October 12th 2024.
Every week, lucky Australians' lives - and bank accounts - are changed by an unexpected phone call informing them of their lotto win. In the year 2023, a whopping $1.5 billion in prize money was collectively won by 500 division one lotto winners. However, what happens if one of the winners doesn't claim their prize?
If a lottery winner doesn't have their personal information attached to the winning numbers and never comes forward to claim their reward, there are a few things that can happen to the money, depending on the state or territory. Typically, unclaimed prize money is diverted to the state's revenue office after a certain period of time.
The length of time a winner has to claim their winnings before they officially expire varies by state. In New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, winners must collect their earnings within six years after the draw date. In Queensland, winners have a little longer at seven years and two months. Meanwhile, lottery winners in Western Australia only have a year to claim their prize before the money is returned to the community through grants.
The process is slightly different in Victoria, where winners have a year to claim directly from The Lott. After that, they must submit a claim through the state revenue office. The same goes for South Australia, where winners who miss the 12-month deadline to collect their windfall will also have to go through the state revenue office and pay administrative costs.
In Tasmania, winners have a year to claim through The Lott and an additional seven years to submit a claim through the treasury office. In the Northern Territory, prizes expire after three years. It's surprising how many Australians have millions of dollars in lottery winnings just waiting to be claimed.
A spokesperson for The Lott told 9news.com.au, "We are in the business of paying prizes and we never lose hope of reuniting unclaimed prizes with their rightful owners. We have had winners come forward weeks, months, and even years after their win to claim their prize. By encouraging people to register their tickets, we can ensure our winners get their prizes sooner rather than later."
In the year 2023, The Lott reported a total of 21 unclaimed division one and major lottery prizes worth $16.14 million. However, in 2024, there have been over 470 division one and first prize winners across Australia, and only four of these prizes remain unclaimed. The oldest unclaimed division one prize is a ticket purchased in December 2016 in Maroochydore, Queensland, worth $1 million.
The biggest unclaimed prize so far is a ticket worth $4.8 million bought in April 2021 in Woden, ACT. The winner of this life-changing amount only has a little under three years left to claim their prize. The Lott expressed their disappointment, saying, "While we deliver life-changing news to all our registered winners every week, unfortunately, these winning tickets were not registered to a player card or an online account. This means we have no way of identifying or contacting the mystery winners to reunite them with their prize."
In the financial year of 2022-23, it took winners an average of 10 days to come forward and claim their prize. So, if you're going through old receipts for tax time or deep cleaning your house, keep an eye out for any unchecked lottery tickets. Recently, a mystery lotto winner in South Australia missed out on their $1 million prize because they failed to claim it within the 12-month deadline. However, there's still some good news for them as the original winner can still claim their earnings, minus administrative costs, by presenting the winning ticket and filling out a prize claim form.
Stay up to date with all the latest breaking news, celebrity updates, and sports news by following our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm, and your privacy is secure.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
