1300 13 22 77
Unclaimed Money
What is unclaimed money?
Bank accounts that are deemed inactive and remain that way for seven years become ‘Unclaimed’. An account may become inactive when you do not deposit or withdraw money from a bank account for a period of seven years or more. The crediting of interest payable and/or charging of bank fees by us is not considered a deposit or withdrawal on the account. Exemptions for certain account types may apply.
When there has been no activity for seven years on an account, these unclaimed accounts are closed in line with Australian Government Legislation. Community First will notify you (based on existing address information held) that the account will be closed if you do not take steps to reactivate the account.
Community First is required to close such accounts and remit the funds (for account balances greater than or equal to $500) to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC maintains the details of unclaimed monies transferred from all financial institutions.
Prior to contacting Community First, you must conduct a search via the ASIC website to see if they are holding any unclaimed funds on your behalf. A free search of unclaimed money records held by ASIC can be completed through the ‘Find unclaimed money’ – Moneysmart.gov.au.
If you believe Community First has sent your unclaimed monies to ASIC, Community First can assist to make a claim to recover the unclaimed balances. Please note that this process can take up to 28 days.
The claims process
Once you have established via the Moneysmart website that there are funds lodged with ASIC in your name, then you would have seen a unique Original Transaction Number (OTN) relating to your claim. Please note down your OTN. You will need your OTN to make a claim with Community First.
Claiming my money
Individual claimants and registered companies
Print and complete the ‘Unclaimed Monies Refund Request’ form. For Deceased Estates claims, you will also need to complete the ‘Deceased Estate Unclaimed Indemnity’ form which can be found here.
You will also need to provide the following:
- Two current forms of Identification, one of which must include photo identification. Each identification document presented must have your Name and Date of Birth clearly noted. The ‘How to Verify your ID’ form must be completed and must be certified by an authorised certifier and posted to Community First.
- If you’re a business or company, you’ll need to provide the Certificate of Registration and Business extract to verify the business owners or Minutes of the meeting showing the names of the officers / directors. All documents produced must be certified by an authorised certifier.
- If you are claiming on behalf of a de-registered company, please refer directly to ASIC for assistance via www.moneysmart.gov.au.
- You must also provide sufficient proof of account ownership, such as copy of Bank Statement or connection to the address relating to the account such as council rates. All documents produced must be certified by an authorised certifier.
Documents can be provided to one of our stores or posted to: –
Community First Bank
PO Box 98
Lidcombe NSW 1825
Should you require further assistance, please call Community First Direct on 1300 13 22 77, Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm (AEST) or +61 2 9735 1600 if you are calling from overseas.