An amendment to the unclaimed money provision of the Banking Act was passed yesterday, extending the time that bank accounts can be inactive before the balances are transferred to a government holding account.As a result of the amendment, an account held by an authorised-deposit taking institution will be deemed to consist of unclaimed money if in the previous seven years (up from three years) there have been no transactions in the account other than interest or charges, and the account holder has not checked the account balance online or by phone.The amendment restores the arrangement that existed before the Labor Government's controversial change in 2012.The move back to seven years was in response to a large number of "effectively active" accounts being transferred to the government holding account under the three-year rule.The Government said the three-year rule increased the regulatory burden on ADIs, account holders and government agencies.According to Treasury, around 15 per cent of unclaimed funds transferred from ADIs are reclaimed in the same year they are transferred and 50 per cent of transferred funds are reclaimed within two years.The amendment excludes foreign currency accounts and children's accounts from the unclaimed money provisions.The unclaimed money provisions are designed to preserve the value of money that might otherwise be lost or eroded by fees. Details of unclaimed money transferred to the government are searchable on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's MoneySmart website and can be reclaimed. The Government is also tightening up on access to information about unclaimed money. Details will still be searchable on the MoneySmart website but ASIC will no longer publish the Unclaimed Money Gazette.