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Claim money from shares and investments

Shares and other investments

Page reading time: 9 minutes

If you have found a name on ASIC's unclaimed money search that is relevant to you and the money is listed as 'Company money' or 'Company gazette', here's how to claim it.

How to claim lost shares and investments held by ASIC

This is how you would claim money listed in an unclaimed money search as 'Company money' if you are claiming as:

How long your claim will take

It takes ASIC 28 days to process your claim from the date we receive your request. If you are outside Australia the process will be longer as we will have to mail the cheque to you.

Why we ask for proof of ownership

We ask you to give us specific documents when you claim money to make sure that we give the money to the right person. These documents prove your identity and that you own or are entitled to the unclaimed money. Unfortunately, identify theft is common so ASIC's job is to ensure the money gets to the rightful owner.

The claims process

Step 1 — Record your Original Transaction Number (OTN)

Note down the Original Transaction Number (OTN) as you will need to quote your OTN on the claim form in Step 2.

Step 2 — Complete the claim form

(a) Download the How to claim your money form and gather the required documents if you are claiming the money as:

or

(b) Download the How to claim money form for representatives and gather the required documents if you are claiming the money as the:

Step 3 — Send the claim form and documents to ASIC

Send the claim form and documents to ASIC as per the instructions on page 4 of your claim form.

Step 4 — ASIC processes your claim

Once we receive your claim it will take about 28 days to process.

How to claim lost shares and investments held by the company

This is how you would claim money or shares listed in our unclaimed money search as 'Company Gazette'.

The reason you claim this money in a different way is because the company have sent details of the money to ASIC (name and the unclaimed amount), but not the money itself. This could include money or shares from a takeover.

The claims process

Step 1 — Search the ASIC gazette

You need to do this to get contact information for the company that originally held the shares.

Step 2 — Contact the company

The company can tell you how to claim the money or shares. Companies will often use a 'share registry' to do this.

If you can't find the company's contact details, visit ASIC: do you have a question to send us a message. Then we will send the company's details to you.

How to claim money owed to a deregistered company

What happens when a company is deregistered

Ordinarily as a result of deregistration:

For more information, see effects of deregistration on the ASIC website.

Looking for money from a bank account in the name of a deregistered company

Currently, a number of banks are submitting bank accounts to ASIC that were held in the name of a deregistered company. If your deregistered company name does not appear when you do an unclaimed money search, ASIC has not yet received the funds.

It is the responsibility of the bank to remit the funds to ASIC. Please contact your bank to find out when they are going to send the funds to ASIC.

ASIC's records are updated daily, so please continue to check for the deregistered company money. ASIC may request that the company be reinstated to make a claim.

For more information, see deregistered company bank accounts on the ASIC website.

Found your deregistered company name on the unclaimed money search

If you have found a record on our unclaimed money search in the name of a deregistered company and you are a former shareholder or officeholder, you may have a claim to the money.

If the company was deregistered in the last few years and you were an officeholder when this happened, consider reinstating the company as this may allow the funds to be claimed.

If the costs of reinstatement are more than the funds ASIC holds or if the amount held is of low value, ASIC may approve a claim if the company was solvent at the time of deregistration. The claim may be approved if the company did not owe any creditors, did not have any security interests registered on the Personal Property and Securities Register and you are the owner of the shares. However, ASIC assesses claims on a case-by-case basis.

To make a claim please fill out this Statutory declaration for claims by shareholders of deregistered companies.

Do not complete this statutory declaration if the company was in a court ordered or creditor's voluntary liquidation before it was deregistered. To be able to claim the funds, you will need to arrange for the company to be reinstated and a liquidator appointed to distribute the funds.

Help with deregistered company claims

If you are unsure whether to complete the statutory declaration or reinstate the company please email or write to ASIC:

Unclaimed Money Unit
ASIC
GPO Box 9827, Brisbane QLD 4001
Email: [email protected]

Please give us the following details:

Purchasing property registered in the name of a deregistered company

If you are interested in purchasing property registered in the name of a deregistered company, you can apply to the ASIC Property Law Group. For more information, see list of property to purchase on application to ASIC.

How to claim money owed to a deregistered company acting as trustee for a trust or superannuation fund

If you have found a record on our unclaimed money search in the name of a deregistered company acting as trustee for a trust or superannuation fund, there are a number of considerations as to who can make a claim.

The superannuation fund must be registered as a complying fund with the Australian Taxation Office before we can pay the money to the trustee of the superannuation fund. Visit Super Fund Lookup to check the status of the superannuation fund.

Was a new trustee appointed before the company was deregistered?

The new trustee can submit a claim following this process.

The claims process

Step 1 — Record your Original Transaction Number (OTN)

Note down the Original Transaction Number (OTN) as you will need to quote your OTN on the claim form in Step 2.

Step 2 — Complete the claim form

If you are claiming the money as the trustee of a superannuation fund or trust fund, download the How to claim money form for representatives.

Step 3 — Send the claim form and documents to ASIC

Send the claim form and documents to ASIC as per the instructions on page 1 of your claim form.

Step 4 — ASIC processes your claim

Once we receive your claim and all the documents we require, it will take about 28 days to process.

Is the trust or superannuation fund still operating but a new trustee has not been appointed?

You will need to consider reinstating the company as the trust or superannuation fund must have a trustee. When the company is reinstated, you can complete the Unclaimed Money Representative Claim form.

Has the trust vested or the superannuation fund been wound up?

You need to provide information so we can ascertain the possible beneficiaries of the trust/superannuation fund. Please email the following information to [email protected]

  • name of the deregistered company
  • ACN of the deregistered company
  • name of the trust or superannuation fund
  • ABN of the trust or superannuation fund
  • Original Transaction Number (OTN) from our unclaimed money search
  • written statement advising that the trust has vested or the superannuation fund has been wound up
  • list of all beneficiaries of the trust. If the funds held by ASIC relate to a superannuation fund, list all of the beneficiaries and whether they have reached the preservation age
  • certified copy of the trust deed for the trust/superannuation fund
  • certified copy of any amendments to the trust/superannuation fund
  • certified copies of all winding up documents (e.g. final tax return lodged with ATO, minutes of the meeting held by the trustee, bank statements or documentation detailing the distribution of the trust assets)

We will review the information you supply and provide further information on how to claim.

How to claim money owed to a deregistered business

If you have found a record on our unclaimed money search in the name of a deregistered business, the former proprietors of the business at the time of deregistration may be entitled to claim.

Please email [email protected] providing the following information:

  1. details of the record being claimed, including the OTN (original transaction number)
  2. verification of former proprietors of the deregistered business (e.g. business name extract at the time of deregistration)

How to claim money for someone who died without a will

If the record you have located on our unclaimed money search is owed to someone who died without a will or probate it is considered that they died intestate.

To claim money on behalf of someone in this situation you need to confirm the following information:

In some cases you may also need to apply to court to have an administrator appointed to deal with the deceased estate property.

To make an initial claim you will need to provide the following information to ASIC:

Please email this information to: [email protected]

After we have received your email, we will advise you of our requirements to make a claim.

Having trouble finding proof of address

To make a claim you will need to provide a certified copy of an official notice addressed to you at the postal address that appears on the unclaimed money record, whether that is your current or a former address. This proof helps ASIC determine if you are the rightful owner.

Here are some examples of an official notice that ASIC will accept:

ASIC reserves the right to request original documentation. Please retain any original proof of address documents until your claim has been processed.

ASIC will also accept official documents that you can request from other organisations, as long as the document includes the date of birth and address as it appears on the unclaimed money record:

Alternatively, if the address on your unclaimed money record was for a business or company, you can provide ASIC with a document from that business (showing the address as it appears on the unclaimed money record).