"No good deed goes unpunished" may be a catchy phrase for cynics, but sometimes doing the right thing really does have its benefits.

A cleaner in Melbourne, Australia who discovered almost $100,000 in cash has been rewarded $80,000 for his honesty. 

While cleaning the bathroom of an office building in 2011, Chamindu Amarsinghe found wads of banknotes stuffed into a sanitary bin. He immediately reported it to police, who attempted to find the owner.

Luckily for him, no one ever came forward and so magistrate Michael Smith granted him the lion's share, saying: “There’s no reason why such honesty should go unrewarded.”

Speaking to the Herald Sun, Amarsinghe spoke about being "speechless" upon hearing the news. He plans to spend his life "in a normal way", search for an IT job, and to donate some of the money to a Buddhist temple and charities for the disabled.