Yes, may I confirm that in New South Wales, Australia there is no requirement for any next of kin to be named on any bank account. I have just checked my own details on my own account. Although I am a married woman, it does not give any details to indicate that, nor my nee name, nor the name of my spouse, nor the name of a solicitor.
In fact, my husband reminds me that when he needed to remember his PIN (personal Indentity number) to access his own account via his plastic card at a branch (so face to face with a real bank teller) he had turned to me and asked me for his number. That very action caused the teller to block his account, and he was denied access, based on breach of privacy. Yes, that is so ! He breached his own privacy by asking his own wife for his own PIN to allow him to withdraw his own money from his own bank account.
So I do understand the difficulty the NSW Police, the Salvos, the Medicos, the NSW BDM, the local government authority, will all be experiencing, and I think Neil's efforts may well be 'the way to go' to help find this lady's family members. Action in the NSW Supreme Court will be costly, and not prompt.
Is it possible that she received financial benefit from the United Kingdom? If so, would there be UK records that could be looked up?
Cheers, JM
