More than $12 million in Australian lottery prizes remain unclaimed

Check your old lottery tickets.

That's the advice of Australia's official lottery provider The Lott, because there are currently 23 major prizes totalling more than $12 million across Australia that have been won but not been claimed.

There are currently 11 unclaimed prizes in NSW worth more than $3.3 million, 10 in Queensland worth more than $8.4 million, one in Victoria worth $446,898.09 and one in South Australia worth $100,000. All up, the unclaimed prizes are worth $12,369,939.43.

But because the winning tickets were not registered, the Lott has no way of identifying the winner or contacting them.

The Lott spokesperson Bronwyn Spencer urged Australians who play the lottery to do some spring cleaning and be vigilant for old tickets.

"We've had past winners come forward after finding an old ticket in the back of a drawer, in the central console of their car and at the bottom of their handbag," she said.

"Most recently a player claimed their prize months after the draw after realising their ticket had been sitting in a pile of papers on their kitchen table for weeks.

"With more than $12 million of unclaimed prizes at large, it's worth checking any lottery tickets you come across. If you do discover an old ticket, make sure you check it online, via our app or in store to see if you are a winner."

Ms Spencer said the unclaimed winnings were a reminder that players should register their entries.

"For all those players planning on getting an entry into this week's massive $80 million Powerball draw, we recommend registering your entry to a player's card so your prize is secure and we can contact you directly with the good news of a big win," she said.

The amount of time a player must claim prizes varies from state to state.

Queenslanders have seven years to collect their prize, while those in New South Wales have six years.

Victorians have six months to claim their prize directly from Tatts before the winnings are handed to the State Revenue Office.

Unclaimed prizes across the country:

Queensland:

NewsExtra DFO Cairns, $2 million, January 22, 2014

Nextra Morayfield Village, $1 million, June 20, 2015

Cotton Tree News, Maroochydore, $1 million, December 19, 2016

Lutwyche News & Gifts, $1.3 million, December 31, 2016

Nextra Capalaba Park News, $368,000, November 4, 2017

Golden Lucky News, Helensvale, $671,000, August 11, 2018

Nextra Wynnum Plaza, $200,000, March 15, 2019

NewsExtra Springwood Mall, $100,000, April 1, 2019

Gatton Plaza Newsagency, $774,000, July 6, 2019

News Worx, Victoria Point, $1 million, July 27, 2019

NSW

Henry Deane Plaza Newsagency, Sydney, $400,000, August 2, 2014

Southgate Newsagency, Sylvania, $441,000, November 3, 2018

Connection Newsagency, Sydney, $1 million, December 22, 2018

Top End Katoomba, $200,000, February 28, 2019

Yangoona Newsagency, $200,000, April 15, 2019

Westfield Chatswood Newsagency, $200,000, May 5, 2019

Lambton Nextra, $200,000, May 31, 2019

Anna Bay Newsagency and Post Office, $200,000, July 29, 2019

Governor Macquarie Drive Newsagency, Chipping Norton, $200,000, August 2, 2019

Gifts N News @ Top Ryde, $100,000, August 20, 2019

Chatswood Interchange Newsagency, $200,000, August 26

Victoria

Klemms Authorised Newsagency, Mildura, $446,000, August 3, 2019

South Australia

Kapunda Newsagency, $100,000, August 5, 2019