Great News for Our Friends Down Under – Australian Parliament Makes It 7 Years Before Bank Accounts Considered “Idle” and Subject to Government Seizure.

As you dear reader may recall, in a 13 November 2013 post, Heir Hunters International detailed how in Australia “the Labor government then in power redefined an ‘inactive account’ as one in which there has been no activity  for seven years to a meager three years!”

Significantly, any account considered “inactive” would be confiscated by the government as “unclaimed property.”

In a truly amazing turn of events, the government cash grab is coming to an end!  As reported in today’s Northern Territory News, with a conservative government now in power, the Australian Parliament passed legislation adding back the four years–to the former three years–now making it seven years of non-activity before being considered “Idle” and subject to government appropriation.  

The addition of four years in the calculation ” . . . means customers have longer to accrue interest on their accounts without making a deposit or withdrawal before the funds are transferred to government coffers, where they will attract interest at the bond rate and not be subject to fees.”

Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, whose majority coalition added back four years to make it seven years before a bank account would be treated as an  “idle account,” and, consequently, subject to government seizure.

I think we can all agree that seven years is a fair benchmark, three is, on the other hand, certainly not.