Try expired gift cards this week: NSW govt

NSW shoppers are being urged to dust off expired gift cards and have a shot at redeeming them as part of a state government initiative.

NSW Regulation Minister Victor Dominello said expired cards waste millions of dollars and has asked shoppers to make a "special effort" to try to use expired gift cards this week, which is Fair Trading Week.

A survey has been set up on the Fair Trading website for shoppers to report if they had any luck and these results will be used to make a decision on changing regulations to better protect forgetful card owners.