Abandoned goods

There are laws in Queensland for property that's:

When to get legal advice

Get legal advice if you:

  • have a dispute with a trader holding your goods—or they are threatening to sell your belongings
  • have a dispute with a lawyer or accountant holding your files
  • are holding goods for someone who refuses to collect them
  • want to go to court to recover your belongings from someone who is illegally holding them and police haven’t been able to help you get them back.

How to get legal advice

Property someone has left with you

When someone leaves their belongings (i.e. property) with you, this is called bailment. By law, you must take reasonable care of it and not do anything to damage or take it from the owner.

If you get rid of someone's belongings without their agreement, you may be:

  • responsible to the owner for the value of the belongings
  • charged with theft.

If the person refuses to take the property, you’re still legally responsible for it, unless you either:

  • reach an agreement with the owner
  • get a court order to get rid of the belongings.

Found property

If you find goods or money, you should take it to your local police station.

You’re not automatically entitled to keep any goods or money you find. If you don’t hand it in to the police, you may be charged with a criminal offence. If you tell police you’ve found something of value, they may give it back if they can’t find the owner.

Getting your property back

If someone is illegally holding your property (generally meaning you don’t owe them any money for storage or work done on the property), you can:

  • collect the property yourself—as long as you don’t commit any criminal offences to get it back (e.g. trespass, breaking and entering, damage to property, assault)
  • contact police—if police agree it’s a criminal matter, they will get your property back
  • apply to the court to get an order to have your property returned if the police won’t collect it.

Even if it isn’t a criminal matter, you can ask police to come with you to keep the peace, while you collect your property, but they can’t force the other person to hand over your property.

Can a trader hold my goods?

A trader can keep your goods if they’ve done work on them (e.g. repairs) and you haven’t paid the bill.

If there’s a dispute over the bill or standard of work, you should try and come to an agreement with the trader. If you can’t reach an agreement, you can try mediation or get legal advice.

See basic consumer rights

Can a trader sell my things?

By law, if you leave your property with a trader for more than 6 months after you’ve been told they're ready for collection, they may be able to sell your goods to recover costs such as:

  • reasonable storage expenses
  • the cost of selling the goods (e.g. advertising)
  • insurance.

They can’t legally sell your belongings without a court order. Before getting a court order, they need to give you notice in writing of their intention to apply for a court order. 

Files held by a lawyer or accountant

Lawyers and accountants can hold your files or books of account until:

  • their bill is paid
  • any dispute is resolved by a tribunal
  • an agreement is reached.

How to get legal advice

We may give legal advice about abandoned goods, found goods or retrieving goods.

Other places to get legal advice:

Who else can help?

Disclaimer: This content is for general purposes only and not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please contact us or speak to a lawyer. View our full disclaimer.

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