Victorians have tens of millions of dollars sitting unclaimed on the state government’s books.
Some eye-watering sums have been revealed, as the state government combs through the Victorian Unclaimed Money Register ahead of the state budget next month.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said everyone should check the State Revenue Office register to see if they were entitled to unclaimed money.
“We encourage Victorians to check the website and claim their unclaimed monies – this could provide substantial benefits to people if they make the effort. If you are not sure, our advice is to go to the website and check,” Mr Pallas said.
The greater Geelong area is the regional centre with the most unclaimed dosh. More than 33,000 people can stake their claim to more than $4.3 million.
In Ballarat, the revenue office has 14,000 entitlements listed totalling more than $1.8m, and greater Shepparton has more than $1.2m unclaimed.
In the big city, the City of Melbourne council area has an eye-popping $17.7m unclaimed in more than 67,000 entitlements.
Boroondara-ites are owed $9.8m and Stonnington residents have $6.9m coming to them.
A Bendigo citizen has just over $137,000 waiting for them, while a Box Hill individual has a claim to more than $880,000, someone from Nunawading is owed more than $670,000 and a person in Mount Martha can apply for more than $232,000.
The monies are held by the State Revenue Office Victoria and derive from share dividends, salaries and wages, debts, or winnings and prizes.
The state held nearly $130m of unclaimed money as of last year, an increase of $40m from the year before, but it pales in comparison to the $500m in NSW’s unclaimed kitty.