govt. making a grab for peoples money.

Get your cash while you can!
Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedinShare on email More Sharing Services| Share on print Updated: 6:45:31 PM, Thursday February 28, 2013

By Jen Storey

The Federal government is making a grab for money in accounts deemed inactive. We look at how this will work and how it might affect you.

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Increased government powers to seize money from inactive banks accounts will soon come into effect, after legislation was rushed through parliament last year.

From May 31, the federal government will have the power to transfer to its own coffers, all money from accounts that have not been used for the past three years.

Any bank account that holds more than $1 and has not had any deposits or withdrawals during this timeframe will be transferred to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Based on current data, the government will net around $109 million this year alone. Every year from now on, accounts that are deemed to be inactive will be released to ASIC.

Why did the legislation change?
It may not have been widely know before, but the government has always had the power to seize the money from inactive bank accounts.

The legislative change has redefined the timeframes for what is deemed to be an inactive account. Prior to the new laws set last year, a bank account had to be inactive for seven years before the funds were transferred to ASIC.

Critics rightly argue that the new legislation offers no benefit for customers, while the government reaps all the upside.

Who will be affected?
Any bank accounts you have lost track of may be affected – for example, old accounts relating to specific jobs you have moved on from that have been sitting dormant with only a few dollars in them.

Many people lose track of their accounts when they move address or, move overseas.

Other inactive accounts from share trading, trusts or long-term savings accounts may also be caught in the sweep. Bank accounts set up for personal savings, children’s education or inheritance may also make the new hit list, if they have not had regular deposits or withdrawals in recent years.

If you do have an account of this nature, the best thing to do is to make a small deposit or withdrawal now, so that the account is no longer deemed to be inactive come May 31.

It should also be noted that interest payments are not considered to be deposits. Similarly, bank fees and charges are not considered withdrawals for the purpose of defining if an account is inactive.

It’s more than a few dollars
While an inactive account must have more than $1 in it to be reclaimed, there are some big amounts awaiting claim.

Data from ASIC has shown that there are accounts with more than $300,000 in them waiting to be claimed by people who are from, or once were from suburbs including Caulfield, Carlisle, Double Bay, Glebe, Joondalup, Matraville, Melbourne, Perth, Randwick, Skye and Waverley.

How do I know if I have an inactive bank account?
Check all of your current bank accounts and ensure they have had recent transactions.

If you think you have a missing bank account from a previous job or share trading that you no longer operate, look back through your financial records. At some stage you will have received paper copies of statements and other information.

The MoneySmart service from ASIC has a tool that can help you find your unclaimed money. You can search via your name or via a transaction number, if you have it.

Failing that, if you remember which bank, credit union, building society or other deposit-taking organisation you held an account with, contact them directly.

What can I do if my money is taken by mistake?
If, for some reason, your money is taken under this new law, you can apply to ASIC to have it returned.

However, it is likely that the process to reclaim funds will be a lengthy one. The best thing to do is to avoid being part of this process in the first place.

What to do now?

Check all of your current accounts, with every institution and ensure that a recent deposit or withdrawal has occurred.
If you suspect you have a lost account, contact the institution and reclaim it, then ensure it is active by making a deposit or withdrawal.
If you cannot remember where a lost account may reside, use the ASIC tool to determine if it can be located.
Search any previous financial print statements to ensure that you have located every account that has been held in your name.
Tell us what you think and like BigPond Money on Facebook.

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Comments
karole
01/03/2013 5:52:49 AM
leave our money alone use your own money to get yourself out of the debt you and you alone have caused. You are very greedy government and weak as well.

Sadverysad
02/03/2013 9:48:47 PM
What have we come too?
Disgusting from a government that has not the ability to save , so they raid ours.
Theiving #####'s


Dave
03/03/2013 1:39:25 PM
I thought the elected government was supposed to work for the people, not rip them off. As if times are not tough enough, now they want to take over another liberty that really is none of their business. Australia really is heading towards a dictatorship.


Mark
04/03/2013 12:29:00 PM
This is legalised theft. Another example of Big Brother eroding our civil liberties. Perhaps financial institutions should be required to do more to minimise the number of 'inactive' accounts. In any case, the money in those accounts should remain the property of the account holder or their estate - not the Government.


RON
05/03/2013 9:30:15 AM
This will be the death knell of the ALP.. Similar to what happened with the bank nationalisation propsal scheme many years ago. No-one will put up with a govt. delving into their bank accounts. its a communistic idea, on top of their lies.
i am predicting labour will get crucufied in the sept. election.


John
05/03/2013 9:48:55 AM
Gee 3 years is not such a long time.The ALP must have put the country into bad debt. for them to intefere with peoples savings within such a short time, to get their hands onto $109 million. This has been sneaked in "on the quiet" and is akin to all their other lies and mis management.


bob
06/03/2013 8:34:42 AM
People, get angry and tell others. Write to your ministers. I am.

That law change is outright theft in the moral sense.

In the practical sense if share trade accounts are caught that then makes long term buy and hold strategies very dangerous.

All the more reason to invest yet even more in the worlds most over-priced real estate that produces no real productivity. It is no wonder this country is going backwards with these idiots at the helm.

So what’s next? Are they going to take houses, cars, appliances, or anything else that is not used for 3 years?

7 years was still an abuse of property rights. However at least it barely impinged on practical issues. 3 years creates some real issues.

You will likely be affected by this one day. Long after you have forgotten about it and then leave your money in anything more than a 36 month term deposit.

So, people, get angry and tell others. Write to your ministers. I am.



Monica Richardson
07/03/2013 1:51:25 AM
I had thought Julia Gillard and her cronies had done some despicable things in the time they have been in government but this goes beyond everything. disgusting,disgusting disgusting. I thank my God she and they won't be there much longer to do much more to damage our nation and it's people.



Roger
07/03/2013 5:10:39 PM
Sack the bastards immediately. These scumbags should go to jail for what they have done and the way they have wasted our money and the billions of dollars they are giving away to people that don't even like us. We as Australians must be nuts to put up with this crap. They must be stopped now. Everyone should demand that they are sacked the same as a other labor mob that screwed it's people got sacked by the Governor. But his Governor obiously has no balls to do that.



nita knox
07/03/2013 5:57:35 PM
Stuff it in the mattress or bung it in a biscuit tin under the bed!!


ron
07/03/2013 7:41:10 PM
I`ll tell another thing i read in the news " that you have to be ale to prove how you got the money, to get it back.
and there will be a lot of paperwork and time involved.
they are aiming to keep your money.


kev.
08/03/2013 12:10:32 PM
Talk about thieving communist socialist collectivisation what next do they want ? unused land ,houses, typical bolshevik brainless lugnuts ,couldnt run a chook raffle at a profit without donations



pk
08/03/2013 12:14:04 PM
Next they will conviscate the gold ,like Roosevelt did, and then probably your silver, Socialist SCUM !!!!!!!!!


paljero
09/03/2013 9:49:42 AM
Australia IS a dictatorship. It never was a democracy with a free market economy.


Thommo
10/03/2013 11:48:12 PM
Wasn't it Malcolm Fraser who warned us that if Labour got into power you should hide your money under the bed???


nick
11/03/2013 12:30:05 PM
How is this even constitutional? Section 51(xxxi) requires the government only acquires property on just terms; how is taking property without compensation or even the owner's knowledge "just"? I'd like to see this go to the High Court


adad
11/03/2013 3:11:23 PM
What if you have money invested in a fixed term deposit?.....
You guessed it! If over 3 years without having an extra deposit or withdrawal made; YOU HAVE JUST LOST THE LOT!
Interest payments to an account do NOT qualify as a deposit!!
I understood that WE elected Members of Gov't to "look after" our country on our behalf! WHEN did it become a mandate to rape the country & its people for all their worth? ( ALP NO MORE! even though I can't stand Abbott!))



Roger
13/03/2013 11:17:58 AM
Sack the bastards immediately. These scumbags should go to jail for what they have done and the way they have wasted our money and the billions of dollars they are giving away to people that don't even like us. We as Australians must be nuts to put up with this crap. They must be stopped now. Everyone should demand that they are sacked the same as a other Labor mob that screwed it's people got sacked by the Governor. But this Governor obviously has no balls to do that. Furthermore, what about the lost super grab by these parasites, that also belongs to the people and not to the government. If anything should be done with that money then divide it up amongst the poor and the pensioners that need it badly. I hope Labor get slaughtered in the next election the same as they did in WA last Saturday. All Australians must do something about this and as we all know, Labor can never be trusted again.


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