which under section 27 of the Trustee Companies Act 1987 is, or is liable to be, paid to the Treasurer;

(h) is money that under the Criminal and Found Property Disposal Act 2006 is to be dealt with under this Act;

(i) is money that under the Major Events Act 2023 section 87(7) is, or must be, paid to the Treasurer;

(j) is the proceeds of a sale or disposal, under the Road Traffic Act 1974 section 80J(2), of an uncollected vehicle or an item, as defined in section 80J(1) of that Act, which under section 80J(7)(k) of that Act is, or is liable to be, paid to the Treasurer;

(ja) which is not for the time being disbursable prescribed retained money and represents the net proceeds of a sale of goods under regulations under Schedule 7, item 16 of the Port Authorities Act 1999, is, or is liable to be paid to the Treasury;

[(k), (m)‑(q) deleted]

(r) is money which —

(i) is to be held on a trust, or subject to any duty or requirement, imposed by a written law for the use or benefit of persons who may have a claim as owner in respect of that money; or

(ii) is held in any department or statutory authority, within the meaning of the Financial Management Act 2006, or by a person subject to the provisions of that Act by virtue of the office, service or employment of that person, under any written law for or on account or for the use or benefit of any other person as owner,

and that money is, or by a written law is required to be, paid to the Treasurer or credited to the Consolidated Account or any other account at the Treasury in default of a claim being made by the owner; or

(s) is money which is by any written law required to be dealt with as though it were money to which the repealed Act applied,

that money shall, after the commencement of this Act, be taken for the purposes of this section to be prescribed retained money.

(2) Regulations made under this Act may, by reference to the written law under which the money is held or to the circumstances under which the money is held, provide that money of a kind therein specified shall be taken for the purposes of this section to be prescribed retained money.

(3) Subject to section 4(1)(c), regulations made under this Act may provide that where a person is the holder of prescribed retained money that person shall —

(a) on or before a date specified in the regulations —

(i) notify the Treasurer in the prescribed manner of the matters referred to in section 8(1)(a); and

(ii) provide to the Treasurer the information and facilities referred to in section 8(1)(b);

and

(b) not later than 6 months after the date so specified, notify the Treasurer in the prescribed manner of the matters referred to in section 8(2),

in relation to that money as though it had been unclaimed money to which Part 2 applies.

[Section 9 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11 and 16(1); No. 73 of 1994 s. 4; No. 49 of 1996, s. 64; No. 24 of 1998 s. 68(2); No. 5 of 1999 s. 21 and 26; No. 26 of 1999 s. 109; No. 10 of 2004 s. 15(2); No. 59 of 2006 s. 73; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4 and 17; No. 9 of 2008 s. 36; No. 8 of 2009 s. 11; No. 38 of 2012 s. 7; No. 12 of 2023 s. 113(2).]

10. How prescribed retained money shall be dealt with by the Treasurer

(1) Subject to section 4(1)(c), prescribed retained money which was or is required by any written law to be, and which has been or is, paid by the holder to the Treasurer or Treasury shall, after the coming into operation of and for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be, and may be dealt with by the Treasurer as though it were, unclaimed money.

(2) Any sum authorised as disbursable, in respect of dues, charges, expenses or other liabilities, under the written law by virtue of which the money is to be taken for the purposes of this Part to be prescribed retained money may be paid out of or deducted from that prescribed retained money, whether before or after it was or is required to be paid to the Treasurer or Treasury.

Part 4 — Treasury procedures

Division 1 — Advertisement

11. Treasurer to advertise

(1) The Treasurer shall, as soon as may be practicable in any year, cause to be advertised the respective amounts and prescribed particulars of —

(a) unclaimed money notified to the Treasurer in that year under section 8(1), of which no notification of payment has been given under section 8(2);

(b) unclaimed money notified to the Treasurer otherwise than under section 8, or received in the Treasury otherwise than as prescribed retained money, in that year; and

(2) Regulations made for the purposes of this section may require persons subject to this Act to furnish to the Treasurer, or to a specified person authorised by the Treasurer, the information required for the purpose of advertisement in a manner and at a time and in a suitable legible form to enable the advertising copy to be collated.

(3) The advertisement to be published under subsection (1) shall distinguish between —

(a) money which a person proposes to pay to the Treasurer voluntarily; and

(b) money which the holder is required to pay to the Treasurer under this Act,

and may direct persons having any claim in respect of the money to deal with the holder specified in relation to that money in the advertisement.

(4) The Treasurer shall ensure that the information required to be contained in the advertisement to be published under subsection (1) is made available for general public information in Police Stations, and in local government and Government offices and —

(a) appears in a special edition or editions of the Gazette; or

(b) is otherwise made known by newspaper advertisement or by a means which is appropriate to the nature of the circumstances under which the liability for payment arose or is likely to be brought to the attention of probable claimants.

[Section 11 amended: No. 14 of 1996 s. 4.]

12. Effect of advertisement of moneys

Where under this Act any money is advertised, in the Gazette or elsewhere, as being unclaimed or as being held or liable to be paid by any person, the advertisement does not prejudice or otherwise affect any rights of an owner of that money and —

(a) the money is recoverable by the owner from the person holding or liable to pay the money, until the money has been paid to the Treasurer under this Act, but not thereafter; and

(b) if the money has been so paid to the Treasurer, the owner may apply to the Treasurer for payment to be made under section 15.

Division 2 — Payments to or from Treasury

13. Money not claimed, and voluntarily paid to Treasury otherwise than as unclaimed or prescribed retained money

(1) Where for a period of 2 years or more any money has been held by, or liable to be paid by, a person without any claim being made by the owner, on an application made by that person the Treasurer may, subject to the like requirements as are set out in section 7(4) but notwithstanding that that section does not otherwise apply, accept a voluntary payment of that money into Treasury under the authority conferred by this section.

(2) On receipt of any money paid into Treasury under subsection (1) —

(a) that money may be dealt with by the Treasurer as though it had been unclaimed money; and

(b) the person making the payment into Treasury shall not thereby be deemed to have been a holder of unclaimed money, but shall be entitled as against the owner to the relief in respect of further liability afforded by section 4(2),

but the money remains subject to any trust or requirement of which the Treasurer was given notice in writing and specifically undertook to give effect to when approving the application made under subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to or in relation to money paid —

(a) into Treasury, on an application approved under section 7(2);

(b) in accordance with the approval to an application under section 7(3); or

14. Advertised money unpaid payable to the Treasurer

(1) Where any unclaimed money is advertised under section 11 and on the expiration of the period ending on 31 July next following the date on which it was advertised remains unpaid to the owner, that money —

(a) if it is money which was advertised as proposed to be paid voluntarily under section 11(3)(a) may; and

(b) in any other case, within 14 days thereafter, shall,

be paid by the holder to the Treasurer, unless the holder notifies the Treasurer of its payment in accordance with section 8(2) or satisfies the Treasurer that a person has established a valid claim to the money and that the claim will be met.

(2) Where any prescribed retained money is advertised under section 11 that money shall, in the prescribed manner, be paid by the holder to the Treasurer.

15. Treasurer may make payment to claimant

(1) If a person applies to the Treasurer for payment —

(a) of any money required to be paid to the Treasurer under this Act or the repealed Act and so paid;

(b) of any money paid to the Treasurer voluntarily under this Act; or

(c) of any money received by the Treasurer to be dealt with as though it were money to which this Act or the repealed Act applied,

the Treasurer, on being satisfied that the claimant on behalf of whom or which the application is made is the owner of the money, shall cause payment of that money to be made to the claimant.

(2) Money payable by the Treasurer under subsection (1) shall be charged to the Consolidated Account which is hereby appropriated to the extent necessary.

(3) Any question as to whether any payment is to be made by the Treasurer under this section shall be a matter for the Treasurer to determine, but —

(a) if the Treasurer so requires, where there are competing claims or otherwise, the Treasurer may; and

(b) if a person aggrieved by a determination made by the Treasurer so requires, the Treasurer shall,

seek directions from a court having competent jurisdiction with respect to the amount of money in question.

[Section 15 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]

16. Interest on payments made

(1) Except in so far as subsection (2) provides, interest shall be taken not to accrue in relation to any money paid to the Treasurer or into the Treasury under this Act.

(2) Where the Treasurer is satisfied that any money which it is agreed shall be payable into Treasury under section 13(2) was, immediately prior to the time at which it was paid into the Treasury, money that was held or owed in circumstances giving rise to a duty, at law or in equity, on the part of a person by whom that money was then held or owed to pay interest to, or to ensure that interest was earned on the money for, the person for whom it was held or to whom it was owed, and that the amount of that money at that time exceeded the prescribed amount, the Treasurer may pay to a claimant interest in respect of the money.

(3) The interest payable under subsection (2) shall be calculated at a rate to be determined by the Treasurer, being a rate not less than that payable from time to time on ordinary savings accounts with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

[Section 16 amended: No. 6 of 1994 s. 13; No. 14 of 1995 s. 44.]

17. Money recoverable by Treasurer

All money required to be paid to the Treasurer or Treasury under this Act, or as money which is unclaimed under any other prescribed written law including under a repealed Act, shall be recoverable by the Treasurer on behalf of the Crown by action in any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the Treasurer against the holder as a debt due to the Crown.

18. Payment into Consolidated Account

All money received by the Treasurer or in the Treasury —

(a) under this Act; or

(b) under any other written law, by way of, or to be dealt with as, money which is unclaimed,

shall be credited to the Consolidated Account and may thereafter be dealt with by the Treasurer in accordance with this Act.

[Section 18 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]

Part 5 — Administration

19. Exemption

(1) The Treasurer may, pursuant to an arrangement in writing, by notice in the Gazette exempt any holder or class of holder from compliance with, or with any provision of, this Act, either absolutely or conditionally, in respect of specified kinds of unclaimed money.

(2) Regulations may make provision for the exemption of any person from any requirement of this Act in respect of unclaimed money or prescribed retained money.

20. Exemptions in respect of money subject to a trust

(1) A person who holds money subject to a trust may —

(a) apply to the Treasurer for a certificate; or

(b) if the application to the Treasurer is refused, apply to a Master of the Supreme Court for an Order,

exempting that person from the requirements of this Act in respect of that money.

(2) A certificate or Order under subsection (1) —

(a) may be granted —

(i) conditionally; or

(ii) unconditionally;

and

(b) shall be given effect.

21. Delegations and authorisations

(1) The Treasurer may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by him delegate to any Minister any functions that are conferred on the Treasurer by this Act other than this power of delegation.

(2) A person holding or acting in the office of Treasurer or a Minister to whom any function has been delegated under subsection (1) may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by that person delegate to any officer of the Treasury any functions that are conferred on the Treasurer by this Act other than this power of delegation.

(3) Where a function has been delegated under subsection (2) to the Under Treasurer, the Under Treasurer may authorise another officer of the Treasury to perform the function so delegated.

(4) A delegation under subsection (2) or an authorisation under subsection (3) may be to —

(a) a specified person; or

(b) the person for the time being holding a specified office.

(5) Any act or thing done in the performance of a function by a Minister or by a person to whom that function has been delegated by the Treasurer under subsection (1) or (2), or by a person authorised by the Under Treasurer under subsection (3) to perform that function, has the same force and effect as if it had been done by the Treasurer.

(6) Where the performance of a function by the Treasurer is dependent upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the Treasurer in relation to a matter and that function has been delegated under subsection (1) or (2), that function may be performed by the delegate, or by a person authorised by the Under Treasurer under subsection (3), upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the delegate or of the authorised person, as the case may be, in relation to that matter.

(7) The giving of an authorisation under subsection (3) does not prevent the performance of a function by the Under Treasurer.

(8) Where a person purports to perform a function conferred or expressed to be conferred on the Treasurer under this Act, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is established, that the person is duly authorised by a delegation under subsection (1) or (2), or by an authorisation under subsection (3) given pursuant to such a delegation, to perform the function.

(9) A document purporting to be signed for the purposes of this Act by a Minister, or an officer of the Treasury as a delegate of the Treasurer or the Minister shall be deemed, unless the contrary is established, to have been signed by that person as such a delegate and to have been so signed pursuant to the performance of a function duly delegated by the Treasurer.

(10) A document purporting to be signed for the purposes of this Act by an officer of the Treasury authorised by the Under Treasurer to sign the document shall be deemed, unless the contrary is established, to have been signed by such an officer so authorised and to have been so signed pursuant to the performance of a function that the officer is duly authorised by the Under Treasurer to perform.

(11) Where the Treasurer has delegated a function to a person under this section —

(a) the Treasurer may give directions to the delegate with respect to the performance of that function;

(b) if a Minister has under subsection (2) delegated the performance of that function to an officer of the Treasury, that Minister —

(i) shall if the Treasurer has given a direction to that officer under paragraph (a) with respect to the performance of that function, give a corresponding direction to the officer; and

(ii) may, subject to any direction given to the Minister by the Treasurer under paragraph (a), give directions to an officer with respect to the performance of that function;

and

(c) if the Under Treasurer has under subsection (3) authorised another officer of the Treasury to perform that function, the Under Treasurer —

(i) shall, if the Treasurer has given a direction to that officer under paragraph (a) with respect to the performance of that function, give a corresponding direction to the officer; and

(ii) may, subject to any direction given to the Under Treasurer by the Treasurer under paragraph (a), give directions to the officer with respect to the performance of that function.

22. Offences

(1) A person who, wilfully or negligently —

(a) being a holder, fails to comply with any requirement of this Act or with any condition imposed in relation to an application, arrangement or exemption under this Act; or

(b) being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of a holder, authorises or permits such failure in compliance,

commits an offence.

Penalty: $2 000.

(2) A person who, otherwise than in the performance of a function under or in connection with this Act, either directly or indirectly —

(a) makes a record of, or divulges or communicates to any other person, any information concerning the affairs of another acquired by reason of, or in the course of the administration of, this Act; or

(b) produces to any person any books or other thing relating to the affairs of another furnished for the purposes of this Act,

commits an offence.

Penalty: $2 500.

(3) Where the affairs of a body of persons are managed by its members, subsections (1) and (2) apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with a function of the management of that body as if that person were the manager of that body.

[Section 22 amended: No. 50 of 2003 s. 101(2).]

23. Regulations

The Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the purposes of this Act.

24. Repeal

The Unclaimed Moneys Act 1912 is repealed.

25. Transitional provision

All money standing to the credit of the fund called the “Unclaimed Moneys Fund” pursuant to section 6 of the repealed Act is, without further authorisation or appropriation than this Act, transferred to the credit of the Consolidated Fund 2.

[Section 25 amended: No. 6 of 1993 s. 11.]

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Notes

This is a compilation of the Unclaimed Money Act 1990 and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table.

Compilation table

Short title	Number and year	Assent	Commencement
Unclaimed Money Act 1990	31 of 1990	9 Oct 1990	12 Apr 1991 (see s. 2 and Gazette 12 Apr 1991 p. 1597)
R & I Bank Act 1990 s. 45(1)	73 of 1990	20 Dec 1990	1 Jan 1991 (see s. 2(2) and Gazette 28 Dec 1990 p. 6369)
Financial Administration Legislation Amendment Act 1993 s. 11 and 16(1)	6 of 1993	27 Aug 1993	1 Jul 1993 (see s. 2(1))
R & I Bank Amendment Act 1994 s. 13	6 of 1994	11 Apr 1994	26 Apr 1994 (see s. 2(2) and Gazette 26 Apr 1994 p. 1743)
Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 1994 s. 4	73 of 1994	9 Dec 1994	9 Dec 1994 (see s. 2)
Bank of Western Australia Act 1995 s. 44	14 of 1995	4 Jul 1995	1 Dec 1995 (see s. 2(3) and Gazette 29 Nov 1995 p. 5529)
Local Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 s. 4	14 of 1996	28 Jun 1996	1 Jul 1996 (see s. 2)
Financial Legislation Amendment Act 1996 s. 64	49 of 1996	25 Oct 1996	25 Oct 1996 (see s. 2(1))
Acts Amendment (Gaming) Act 1998 s. 68(2)	24 of 1998	30 Jun 1998	5 Aug 1998 (see s. 2 and Gazette 4 Aug 1998 p. 3981)
Port Authorities (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999 s. 21 and 26	5 of 1999	13 Apr 1999	14 Aug 1999 (see s. 2 and Gazette 13 Aug 1999 p. 3823)
Acts Amendment and Repeal (Financial Sector Reform) Act 1999 s. 109	26 of 1999	29 Jun 1999	1 Jul 1999 (see s. 2(1) and Gazette 30 Jun 1999 p. 2905)
*Reprint of the Unclaimed Money Act 1990* as at 5 Nov 1999** (includes amendments listed above)
Unclaimed Money (Superannuation and RSA Providers) Act 2003 s. 26	19 of 2003	17 Apr 2003	1 Jul 2003 (see s. 2)
Corporations (Consequential Amendments) Act (No. 2) 2003 Pt. 25	20 of 2003	23 Apr 2003	15 Jul 2001 (see s. 2(1) and Cwlth Gazette 13 Jul 2001 No. S285)
Sentencing Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2003 s. 101	50 of 2003	9 Jul 2003	15May 2004 (see s. 2 and Gazette 14 May 2004 p. 1445)
Road Traffic Amendment (Impounding and Confiscation of Vehicles) Act 2004 s. 15	10 of 2004	23 Jun 2004	4 Sep 2004 (see s. 2 and Gazette 3 Sep 2004 p. 3849)
Criminal Investigation (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 s. 73	59 of 2006	16 Nov 2006	1 Jul 2007 (see s. 2 and Gazette 22 Jun 2007 p. 2838)
Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006 s. 4 and 17	77 of 2006	21 Dec 2006	1 Feb 2007 (see s. 2(1) and Gazette 19 Jan 2007 p. 137)
*Reprint 2: The Unclaimed Money Act 1990* as at 9 Mar 2007** (includes amendments listed above except the amendments in the Criminal Investigation (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 s. 73)
Public Trustee and Trustee Companies Legislation Amendment Act 2008 Pt. 4	9 of 2008	31 Mar 2008	1 Jul 2008 (see s. 2 and Gazette 24 Jun 2008 p. 2885)
Statutes (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2009 s. 11	8 of 2009	21 May 2009	22 May 2009 (see s. 2(b))
Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Amendment Act 2012 Pt. 3	38 of 2012	22 Nov 2012	7 Aug 2013 (see s. 2(b) and Gazette 6 Aug 2013 p. 3647)
Major Events Act 2023 s. 113	12 of 2023	22 May 2023	23 May 2023 (see s. 2(b))

Other notes

1 Repealed by the Life Insurance (Consequential Amendments and Repeals) Act 1995 of the Commonwealth.

2 The former Consolidated Fund became the Consolidated Account.

Defined terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined term Provision(s)

claim 3(1)

disbursable 3(1)

holder 3(1)

owner 3(1)

prescribed retained money 3(1)

the repealed Act 3(1)

unclaimed money 3(1)

Western Australia

Unclaimed Money Act 1990

Western Australia

Unclaimed Money Act 1990

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Short title 2
Commencement 2
Interpretation 2
Application 3
Questions as to jurisdiction 5

Part 2 — Unclaimed money

Unclaimed money 6
Persons taken, or deemed, to be holders of unclaimed money 7
Treasurer to be notified of unclaimed money, or its payment 9

Part 3 — Prescribed retained money

Prescribed retained money 11
How prescribed retained money shall be dealt with by the Treasurer 13

Part 4 — Treasury procedures

Division 1 — Advertisement

Treasurer to advertise 15
Effect of advertisement of moneys 16

Division 2 — Payments to or from Treasury

Money not claimed, and voluntarily paid to Treasury otherwise than as unclaimed or prescribed retained money 16
Advertised money unpaid payable to the Treasurer 17
Treasurer may make payment to claimant 18
Interest on payments made 19
Money recoverable by Treasurer 19
Payment into Consolidated Account 20

Part 5 — Administration

Exemption 21
Exemptions in respect of money subject to a trust 21
Delegations and authorisations 21
Offences 24
Regulations 25
Repeal 25
Transitional provision 25

Notes

Compilation table 26

Other notes 28

Defined terms

Western Australia

The Act’s conceptual architecture rests on a small set of statutory definitions and mechanisms that determine when private funds move into public custody, how they are publicised, who may claim, and how the Treasurer administers and disburses the funds.

Defined terms and legal character:

"Unclaimed money" (defined via s 3(1) and the substantive criteria in s 6) captures money situated in the State that meets the time and transactional triggers in Part 2. The definition expressly includes money deemed to be unclaimed by operation of s 7(2) or (3), s 10(1), or s 13(2) (s 3(1)).
"Holder" has distinct senses for unclaimed money and for prescribed retained money (s 3(1)). For unclaimed money the statutory list in s 7(1) prescribes who will be treated as a holder , including persons holding on behalf of others in the normal course of business, lenders/borrowers where the business includes borrowing/lending, companies or their liquidators/receivers where the money relates to deposits, dividends or securities, payors of salary/pension/superannuation, trustees, and persons of a class prescribed by regulation (s 7(1)(a)-(g)).
"Owner" is the person entitled to the money, and the definition expressly includes persons acting on behalf of owners, personal representatives, and persons with lawful derivative interests (s 3(1)).

Time triggers and categories:

Liquidated sums: six years after money became payable or could have been demanded/enforced where no claim is made (s 6(2)).
Deposit/loan accounts: six years (or 25 years in certain indefinite reinvestment arrangements) of owner inactivity before being treated as unclaimed (s 6(3)). Specific pathways allow deposits with indefinite reinvestment to convert after 25 years (s 6(3)(a)).
A voluntary acceptance pathway enables a person to ask the Treasurer to accept money into Treasury after the money has been held without a claim for two years or more (s 13(1)-(2)).
"Prescribed retained money" is a separate but related class defined by reference to specific statutory sources listed in s 9(1) and by regulation (s 9(2)). The Act treats such money as if it were unclaimed money once it has been paid to the Treasurer (s 10(1)).

Notification, advertising and transfer:

Holders must notify the Treasurer of unclaimed money as at 31 December by 31 January (s 8(1)(a)-(b)). Notification includes the amount, the person on whose behalf it is held, how the holder acquired the money and other prescribed particulars (s 8(1)(a)(i)-(iv)).
The Treasurer publishes advertisements of unclaimed and prescribed retained money (s 11), with statutory directions on distinguishing voluntary from mandatory payments (s 11(3)) and on public access to the advertised information (s 11(4)).
Following advertisement, the holder must pay advertised money into Treasury within statutory timeframes if unpaid (s 14).

Treasurer’s powers and remedies:

The Treasurer may accept voluntary payments and treat them as unclaimed money (s 13), pay claimants on proof of ownership (s 15(1)), deduct authorised disbursable sums from prescribed retained money (s 10(2)), and recover unpaid moneys from holders by court action (s 17).
The Treasurer determines interest policies in limited circumstances (s 16(2)-(3)), may exempt holders or classes by Gazette (s 19(1)), and regulations can create further exemptions (s 19(2)). Delegations and authorisations permit ministers and treasury officers to exercise functions subject to statutory constraints (s 21).

Interactional rules and limitations:

Payment into Treasury generally extinguishes holder liability to claimants (s 4(2)), subject to section 7(2) (which preserves further liability where a person has stood in a particular role for a period after ceasing business or on death and has made application for voluntary payment), and subject to trust obligations preserved in s 4(1)(c) and s 9(1)(r).
Interest largely ceases to accrue once money is paid to Treasury (s 16(1)), although the Treasurer can pay interest in limited cases where money paid voluntarily was previously held in circumstances giving rise to a duty to pay or ensure interest and the amount exceeded the prescribed amount (s 16(2)-(3)).
The Act explicitly excludes application to money governed by certain Commonwealth legislation, naming specific provisions (Commonwealth Banks Act 1959 s 53, Banking Act 1959 s 69, Life Insurance Act 1945 s 106, Bankruptcy Act 1966 s 254, Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 ss 12 or 14) and any Commonwealth provision prescribed under s 4(3) (s 4(3)(a)-(b)).

Administrative form and evidence:

The Act empowers the Treasurer to require production of accounting or other documents for inspection (s 8(1)(b), s 7(4)(b)(ii)). It presumes the validity of documents signed by delegates unless the contrary is shown (s 21(8)-(10)).

These core concepts structure who must act, when funds move to public accounts, how owners can claim, and how the Treasurer administers, pays or retains the money.

The Act imposes duties and creates rights that touch a defined set of actors. The text identifies who is responsible for reporting and payment, who may claim, and the public actors charged with administration.

Holders (primary regulatory target). The statutory "holder" categories are spelled out in s 7(1). They include:

Persons who hold money on behalf of others in the normal course of business, trade or profession (s 7(1)(a)). This captures banks, custodians, trustees in a commercial context, and likely other financial intermediaries.
Persons whose business includes borrowing or lending money where they have borrowed money (s 7(1)(b)).
Companies and other bodies corporate, along with company liquidators and receivers, where the money relates to a deposit with or loan to the body, dividends payable by it, or securities related to it (s 7(1)(c)) , with the construction of "dividend" and "securities" to be read against the Corporations Act 2001 for companies (s 7(5)).
Employers or payors of salary, wages, pensions or superannuation benefits (s 7(1)(d)), which explicitly brings payroll and superannuation administering entities within the scope. Note the compilation history shows later amendments dealing with superannuation/RSA providers (Unclaimed Money (Superannuation and RSA Providers) Act 2003) and Commonwealth superannuation legislation are excluded (compilation table; s 4(3)).
Persons holding money subject to a trust (s 7(1)(e)).
Persons acting for or on behalf of another holder or personal representatives (s 7(1)(f)).
Any persons prescribed by regulation (s 7(1)(g)) , regulations may therefore extend or clarify the class of holders.

Owners and claimants. "Owner" includes the person entitled to the money, persons acting on their behalf, personal representatives of deceased owners and those with derivative lawful claims (s 3(1)). Owners retain the right to recover money from the holder until the money is paid to the Treasurer (s 12(a)), and if the money has been paid into Treasury they may apply to the Treasurer for payment (s 12(b), s 15(1)).

The Treasurer and Treasury officers. The Treasurer is the central decision‑maker: responsible for advertising (s 11), accepting voluntary payments (s 13), determining payment to claimants (s 15), imposing and administering exemptions (s 19), and recovering unpaid money (s 17). The Treasurer may delegate most functions (s 21), and the Act presumes the authority of delegates and authorised officers (s 21(8)-(10)).

Other public and regulated entities. The Act specifically incorporates, as "prescribed retained money," money arising under other WA statutes listed in s 9(1) (for example the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1970 s 28, Warehousemen’s Liens Act 1952 s 10(3), Escheat (Procedure) Act 1940 s 8, Public Trustee Act 1941 s 45(1), Trustees Act 1962 s 99‑derived funds, Trustee Companies Act 1987 s 27, Criminal and Found Property Disposal Act 2006, Major Events Act 2023 s 87(7), Road Traffic Act 1974 s 80J proceeds, Port Authorities Act 1999 sales proceeds, and funds held under written law for beneficiaries in public departments under the Financial Management Act 2006) and by regulation (s 9(1), s 9(2)). The holder of prescribed retained money for particular statutory sources will therefore be called upon to notify and pay in the prescribed manner.

Persons ceasing business or deceased holders. The Act contains explicit provisions for persons who cease business or die: where for at least six months after cessation the person who carried on the business or their personal representative has held money of unknown owner that would have been unclaimed had the period expired, the Treasurer may accept voluntary payment on application and then treat that money as though the applicant had been the holder (s 7(2)). This protects successors and executors from continuing liability upon payment into Treasury but contains procedural requirements (s 7(4)).

Industries and financial sectors affected through specific amendments and references. The compilation table and s 9 amendments show attention to particular sectors: banking and Commonwealth financial legislation are excluded (s 4(3) and compilation table), while statutory sources create bespoke pathways for public trustee funds, sale proceeds from impounded vehicles (Road Traffic Act), proceeds under the Port Authorities Act, criminal found property, and funds related to major events (s 9(1) items (h)-(j), (ja)). Superannuation and RSA providers are addressed in later amendments referenced in the compilation table.

Who pays and who decides. Practically, holders pay: they must report (s 8) and, if notified money is unpaid after advertisement, pay to the Treasurer (s 14). The Treasurer decides upon advertising, acceptance of voluntary payments, exemptions (s 11, s 13, s 19), and whether to pay claimants (s 15). Courts are available where the Treasurer requests directions on competing claims or other disputes (s 15(3)), and the Treasurer may sue to recover sums payable to the Crown (s 17).

In sum, the Act assigns reporting and payment obligations to holders across financial, corporate and public sectors, preserves owners’ rights to recover prior to payment, centralises funds in the Consolidated Account under the Treasurer’s administration, and establishes pathways for exemptions, delegation and judicial directions where disputes arise.

The Act imposes discrete duties on holders, grants rights to owners and claimants, and establishes administrative rights and discretions for the Treasurer and delegated officers.

Duties imposed on holders:

Identification: determine which amounts qualify as unclaimed money under s 6 criteria, and determine whether funds fall into the separate class of prescribed retained money under s 9.
Notification: where a person on 31 December is in possession of or liable to pay unclaimed money and is a holder, notify the Treasurer no later than 31 January in the succeeding year of prescribed particulars including amount, owner identity, how the holder acquired the money and other prescribed matters (s 8(1)(a)(i)-(iv)). The holder must also provide such further information and inspection facilities as the Treasurer requires (s 8(1)(b)).
Subsequent reporting: if notified money is later paid to the owner, the holder must notify the Treasurer by 31 July of that payment with prescribed details and provide the same kinds of additional information (s 8(2)).
Advertising cooperation: provide the Treasurer the information required for advertisement in a legible form and at a time to enable compilation (s 11(2)). Advertising must distinguish between voluntary payments and mandatory payments, as specified (s 11(3)).
Payment: where advertised unclaimed money remains unpaid to the owner, the holder must pay that money to the Treasurer by specified deadlines (s 14(1)). For prescribed retained money advertised under s 11, the holder must pay in the prescribed manner (s 14(2)).
Preservation of records and inspection: holders must produce books or other documents relating to accounting and financial information to the Treasurer when requested (s 7(4)(b)(ii), s 8(1)(b)).

Rights and protections for holders:

Relief from liability: when a holder pays money to the Treasurer in accordance with the Act, they are relieved of further liability to persons claiming as owners in respect of that money (s 4(2)). The section includes the caveat "subject to section 7(2)" where voluntary payments accepted under s 7(2) have particular consequences.
Exemption and certificate paths: the Treasurer may, by Gazette notice, exempt any holder or class of holder from compliance with any provision in respect of specified kinds of unclaimed money (s 19(1)). Regulations may also provide exemptions (s 19(2)). Persons holding money subject to trust may apply for certificates from the Treasurer or, if refused, orders from a Master of the Supreme Court to be exempted from the Act’s requirements (s 20(1)-(2)).
Delegation and administrative clarity: the Act allows the Treasurer to delegate functions and authorises delegates to act with the same force and effect as if done by the Treasurer (s 21(1)-(6)). Documents signed by delegates are presumed valid unless the contrary is established (s 21(8)-(10)).

Owners’ rights:

Recovery prior to payment: owners retain the right to recover their money from the holder up until payment to the Treasurer (s 12(a)).
Direct application to the Treasurer: once money is paid to the Treasurer, an owner may apply to the Treasurer for payment; the Treasurer shall pay on being satisfied that the claimant is the owner (s 15(1)). The Treasurer’s payment is charged to the Consolidated Account (s 15(2)).
Court avenues: if there are competing claims or the Treasurer requires it, directions from a court with competent jurisdiction can be sought (s 15(3)).

Treasurer’s administrative powers and duties:

Advertising: publish particulars of unclaimed and prescribed retained money as soon as practicable each year (s 11(1)). Ensure advertised information is publicly accessible in police stations, local government and government offices and by Gazette or other appropriate means (s 11(4)).
Acceptance of voluntary payment: the Treasurer may accept voluntary payments into Treasury under specified conditions (s 13(1)-(2)).
Payment decisions: determine applications for payment by claimants and make payments when satisfied of ownership (s 15(1)). The Treasurer determines questions as to whether a payment should be made, though may refer questions to court (s 15(3)).
Interest: generally, interest does not accrue on money paid into Treasury (s 16(1)), but the Treasurer may pay interest in limited circumstances for voluntary payments meeting the prescribed tests (s 16(2)-(3)).
Recovery: the Treasurer may recover money payable to the Crown from the holder by action in court (s 17).
Exemptions, regulations and delegations: the Treasurer may grant exemptions in Gazette and regulations may create further exemptions and prescribe matters necessary to give effect to the Act (s 19, s 23). The Treasurer may delegate functions (s 21).

Sanctions and confidentiality:

Offences include wilful or negligent failure by a holder to comply with the Act or any condition imposed in relation to applications or exemptions (s 22(1)), and unauthorised disclosure of information or production of books supplied under the Act (s 22(2)). Penalties are monetary: $2,000 for a breach of the holder’s obligations (s 22(1)) and $2,500 for unauthorised disclosure (s 22(2)).

Procedural and evidentiary features:

The Act requires provision of information and inspection facilities (s 8(1)(b), s 7(4)(b)(ii)), and presumes the authority of delegates and of documents signed by delegates absent evidence to the contrary (s 21(8)-(10)). Applicants seeking deemed holder status under s 7(3) must supply particulars and allow inspection (s 7(4)).

Overall, the Act balances duties on holders (identify, notify, advertise, pay) with rights for owners (recovery before payment, claim from Treasurer thereafter), and confers broad administrative discretion on the Treasurer with statutory safeguards such as court directions and exemption and delegation mechanisms.

The Act contains a modest penal regime and a combination of administrative and civil enforcement tools. Enforcement responsibilities sit primarily with the Treasurer, who can recover unpaid statutory amounts by court action, impose procedural requirements, and exercise discretion over advertising, acceptance and payment.

Criminal and regulatory penalties:

Offences are focused on non‑compliance and unauthorised dissemination of information. Section 22(1) makes it an offence for a holder to wilfully or negligently fail to comply with any requirement of the Act or with any condition imposed in relation to an application, arrangement or exemption under the Act. The maximum penalty specified is $2,000. The section also expressly captures culpability by officers of corporate holders who authorise or permit the failure to comply (s 22(1)(b)).
Section 22(2) penalises unauthorised use or disclosure of information acquired under the administration of the Act or the unauthorised production of books or other things furnished for the purposes of the Act. The maximum penalty for that offence is $2,500.
For bodies managed by members (such as unincorporated associations), s 22(3) applies the offences to the acts and defaults of a member acting in connection with management functions.

Civil and administrative enforcement:

Recovery actions: all money required to be paid to the Treasurer under the Act is recoverable by the Treasurer on behalf of the Crown by action as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the Treasurer against the holder (s 17). This creates a conventional civil pathway for the Treasury to recover statutory liabilities as debts due to the Crown.
Payment and discharge: statutory operation of payment to the Treasurer has compliance consequences: where a holder pays money to the Treasurer in accordance with the Act, the holder is relieved of all further liability to any claimant (s 4(2)), subject to s 7(2) caveats. This extinguishment is the Act’s principal risk‑mitigation mechanism for holders.
Advertising and compelled payment: the advertising regime under s 11 followed by mandatory payment obligations under s 14 creates an administrative trigger: where unclaimed money is advertised and remains unpaid to the owner at the expiration of the advertising cycle, holders must pay that money to the Treasurer (s 14(1)). The statutory timetable (advertise; if unpaid by 31 July next following the date of advertisement, then pay or within 14 days thereafter) creates predictable enforcement points.
Discretion to require court directions: where the Treasurer faces competing claims or requires clarity, the Treasurer may seek directions from a court with competent jurisdiction to determine payment or dispute issues (s 15(3)). This provides an adjudicative enforcement avenue that can resolve contested ownership claims.
Delegation and presumption of authority: s 21 permits broad delegation of functions to Ministers and Treasury officers, and contains presumptions in favour of the validity of acts and documents undertaken by delegates or authorised officers (s 21(5), (8)-(10)). This operationally supports the Treasurer’s enforcement posture by enabling distributed administrative action and creating evidentiary presumptions about authority.

Limits on remedies and enforcement costs:

Interest does not generally accrue on moneys paid to the Treasurer (s 16(1)); the Treasurer’s discretion to pay interest is limited to particular voluntary payments meeting tests in s 16(2) and the payment rate must not be less than the rate on ordinary Commonwealth Bank savings accounts (s 16(3)). This means claimants who delay recovery may not receive statutory interest entitlement, and holders who pay in good faith are not liable for continuing interest except per the Treasurer’s discretionary payment.
Exemptions (s 19) and certificates/orders for trusts (s 20) create lawful escape paths that reduce enforcement exposure for particular holders where conditions are met.
Procedural enforcement through information requests and inspections can increase compliance costs for holders and administrative cost for Treasury when auditing and recovering amounts; those costs are not directly constrained by the Act.

Implementation and discretion risks:

The Act confers broad discretion to the Treasurer on what to advertise, which amounts to accept voluntarily, and whether to pay claimants (s 11, s 13, s 15). From an enforcement perspective, this produces administrative leverage but also the risk of legal challenge to discretionary decisions. Where necessary, the Treasurer can limit legal exposure by seeking court directions (s 15(3)), but that itself can be costly and time‑consuming.
Delegations create efficiency but also a potential evidentiary presumption that may shield some administrative errors from easy factual attack; conversely, holders must interact with the delegated regime and ensure they understand authorised contacts and processes (s 21(8)-(10)).

In short, enforcement is a mixture of statutory compulsion (advertise and then pay), civil recovery actions (debt recovery by the Treasurer, s 17), limited criminal penalties for non‑compliance and misuse of information (s 22), and administrative discretion balanced with judicial directions where ownership disputes arise (s 15(3)).

The Act is framed to sit alongside both Commonwealth and Western Australian statutory regimes. It explicitly excludes certain Commonwealth provisions, incorporates cross‑references to other WA Acts, and permits regulations to extend or refine the interactions. The text of the Act contains multiple cross‑references and an enumerated list of statutory sources for "prescribed retained money" (s 9), establishing a mesh of interactions.

Express exclusions of Commonwealth regimes:

Section 4(3) provides that the Act does not apply to money to which certain Commonwealth provisions apply. The Act names specific provisions: s 53 of the Commonwealth Banks Act 1959, s 69 of the Banking Act 1959, s 106 of the Life Insurance Act 1945, s 254 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966, and ss 12 or 14 of the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act 1999 (s 4(3)(a)(i)-(v)). The subsection also allows for other Commonwealth provisions to be prescribed for the purposes of the exclusion (s 4(3)(b)). This creates a bright‑line boundary between Commonwealth regimes in specified areas (banking, life insurance, bankruptcy, certain superannuation regimes) and the State’s unclaimed money regime.

Interaction with Corporations Act:

For the purposes of s 7(1)(c) (holders in relation to dividends and securities), s 7(5) instructs that references to dividends and securities are to be construed by reference to the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth where the body corporate is a company or in cases where the money could have been so construed had it been payable by a company. This means corporate share entitlements and similar items are read through Commonwealth corporate law definitions.

Enumerated WA statutes feeding prescribed retained money:

Section 9(1) lists numerous WA statutory sources whose funds are to be treated as "prescribed retained money" once paid to the Treasurer or where the legislation requires payment to Treasury. The list includes, among others:
- Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1970 s 28 (s 9(1)(b));
- Warehousemen’s Liens Act 1952 s 10(3) (s 9(1)(c));
- Escheat (Procedure) Act 1940 s 8 (s 9(1)(d));
- Public Trustee Act 1941 s 45(1) and common account funds (s 9(1)(e), (f));
- Trustees Act 1962 s 99 payments into Supreme Court and vesting in the Public Trustee (s 9(1)(f));
- Trustee Companies Act 1987 s 27 (s 9(1)(g));
- Criminal and Found Property Disposal Act 2006 (s 9(1)(h));
- Major Events Act 2023 s 87(7) (s 9(1)(i));
- Road Traffic Act 1974 sale proceeds (s 9(1)(j));
- Port Authorities Act 1999 sale proceeds (s 9(1)(ja));
- Money held under written law for the benefit of persons who may claim as owner, and monies held by departments or statutory authorities subject to the Financial Management Act 2006, when the written law requires payment to the Treasurer in default of a claim (s 9(1)(r)).
Regulations may add further categories by reference to the written law under which money is held or the circumstances under which the money is held (s 9(2)).

Treatment of prescribed retained money:

Once prescribed retained money has been paid to the Treasurer or Treasury, s 10(1) deems it to be unclaimed money and enables its treatment under the unclaimed money procedures. Section 10(2) allows payment or deduction of sums authorised as disbursable under the written law by which the money is associated; this preserves statutory duties to pay costs, dues or other authorised deductions before or after payment to Treasury.

Co‑ordination with trust law and other obligations:

The Act preserves trust or other specific requirements affecting disposal of prescribed retained money as imposed by the written law under which the money is taken to be prescribed retained money (s 4(1)(c), s 9(1)(r)). Section 20 provides a route for persons holding money subject to trust to obtain certificates from the Treasurer or orders from a Master of the Supreme Court to exempt them from the Act, providing a judicial overlay where trust fiduciary duties may conflict with statutory processes.

Effect of repeal and transitional provision:

The Act repeals the earlier Unclaimed Moneys Act 1912 (s 24) and transfers all moneys standing to the credit of the "Unclaimed Moneys Fund" under the repealed Act to the Consolidated Fund/Account (s 25). This consolidates funds previously held under the State regime into the Consolidated Account as authorised by the Act.

Regulatory delegation and interactions:

The Governor may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act, and regulations may also (a) prescribe persons or classes as holders (s 7(1)(g)), (b) require holders of prescribed retained money to notify and provide specified information (s 9(3)), and (c) specify exemption powers (s 19(2), s 23). The Act therefore anticipates operational co‑ordination through subordinate legislation.

Practical implications for regulated entities:

Financial institutions must assess whether Commonwealth exclusions apply (s 4(3)) before treating funds as unclaimed under this Act. Public authorities and statutory officers handling funds under other WA Acts need to follow the prescribed retained money rules in s 9 and s 10, and may need to coordinate disbursable deductions under the original written law before transferring net proceeds to Treasury (s 10(2)). Trustees and fiduciaries should review s 20 processes if trust obligations conflict with statutory requirements.

In short, the Act deliberately maps onto an existing statutory landscape, exempting certain Commonwealth regimes, integrating with corporate law definitions, and absorbing specified State statutory proceeds into the unclaimed money framework with safeguards for trust obligations and disbursable deductions.

The compilation table included in the legislation provides a chronological list of amendments and relevant dates. The Act has been subject to multiple amendments since its passage in 1990, reflecting changes both to commencement details and substantive extensions to the classes of money covered.

Key milestones from the compilation table:

The Act was enacted as Unclaimed Money Act 1990 (No. 31 of 1990), assented 9 October 1990 and commenced 12 April 1991 (s 2 and Gazette references).
Early related amendments concerned commencement matters under the R & I Bank Act 1990 (No. 73 of 1990, s 45(1)) with a commencement of 1 January 1991.
Financial administration and banking related updates occurred through the Financial Administration Legislation Amendment Act 1993 (No. 6 of 1993 s 11 and 16(1), commenced 1 July 1993) and other 1994-1996 Acts which amended commencement and technical provisions (No. 6 of 1994; Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 1994 No. 73 of 1994; Bank of Western Australia Act 1995 No. 14 of 1995; Financial Legislation Amendment Act 1996 No. 49 of 1996).
Amendments in 1998-1999 responded to sectoral reforms: Acts Amendment (Gaming) Act 1998 (No. 24 of 1998), Port Authorities (Consequential Provisions) Act 1999 (No. 5 of 1999), and Acts Amendment and Repeal (Financial Sector Reform) Act 1999 (No. 26 of 1999). These changes are reflected in the compilation table and in s 9’s list of prescribed retained money (various insertions over time).
Further substantive amendments and sectoral extensions occurred in the 2000s: Unclaimed Money (Superannuation and RSA Providers) Act 2003 (No. 19 of 2003 s 26) , reflecting superannuation provider interaction; Corporations consequential amendments (No. 20 of 2003 Pt. 25); Sentencing Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2003 (No. 50 of 2003 s 101(2)); Road Traffic Amendment (Impounding and Confiscation of Vehicles) Act 2004 (No. 10 of 2004 s 15) adding the Road Traffic Act sale proceeds; Criminal Investigation (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 (No. 59 of 2006 s 73) and Financial Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2006 (No. 77 of 2006 s 4 and 17) which altered commencement and other technical details.
Reprints were issued to consolidate amendments: a reprint as at 5 November 1999 and a Reprint 2 as at 9 March 2007 incorporating many of the amendments listed up to those dates.
Later amendments include the Public Trustee and Trustee Companies Legislation Amendment Act 2008 (No. 9 of 2008 Pt. 4), Statutes (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2009 (No. 8 of 2009 s 11), Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Amendment Act 2012 (No. 38 of 2012 Pt. 3), and most recently the Major Events Act 2023 (No. 12 of 2023 s 113), which added s 9(1)(i) referencing funds required under the Major Events Act (compilation table entries).

Observable amendment patterns:

The Act has been amended to integrate with sectoral legislative changes across banking, corporate law, trusteeship, transport, ports, criminal property disposal and major events, resulting in the expansion of s 9’s list of prescribed retained money. The reprints and later amendments indicate iterative adaptation to fit the supervisory and financial management architecture of the State.
Amendments dealing with superannuation and RSA providers and specified WA statutes show the Act’s flexibility to absorb statutory proceeds from other legislative contexts as State policy and statutory regimes evolved.

What the compilation table does not show:

The table lists amending Acts, assent dates and commencement dates, but it does not provide the precise drafting changes in every amendment beyond cross‑references in s 9 and other cited subsections. Practitioners should consult the annotated reprints and the historic Acts to see the exact textual changes effected by each amending Act where necessary.

In practice, the amendment history shows sustained legislative attention to harmonising the Unclaimed Money Act with sectoral regimes and to designating particular State proceeds as "prescribed retained money", while maintaining explicit carve‑outs for certain Commonwealth regimes (s 4(3)). The compilation table in the Act is the authoritative starting point for reconstructing amendment chronology and tracking which external statutes were added into s 9 over time.

The Act itself contains no reported cases, and the statutory text does not name or summarise judicial decisions. The Act anticipates judicial involvement in discrete procedural ways but does not provide a narrative of past litigation. The relevant statutory provisions indicate where litigation or court intervention is intended as a tool:

Court directions on competing claims (s 15(3)). The Treasurer is empowered to seek directions from a court of competent jurisdiction where competing claims exist or otherwise where the Treasurer requires guidance on payment. This provision recognises that factual and legal disputes about ownership, priority and entitlement can arise and provides for judicial resolution on request.
Recovery actions by the Treasurer (s 17). The Treasurer has a civil remedy to recover required payments from a holder as a debt due to the Crown. These recoveries will be litigated in ordinary courts where holders dispute liability or regulatory facts.
Preservation of rights prior to payment (s 12(a)). Because owners retain rights against holders until payment to the Treasurer, disputes over whether payment should have been made, whether a holder rightfully discharged liability by payment, and whether trust obligations were properly observed can generate litigation.
Delegation presumptions (s 21(8)-(10)). The Act creates rebuttable presumptions about delegation and authority. Litigation may involve challenges to the validity of an act or document signed by a delegate, where a party can establish the contrary.

Areas where disputes are likely to litigate, implied by the Act’s constructs:

Characterisation disputes: whether a sum is "money" that is "held" or "liable to be paid" within the meaning of s 3 and Part 2. The Act’s definitions are operational but disputes about constructive holding, control, or liability could lead to contested interpretation.
Time trigger disputes: application of the six‑year or 25‑year dormancy periods in s 6, or whether circumstances tolled the statutory period, may be litigated where a proposed transfer to Treasury is contested.
Trust and statutory priority disputes: s 4(1)(c) and s 9(1)(r) preserve trust or statutory requirements. Litigation could address whether a trust obligation or specific statutory requirement prevents transfer to Treasurer, or whether disbursable deductions under s 10(2) were correctly calculated.
Jurisdictional questions: s 5 instructs that where liability could arise both to the Treasurer under the Act and to a Minister under other written law, the applicable law is that of the place where the person to whom the money is owed last had a known address. This allocation of law could produce disputes about which jurisdiction’s law controls, particularly where funds or claimants span multiple jurisdictions.

What the Act provides practitioners to manage litigation risk:

Administrative route to clarity: the Treasurer’s power to seek court directions (s 15(3)) provides an administrative mechanism to channel complex disputes to judicial resolution.
Preservation and documentation: the statutory requirements for notification and inspection (s 8(1)(b), s 7(4)(b)(ii)) support evidentiary positions for both holders and claimants; robust record‑keeping mitigates litigation exposure.
Exemptions and certificates/orders: s 19 and s 20 create routes for holders bound by trust or other duties to obtain statutory or judicial relief from the Act’s obligations, reducing prospective litigation in edge cases.

Because the Act text does not list or describe judicial authorities, practitioners need to consult case law databases and court records to obtain a litigation history. The Act identifies the statutory points at which litigation or court directions are intended to occur (s 15, s 17), and the likely legal issues that will be litigated stem directly from the Act’s key definitional thresholds, its preservation of trust obligations, and its interplay with Commonwealth exclusions and other State written law.

The Act contains several practical traps for the unwary. This section lists specific provisions that commonly produce compliance missteps, operational costs, or legal uncertainty and explains the statutory mechanism that gives rise to each.

Deadlines for notification and reporting are tight and date‑driven

A person who is a holder on 31 December must notify the Treasurer "not later than 31 January in the succeeding year" (s 8(1)). Separately, when notified money is later paid to the owner, a reporting duty exists "not later than 31 July in any year" (s 8(2)). Failure to meet these dates risks an offence under s 22(1) with a monetary penalty of $2,000. Practitioners must calendar these fixed dates and ensure systems can produce the required particulars by those deadlines.

Small sums may be excluded but the threshold can change

Section 4(5)(c)(i) excludes money under the statutory "prescribed amount" threshold: "an amount of less than $100, or such other amount as may be prescribed". The current $100 figure is in the Act but the regulations may alter the threshold. Relying on an historical threshold without checking regulations is risky.

Interest largely stops once money is paid into Treasury

Section 16(1) states interest shall be taken not to accrue in relation to any money paid to the Treasurer, subject only to narrowly drawn discretion in s 16(2). Holders who pay money to the Treasurer in accordance with the Act extinguish continuing interest exposure, but owners who receive payment from the Treasurer may not receive statutory interest except where the Treasurer exercises discretion. This can be commercially significant for large sums or long dormancy periods.

Certain Commonwealth regimes are excluded

Section 4(3) lists named Commonwealth provisions to which the Act does not apply (e.g., Commonwealth Banks Act, Banking Act, Life Insurance Act, Bankruptcy Act, Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Act). Entities must check whether their funds are covered by those federal regimes before treating the funds under the State Act. Misclassification may expose the holder to double treatment or litigation.

Advertising triggers strict payment obligations

The Treasurer must advertise certain unclaimed and prescribed retained monies (s 11). If advertised money remains unpaid to the owner by the end of the advertising cycle, the holder must pay it to the Treasurer within statutory times (s 14(1)). Failure to do so converts a reporting matter into a payment obligation with exposure to recovery action (s 17). Holders need coordinated communication with Treasury to track advertised items and payment deadlines.

Prescribed retained money carries special rules and potential deductions

Money that is classified as "prescribed retained money" (s 9) arises from an enumerated list of statutory contexts. Section 10(2) allows authorised disbursable sums under the underlying written law to be paid out of or deducted from that money, before or after payment to Treasury. A failure to account properly for authorised deductions under the source legislation can produce incorrect payments into Treasury.

Delegations create presumptions about authority

Section 21(8)-(10) creates a statutory presumption that a person purporting to act under the Act is duly authorised by delegation, and that signed documents are valid unless the contrary is established. This is convenient administratively but can complicate litigation or internal governance where delegation limits were exceeded. Holders and claimants must confirm delegated authority where necessary.

Confidentiality rules are strict

Section 22(2) creates an offence (penalty $2,500) for divulging or communicating information concerning the affairs of another person acquired through the Act’s administration, except insofar as disclosure is in the performance of a function under the Act. This implicates interactions between holders and third parties and requires that information is handled carefully. Overbroad sharing of lists or publishing owner particulars beyond the prescribed advertising processes risks contravening s 22(2).

Voluntary payments have different legal character

Section 13 permits the Treasurer to accept voluntary payments into Treasury after the money has been held two years or more. Money paid under this pathway is dealt with as though unclaimed, but subsection 13(2) preserves trust and specifically undertaken requirements. Practically, making a voluntary payment requires careful documentation of any written undertakings from the Treasurer to secure relief from various liabilities and to preserve trust obligations.

Trust obligations can require separate processes

Persons holding money subject to a trust can apply for certificates from the Treasurer or, if refused, to a Master of the Supreme Court for an Order exempting the holder from the Act (s 20(1)-(2)). Failing to obtain such an exemption where trusteeship conflicts with the Act’s obligations may expose trustees to breach of trust claims. Trustees must evaluate trust deeds and statutory requirements before payment to Treasury.

Multiple statutory sources complicate classification

Section 9 lists several different WA statutes from which funds may be described as prescribed retained money. A holder receiving funds in contexts such as vehicle impoundment, port authority sales, or criminal found property needs to correctly classify the funds under the relevant statutory source and comply with the prescribed manner of payment. Misclassification can lead to incorrect payment, exposure to recovery, and disputes about disbursable deductions.

Limited remedies for claimants where Treasurer exercises discretion

The Treasurer’s power to refuse or delay payments until satisfied of ownership, and to seek court directions (s 15), means that claimants without clear documentary proof of ownership may face time and cost hurdles. Owners should expect documentary scrutiny and potentially court processes where claims are contested.

In practice, operational controls are necessary: robust systems to identify dormancy triggers (6 years, 25 years, 2 years voluntary window), calendaring statutory reporting dates, verifying whether Commonwealth exclusions apply, and confirming delegation chains. These "gotchas" flow from express statutory text and the Act’s interaction with other written laws.

This section sets out a practical compliance checklist and recommended controls for holders, trustees, corporate officers and public entities to discharge statutory obligations under the Act and to manage exposure. All references below are to provisions of the Unclaimed Money Act 1990.

Establish identification processes for unclaimed money (s 6)

Implement systems to flag accounts and balances that meet the statutory dormancy triggers in s 6:
- Liquidated sums , identify where no claim has been made within six years from when money became payable or could have been demanded (s 6(2)).
- Deposit/loan accounts , identify current accounts or fixed term accounts where the owner has not dealt with the account for six years, or indefinite reinvestment accounts with 25 years of inactivity (s 6(3)(a)-(c)).
Ensure data retention permits reconstruction of owner contact and transactional histories to evidence inactivity periods.

Classify funds for prescribed retained money (s 9)

Map receipts and funds against the list in s 9(1) and against any regulations to identify prescribed retained money (e.g., proceeds from impounded vehicles under Road Traffic Act, criminal found property under Criminal and Found Property Disposal Act, proceeds under Port Authorities Act, Major Events Act proceeds).
For prescribed retained money, determine whether the underlying written law permits authorised disbursements/deductions and calculate net payable sums in accordance with s 10(2).

Calendar statutory reporting and payment deadlines (s 8, s 11, s 14)

For holders in possession on 31 December: prepare prescribed particulars and supporting documentation and submit to the Treasurer by 31 January (s 8(1)(a)-(b)).
For money for which notification has been given and later paid to owners: report by 31 July (s 8(2)).
Monitor advertising cycles following the Treasurer’s annual advertisements (s 11). If advertised money remains unpaid, prepare to pay to the Treasurer by the end of the statutory period: advertised unclaimed money unpaid by 31 July next after advertisement may be payable and in other cases must be paid within 14 days thereafter as prescribed (s 14(1)). For prescribed retained money, comply with the prescribed manner for payment (s 14(2)).

Prepare documentation and information for Treasury inspection (s 7(4), s 8(1)(b))

Be ready to provide accounting books, records, and other documents relating to the unclaimed money when requested for inspection (s 7(4)(b)(ii), s 8(1)(b)). Maintain auditable trails of owner communications, attempts to contact owners, and any trust or statutory encumbrances.

Manage communications and confidentiality (s 22(2), s 11)

Limit disclosure of claimant or owner information to what is authorised by the Act and by Treasury’s processes. Unauthorised disclosure of acquired information is an offence under s 22(2) with a $2,500 penalty.
Provide advertising information in the format and time required to permit the Treasurer to collate copies for publication (s 11(2)).

Use statutory relief opportunities where appropriate (s 19, s 20)

If the holder’s compliance burden is disproportionate or statutory conditions create conflict, consider applying for exemptions under s 19(1) (application to the Treasurer for exemption and publication in Gazette).
Where money is held under trust and full compliance with the Act would conflict with trust duties, apply for a certificate from the Treasurer or, if refused, an Order from a Master of the Supreme Court under s 20(1)-(2).

Deal with voluntary payments carefully (s 13, s 16)

Before making voluntary payments into Treasury under s 13, obtain written agreement with the Treasurer describing the terms, and confirm how any interest or continuing obligations will be handled (s 13(2) and s 16(2)). Voluntary payment eliminates future liability only where the Treasurer accepts the payment in accordance with the Act (s 13(2)).

Compute disbursable deductions and coordinate with underlying law (s 10(2))

Where the money to be paid to Treasury is "prescribed retained money", identify any disbursable sums authorised under the underlying written law, and ensure deductions are legally authorised and documented before payment (s 10(2)).

Establish governance and delegation controls (s 21)

Document internal delegation protocols aligned with Treasury’s published contacts. Ensure persons authorised to communicate with Treasury are legitimate delegates and that signature authorities are tracked given the statutory presumption in s 21(8)-(10).
Keep records of any exemptions, certificates or delegations relied upon.

Prepare to contest or resolve ownership disputes (s 15(3), s 5)

In contested claims, know the Treasurer’s power to seek court directions under s 15(3). Prepare documentation to support ownership claims and consider early engagement with the Treasurer to avoid protracted litigation.
For cross‑jurisdictional issues where liability might arise under other State/Territory or Commonwealth law, take account of s 5 regarding which law applies (the law applicable in the place where the person to whom the money is owed last had a known address) and, if necessary, seek judicial clarification.

Train staff and maintain audit trails

Train staff in procedures for identifying, reporting and transferring unclaimed money, including the specific dormancy thresholds, the 31 January and 31 July reporting dates, and the interaction with prescribed retained money rules.
Maintain audit trails of owner contact attempts and rationales for treating funds as unclaimed, because those records will be central to any dispute or to Treasury inspections (s 8(1)(b), s 7(4)(b)(ii)).

Monitor legislation and subordinate instruments

Regularly review WA regulations made under the Act (s 23) that can change thresholds, prescribe additional classes of holders, or adjust procedural requirements referenced in s 9(3) and s 11(2). Also monitor Commonwealth legislation named in s 4(3) as it may change whether the State Act applies to particular funds.

Coordinate with advisory counsel for complex cases

For large balances, trust conflicts, cross‑border claims, or cases where the nature of the holding is uncertain, obtain legal advice and, where necessary, seek the Treasurer’s directions or court guidance under s 15(3) to avoid exposure to recovery actions or claims of breach of trust.

Following this checklist will reduce the risk of statutory breaches under s 22, limit exposure to recovery actions under s 17, and ensure that payments into the Consolidated Account (s 18) and subsequent claimant payments (s 15) can be executed with documentary clarity and administrative certainty.

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