In each of the five states, most goods left behind cannot be sold or disposed of until the person who left them has been given notice and time to collect. How long that is, who else is told and whether a court or tribunal must agree turn on what the goods are and what they are worth.
General informationAbout five states’ uncollected goods laws as their Acts and agencies set them out on 9 October 2026, not legal advice about any unit, charge or dispute. Each unit names the Act and agency page to check, such as NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria and Consumer Protection WA.
01Before anything: which law?
Three of the five uncollected goods laws make way for a separate law about storage, where that law applies. NSW Fair Trading says the NSW Act is not available for goods held by a storer with charges owed by the depositor, and the Act names the Storage Liens Act 1935 among the laws it does not replace. Queensland’s Act does not apply to goods, other than motor vehicles, left for storage with a storer within the meaning of its Storage Liens Act 1973, unless they were also taken in for some other treatment. Western Australia’s Act does not apply where an Act in its Schedule governs the goods, and the Warehousemen’s Liens Act 1952 is on that list. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s pages and South Australia’s Unclaimed Goods Act 1987 do not mention a storage or warehouse lien law, and this guide does not say how the two kinds of law fit together in those states. In New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia those exceptions can close the uncollected goods route to a storage business owed fees. Each of the five states covered here has a storage or warehouse lien Act, and unit 06 sets out what each one lets a storage business owed fees do with the goods it holds.
In all five, an agreement between the person who left the goods and the business holding them can change the picture, because each law gives way to an agreement that deals with disposal, at least as far as it goes.
02The six units
-
New South Wales
Most goods under $1,000 can go 14 days after notice; $20,000 or more needs the Tribunal. A storer owed charges is pointed to the Storage Liens Act.
Open unit 01: New South Wales -
Victoria
Written notice, then 28 days, or up to 180 days if the person cannot be reached. Three value bands decide who is told and how goods may go.
Open unit 02: Victoria -
Queensland
A sign at the counter, a notice that goods are ready, six months, a notice of intention, newspapers, then a public auction.
Open unit 03: Queensland -
Western Australia
Prescribed goods, goods up to $3,500 and goods above it each follow their own forms. The largest need a Magistrates Court order.
Open unit 04: Western Australia -
South Australia
Three scales by combined value: 14, 28 or 60 days. The smallest vest in the holder; the largest need a court order.
Open unit 05: South Australia -
Storage liens
A storer owed fees holds a lien on the goods. Once some charges are more than 6 months old (more than 12 in Victoria, and in New South Wales for goods deposited before a 1989 amendment began; at least 6 months owing in South Australia), it can move to sell, starting with a notice that gives at least a month (30 days in Queensland) to pay.
Open unit 06: Storage liens
03The shortest path, side by side
| State | Which goods | Notice and wait | How they may go |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Worth less than $1,000 | Oral or written notice, then at least 14 days | In an appropriate manner |
| VIC | Worth less than $200 | Written notice, then a further 28 days (60 if the person cannot be reached despite reasonable written attempts) | Any way, including selling, destroying or keeping them |
| QLD | Charges claimed of $110 or less (above that, a court order); not goods left for storage with a storer under the Storage Liens Act 1973 | A sign displayed where the goods were taken in, notice that they are ready, at least 6 months, then a notice of intention, given and published in newspapers, at least 28 days before the sale | Public auction, in a lot of their own |
| WA | Prescribed goods, such as bedding and clothing, of any value | Form 1, then at least 3 months, then a notice of intention at least a month before any attempt to sell | Auction or private sale; other disposal after a month of reasonable but unsuccessful efforts |
| SA | Combined value of $200 or less ($1,000 with a motor vehicle) | Notice, then at least 14 days | The goods vest in the business holding them |
04Where money left over goes
After a sale, every state lets the business keep its charges and costs. What happens to the rest differs:
- NSW: back to the owner, or handled as unclaimed money through Revenue NSW.
- Victoria: unclaimed money under the Unclaimed Money Act 2008.
- Queensland: paid to the public trustee within 14 days of the sale, unless already paid to the person entitled.
- Western Australia: to the person who left the goods, or lodged with the State Treasury if they cannot be found and it stays unclaimed for 28 days.
- South Australia: paid to the Treasurer.