Revealed: postcodes holding most of QLD’s $2bn unclaimed super treasure chest

Queensland’s top 10 postcodes by value for unclaimed and lost superannuation have been revealed with $2bn in uncollected wages accumulating across the state.

Queenslanders are owed $2bn in unclaimed and lost superannuation with new figures revealing the 10 postcodes where the missing money is piled the highest.

Australian Taxation Office data shows more than $40m of unclaimed and lost super is sitting in nearly 11,000 accounts linked to the 4870 postcode in Cairns.

Across the country, about $13.8bn of hard-earned wages remains unclaimed, which usually occurs after people change their names, move jobs, change addresses or forget to update details with their super fund.

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume said the value of unclaimed super had plunged $7bn which was a “terrific outcome” as thousands of Australians were reunited with their wages.

“There remains around $13.8bn in unclaimed super, I encourage all Australians to take a moment to login to the ATO via MyGov and check if it’s yours – it only takes a moment,” she said.

She said forgotten funds were transferred to the ATO, which does not charge fees and proactively consolidates any unclaimed super into an eligible, active super account where possible.

The ATO also “proactively” returned super worth almost $4.3bn from almost 3.3m accounts from November 2019 to February 28 this year.

“Our reforms empower the ATO to do this proactively and without fees, a demonstration of the Morrison Government’s commitment to building a stronger and more efficient superannuation system for all Australians,” said Senator Hume.

Superannuation Minister Jane Hume wants Australians to collect nearly $14bn of unclaimed superannuation. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

After Cairns, the Queensland postcodes with the next largest pools of money were 4740, around Mackay and 4350 around Toowoomba which both had about $36m of unclaimed and lost super.

The Brisbane postcodes in the top ten were 4053, around Stafford on the northside ($25m) and 4152 around Carindale on the southside ($21m). Ipswich was sixth on the list with $24m worth of unclaimed super.

Other regional centres included Gladstone ($24m) and Bundaberg (22m).

The Gold Coast’s northern suburbs featured on the list with nearly $22m unclaimed in the 4211 postcode around Nerang and the $21m in the 4215 postcode around Southport.

The nation’s top postcode for unclaimed super was central Sydney’s 2000, which had $64m sitting in about 8300 accounts.

It was followed by Cairns and then Bondi and surrounds.

Mackay and Toowoomba were also in the national top ten at sixth and seventh respectively.