Superannuation and unclaimed super

Small or insoluble lost member accounts

From 30 December 2012, a lost member account of a fund is taken to be unclaimed super if it does not relate to a defined benefit interest, the member is a lost member, and:

• the balance of the lost member account is less than $2,000 (small lost member account), or
• the lost member account has been inactive for a period of 12 months and the provider is satisfied that it will never be possible to pay an amount to the member (insoluble lost member account).

A person is taken to be a lost member if they are either uncontactable or inactive (as defined in regulations).

Uncontactable

For a member to be considered uncontactable, the fund must not have received a contribution or rollover for them within the last 12 months and either:

• the fund has never held an address for the member
• two written communications have been returned unclaimed. Note that if one written communication has been sent to the last known address and returned unclaimed, the trustees may choose to class the member as uncontactable.

Inactive

The individual must have joined the fund as a standard employer-sponsored member more than two years ago and there cannot have been any contributions or rollovers for them within the past five years.

A person may also transfer into a fund as a lost member but will not continue to be classed as a lost member if, within the last two years of membership, the trustee of the fund has verified that the member's address is correct and has no reason to believe that that address is now incorrect.