Claim your super when you leave Australia (DASP)

When you work in Australia, your employer generally pays superannuation (super) into a fund on your behalf. On a temporary visa you cannot normally withdraw it while you are here. Once you have left the country, you may be able to ask for that money back as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, usually shortened to DASP.

The ATO describes it as a payment for people who built up super while working in Australia on an eligible temporary visa. Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and permanent residents are not eligible, and neither are holders of subclass 405 and 410 visas.

Based on the ATO’s page, you need to meet all of these conditions:

• You built up super while working in Australia on an eligible temporary visa (not subclass 405 or 410).
• You have left Australia.
• Your visa has ceased or been cancelled, and you do not hold another active Australian visa.
• You are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident.

You can only submit the application after you have left. The ATO says you can start and save an online application while you are still in Australia, and recommends it. Keep the details you enter, because you will need the same ones to resume the saved application from overseas.

A DASP is not taxed like a normal super lump sum. Your fund withholds tax before paying you, and the rate depends on the components of the payment and on whether the money came from working holiday maker work. These are the ATO’s rates for payments made from 1 July 2017:

Source: ATO, Payments from super (Table 14), page updated 16 September 2026. The ATO also notes that any part above the untaxed roll-over plan cap is taxed at 47% under a separate Act.

For most people the contributions an employer paid sit in the taxed element of the taxable component. If your payment includes super paid while you were a working holiday maker, the 65% rate applies to the taxable component.

Illustration, not a prediction: suppose a working holiday maker’s fund shows a taxable component of $5,000. At 65%, $3,250 is withheld and $1,750 is paid out. A non-working-holiday temporary resident with the same taxed element would face 35%, or $1,750, and receive $3,250. Your real figures depend on your fund’s statement.

The ATO says a DASP does not form part of your assessable income and tax is withheld at source, so you should not include it in your tax return.

1. Get your details ready. The ATO asks for your tax file number (TFN) in its online system, so keep it with your fund details.
2. Use the ATO’s online DASP application. It is free, and the ATO checks your immigration status with the Department of Home Affairs, so you usually do not need a Certification of Immigration Status unless your fund tells you otherwise.
3. Prepare ID if your balance is large. For balances of $5,000 or more, your fund may ask for certified copies of your ID. The ATO recommends certifying them before you leave, because there are rules about who can certify.
4. Wait for payment. A DASP is generally paid within 28 days of the ATO or your fund receiving the completed application, and it can take longer if documents are missing.

A tax agent registered for DASP can also apply for you through the ATO’s intermediary system once you give written authority, usually for a fee. If you have more than one fund, check that the online system lists all of them before you submit.

If you do not apply, your fund can transfer your super to the ATO as unclaimed super once it has been 6 months or more since you left Australia and your visa has ceased. The money is not lost, but recovering it follows a different process. Check the ATO’s current guidance on unclaimed super before relying on that route.

If you earned wages in Australia you may still need to lodge a return for the income year, and you can do that from overseas. If you leave Australia permanently before 30 June you may be able to lodge early. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your own situation.

For working holiday makers the 2026-27 rates are 15% up to $45,000, then 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000 and 45% above that. See how this applies to your wages in the Working Holiday Maker calculator, read the full working holiday maker tax guide, and see tax return deadlines and refunds.

1. Keep your TFN, passport and visa grant notice.
2. Find every super fund you have. Payslips and your myGov or ATO account usually list them.
3. Note your last working day and your departure date.
4. Plan your tax return and keep payslips and payment summaries.
5. Decide when you will apply for your DASP after you leave.

For a step-by-step planner covering the DASP, your final tax return and an exit checklist, see the Leaving Australia Money Kit.