Ten million dollars of reparations paid by criminals has not been given to their victims - because they cannot be found.
Ministry of Justice figures show that by the end of the year, $2.5 million was yet to be given to victims, while another $7.5m was transferred to the Treasury, as the ministry is only allowed to hold onto the reparations for a year, Fairfax Media reported.
Victims have seven years to claim the money once it is passed onto the Treasury, afterwards the funds stay with the Crown.
Ministry acting general manager of collections Karen Walfisch told Fairfax there were many reasons victims did not receive the money, such as not choosing not to provide contact details as they did not want the reparation owed to them.
Victim Support chief executive Tony Paine told Fairfax Media if there was money available it should go towards victim support services.