As the new year begins, almost $300 million is sitting in the state's unclaimed money pool - and my Government wants to make sure as much of that as possible finds its way back to families.

Unclaimed money is money that you are legally entitled to, but a business hasn't been able to find you.

Money typically becomes unclaimed when people forget to update their name or contact details with businesses, have lost paperwork, or when estates are unaware of funds belonging to deceased relatives.

The unclaimed money register, managed by Revenue NSW, includes funds from overpayments, uncashed cheques, dividends, refunds and other amounts owed to individuals.

Kogarah has as many as 18,000 registered items totalling $7,090,000 just waiting to be claimed by families and households.

Last year, my Government upgraded systems to simplify and speed up the unclaimed money process to ensure that money is reported to Revenue NSW and given back to its rightful owners sooner.

To find out if you have any unclaimed money, you can search the Revenue NSW website at Unclaimed money | Revenue NSW.

With these new reforms, we are making it easier and faster for people to get what they are owed. Revenue NSW has returned more than $21 million to its rightful owners in the last year alone.

While revenue NSW regularly contacts potential owners, incomplete data means people are sometimes missed. That is why we are encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to check online, as you may be surprised with what you find.

It's why I'm encouraging everyone to get online and check if they have any money owed.

If you do, you can fill in a short form and provide your ID and your connection to the money. Claims are typically verified an processed by Revenue NSW within a month.

This is just one of the ways our government is working to make sure more of your money is going back in your pocket.