Would you have guessed? In 2018, the Hunter/Newcastle region had an estimated 420,000 lost items.

And it’s a Hunter based technology company that’s trying to help return those lost items.

Did you know that 18.45 million items will be lost at Australian venues this year, and about 8% of those items will be kid’s toys, largely teddy bears! This equates to approximately 1.48 million kid’s toys lost at venues annually in Australia. Plus, lost property increases by up to 100% at some venues during school holidays. That’s a lot of precious items lost! One man on a mission to help reunite owners with their lost items is Luke Cubis, Managing Director of It’sFound.

It’s Found is a Hunter based Australian tech company that has created specialist lost property management software designed for organisations to utilise, not only in Australia but across the globe, including Europe and the USA. It may sound whimsical, but once you consider that 25,000 working hours per day are spent by Australian organisations managing lost property, the commercial value of reducing the amount of lost property becomes obvious. And just think of all the kids who will be overjoyed about being re-united with their teddy bears.

And if you are into interesting trivia, It’sFound have compiled some key stats on lost items:

• Most common items that were reported lost in Australia included: phones, keys, bags, umbrellas and glasses
• Places which generally have the largest count of lost items included: shopping centres, hotels, universities, transport agencies, stadiums and airports
• The most valuable lost item that has been recorded to date is a five-figure engagement ring
• Strangest item lost to date is a pair of dentures