Lost and found property
Reporting lost property
Rather than calling the police immediately, first contact any places where you may have left it, such as a bus depot or taxi company.
If you still can’t find your property, fill out a lost property form online (you must have an email address). You’ll receive an email within 48 hours with your police reference number.
Only use this form if you:
- have an email address
- have lost no more than 10 items
- don’t need a report number immediately.
Otherwise call Policelink on 13 14 44
Found property
If you find property that someone has obviously lost, take it to your local police station.
If you find goods or money, you can’t necessarily keep them. In fact, police may charge you for keeping goods or money you’ve found if you don’t hand it in. If you tell the police that you’ve found something of value, they may later return the goods to you if they can’t find the owner.
Property that someone has left with you
If someone leaves property with you, this is called bailment. Under the law of bailment, you must take reasonable care of the goods and not damage them or take them from the owner.
If you get rid of someone's property, you may be responsible to the owner for its value or even be charged with theft.
If the person refuses to take the property, you’re still legally responsible for it unless you reach an agreement with the owner. In this situation, you should get legal advice.
Identifying your property
Property identification is useful when your property has been stolen but also when you’ve lost it. Read a fact sheet on how to mark your property (PDF, 343KB).
Stolen property
If you believe that your property has been stolen rather than lost, contact Policelink on 13 14 44.
Call Triple Zero (000) if the crime is happening right now.
