$81K in ‘forgotten’ court funds lost after no one claims them

Here’s why checking old court matters might save you money after more than $81,000 in unclaimed funds from old Queensland civil cases will be rolled into state government.

The Supreme Court has ruled that $81,000 in unclaimed funds held in three Supreme Court accounts will be forfeited to the state government.

More than $81,000 in unclaimed funds held in three Queensland Supreme Court accounts will be forfeited to the state government, after a decision handed down this week in Brisbane.

Supreme Court Justice Melanie Hindman approved an application from the Supreme Court Registrar to transfer the balances of the three inactive court accounts to the state government’s consolidated fund.

However, a spokesman for the court system said after transfer to the consolidated fund, which is the Treasury, a person may apply to the court for an order to have the money paid to them.

The money, tied to civil cases dating back as far as 2013, has been untouched for more than six years, with no one coming forward to claim it before the deadline expired on May 16.

The largest of the unclaimed sums, almost $70,000, was linked to a long-resolved case involving the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and two defendants, Hendrik and Elaine Paix.

A second amount, totalling just over $11,400, was from a matter between Arthur Charles Downing and David Baird.

The third account, holding just under $100, also involved Mr Downing in a dispute with multiple respondents, including companies and individuals.

All three accounts had been idle for more than six years and nobody owned up to the money. Picture: Contributed

All three accounts had been idle in the Supreme Court Registry for more than six years without any legal steps taken or applications made to recover the money.

As a result, under Queensland’s Civil Proceedings Regulation 2024, the Registrar was entitled to ask the court to transfer the funds to the state’s central pool.

In March, the Registrar formally published the list of inactive accounts, meeting the legal requirement to notify the public.

Only one account on the advertised list drew a valid application by the May 16 deadline

It involved more than $39,000 deposited in 2018 by Perpetual Trustee Company Limited.

That money will remain with the rightful claimant.

With no applications received for the other three accounts by the deadline, the Registrar proceeded to seek a court order to make the transfer.

The matter was dealt with “on the papers”, with the court making its decision without a hearing, a standard process for uncontested applications.

The fund accounts often arise from legal settlements, court-ordered securities, or trust distributions and if not claimed in time, they become property of the state.

Justice Hindman’s order means the balances of the three inactive accounts, including any interest that accrued over the years, will now be transferred permanently to the state.

Once that happens, the money is no longer recoverable by the original parties.

Originally published as $81K in ‘forgotten’ court funds lost after no one claims them