Tasmanian Hotel Lost Property Law: Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1968
Published September 2026 • 3 min read • Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1968 (Tas)
How long must a hotel keep lost property in Tasmania?
The Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1968 (Tas) requires reasonable notice to the owner before disposal. Most Tasmanian properties align with the 60–90 day range common across smaller Australian jurisdictions for ordinary items.
Tasmania's Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act 1968 sets the notice-and-disposal process a hotel must follow for a guest's forgotten property.
The core obligation
A Tasmanian hotel holding a guest's forgotten item is expected to give reasonable notice to the owner and allow a defined period for it to be reclaimed before disposing of, selling, or donating it. The underlying bailment duty of reasonable care applies regardless of the specific statutory timeframe.
Operational checklist
Photograph and log the item on intake, notify the guest via the contact details on their booking as early as possible, and keep secure records of both the notice and the eventual outcome — whether that's return to the guest, donation, disposal, or handover to Tasmania Police for high-value items.
How Homebound handles this for TAS properties
Homebound gives every logged item an immutable, timestamped audit trail — from intake photo through guest notification to final disposition — so a TAS property always has the record this guide describes without relying on a paper logbook or spreadsheet. Guests enter their own shipping address and pay for courier return themselves, and it costs the hotel nothing to run.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a Tasmanian hotel wait before disposing of lost property?+
The Act requires reasonable notice rather than a single universal figure — most Tasmanian properties align with the 60–90 day range common across smaller Australian jurisdictions for ordinary items, with faster escalation to police for high-value goods.
Is a paper logbook enough to satisfy the Act's record-keeping expectations?+
It can technically work, but a paper logbook is hard to produce as reliable evidence if a guest disputes what happened — a timestamped digital record of intake, notice and disposal holds up far better if it's ever needed.
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