Skip to content

You Found a Locked Case or a Stack of Cash in NSW. What Are You Expected to Do?

For anything valuable or traceable, the sources below point the same way: take it to the police rather than keep it. Here is the order of events, and the places where the answer stops being clear.

Why “finders keepers” is not the rule

Keeping something you found can be stealing. A NSW criminal law firm sets out the test: if, when you pick the item up, you believe the true owner could be identified and you take no reasonable steps to find them, you can be found guilty. Stealing carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment under the Crimes Act.[1]

The same source separates easy cases from hard ones. A wallet with cards in it names its owner, so you are expected to find that person or give the wallet to police. A single $20 note on an empty street is different, because nobody could reasonably trace it. Larger sums of cash, and valuables such as jewellery, are treated more like the wallet: courts have convicted people who kept large amounts, and the general expectation is that the money goes to police.[1] Goods that have truly been abandoned, such as furniture left out for rubbish collection, are the exception.[1]

A locked suitcase with cash inside is not abandoned property, and a lock says nothing about who owns it.

What to do, in order

  1. Note where and when. Photograph the spot and the item before you move it, and write down the time.

    This step is our suggestion, not a legal requirement. It makes the next steps easier to explain.

  2. Keep it as you found it. Do not use, spend or hand over any of it to anyone but the police.

    Also our suggestion. The law asks whether you took reasonable steps to find the owner, and an untouched item is the simplest way to show you did.

  3. Take it to a police station. NSW Police take in lost property that is handed in at police stations.[3] If someone is in danger or a crime is happening now, call 000. For a non-urgent question first, the Police Assistance Line is 131 444.[2]

  4. Ask for a record. Ask the officer to write down what you handed in and when, and keep any reference you are given.

    Our suggestion again. It protects you if the item is ever asked about later.

What the owner does

Someone who has lost property can lodge a Lost Property Report with NSW Police online. After the report is submitted they should receive an email within 48 hours with a NSW Police Force Event number.[2] The more distinctive detail they give, such as a description or serial number, the better the chance of the item being matched if it is handed in.[2]

This is why a readable name and phone number on a luggage tag matter more than any lock.

If nobody claims it

Property held by police that is not connected with an offence and is not returned to its lawful owner is dealt with under section 221 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002. Money is paid to the Treasurer for the Consolidated Fund. Other property may be sold at public auction, with the proceeds going the same way, and anything unfit for sale or unsold is disposed of on the Commissioner’s directions.[4]

A person lawfully entitled to the property can still recover the money or the proceeds of sale from the Treasurer.[5]

Scope. This page covers New South Wales only, in general terms. It is not legal advice, and the rules in other states and territories can differ. If you are unsure about a particular find, ask NSW Police or a lawyer.

If you came here from the main article, the lesson for a case of your own is on the front page: a tag with your details gets a bag handed back, and a combination lock does not.

Sources

5 sources
  1. Brydens Lawyers, Is ‘Finders Keepers’ a Crime? (2020): brydens.com.au. General information, not legal advice.
  2. NSW Police Force Community Portal, Lost Property Report: portal.police.nsw.gov.au/s/lost-property-definition. Online report, Event number within 48 hours, Police Assistance Line 131 444 on the portal home page.
  3. Audit Office of NSW, Managing drug exhibits and other high profile goods (2013): audit.nsw.gov.au (PDF). Lost property handed in at police stations.
  4. Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s 221: austlii.edu.au.
  5. Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), s 228: austlii.edu.au. Recovery of money or proceeds of sale from the Treasurer.

Read in 2026. Laws and police procedures change; check the current version before you act.