Get your super backA DASP (Departing Australia Superannuation Payment) is the super you earned on a temporary visa, paid out to you once you have left Australia and your visa has ended. Australian and New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, and holders of retirement visas (subclasses 405 and 410) cannot claim one. Tax is withheld before the money reaches you, at a rate set by the visa you held.
Key takeaways
- You can claim once you have left Australia, your visa has expired or been cancelled, and you hold no other Australian visa.
- Tax withheld is 35% on the taxed element for most temporary visas, and 65% if any of the super came from a working holiday visa (417 or 462).
- You can apply free through the ATO’s DASP online application system, on a paper form, or through a registered tax agent.
- A complete application is generally paid within 28 days.
- Six months after you leave and your visa ends, an unclaimed balance moves to the ATO. You can still claim it, but it can then only be paid to an Australian bank account or by cheque.
What is a DASP?
Every employer in Australia pays super for its workers into a super fund, and that includes workers on temporary visas. The money is meant for retirement, but if you were here on a temporary visa and you have now gone home, the law lets you take it with you. That payment is the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, or DASP.
A DASP pays out your super balance, including its earnings and any other contributions, less a final tax that is withheld before payment. If you worked for more than one employer you may have super in more than one fund, and each fund pays its own DASP separately. Super that has already moved to the ATO is claimed the same way.
Who can claim a DASP, and who can’t?
You can generally claim a DASP if all four of these apply:
- you built up super while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa, other than subclasses 405 and 410
- your visa has ceased, because it expired or was cancelled
- you have left Australia and you do not hold any other active Australian visa
- you are not an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia
Your nationality and where you live now make no difference. A New Zealand citizen leaving Australia permanently cannot claim a DASP, but may be able to transfer their super to New Zealand instead. Permanent residents and citizens keep their super in the Australian system even if they move overseas.
You cannot claim before you leave, but you can start the online application while you are still in Australia and submit it once you have gone, which the ATO recommends. If your visa still has time on it after you leave for good, you can ask the Department of Home Affairs to cancel it, though it will not cancel a Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa, a visitor visa, or any visa with less than six months left on request (Home Affairs, cancelling a visa). Not sure where you stand? The 60-second eligibility check answers it, including when the answer is no.
How much of your super do you keep?
Most temporary visa holders keep 65% of their super, and working holiday makers keep 35%. The rates are set by law and withheld by whoever pays your DASP, so no agent can change them. Your super can be made up of a tax-free component and a taxable component, and the taxable component can hold a taxed element and an untaxed element. Each is taxed at its own rate:
| Part of your payment | Most temporary visas | Working holiday visa (417, 462) |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free component | Nil | Nil |
| Taxable component, taxed element | 35% | 65% |
| Taxable component, untaxed element | 45% | 65% |
The working holiday rate can apply to your whole payment. If any of the super in a fund came from contributions made while you held a 417 or 462 visa, that fund applies 65% to the entire amount it pays you, including super you earned later on a different visa. It does not matter when you held the working holiday visa. Each fund decides separately from its own records, so two funds can apply two different rates to the same person.
The rate is the same whether your fund or the ATO holds the money. It follows the visa you held, not where your super sits.
Three worked examples, using round balances held entirely in the taxed element. These are illustrations, not averages, and they are before any agent’s fee:
| Who | Balance | Tax withheld | Paid to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working holiday visa (417) only | $10,000 | $6,500 (65%) | $3,500 |
| Student (500) then skilled (482), never a working holiday visa | $20,000 | $7,000 (35%) | $13,000 |
| Working holiday (417) first, then skilled (482), in one fund | $20,000 | $13,000 (65%) | $7,000 |
The third row is the one that surprises people: a year on a working holiday visa early on can set the rate for everything that fund later pays. Run your own numbers in the DASP calculator, and see how much tax you pay on a DASP for the full breakdown.
How do you apply for a DASP?
There are three ways to apply, and the ATO’s own online system is free.
| Route | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| DASP online application system | Super held by funds and by the ATO. It checks your immigration status with Home Affairs for you. | Free |
| Paper form NAT 7204, sent to each fund | Super held by a fund | The fund may charge a fee depending on your balance |
| Paper form NAT 74880, sent to the ATO | Super already held by the ATO | Free |
| A registered tax agent, with your written authority | Lodges through the DASP online intermediary application system | The agent’s fee |
Before you apply, check with each employer that all the super they owe you has been paid in. If you are not sure where your super is, you can find it through the DASP online application system once you have met the eligibility conditions and given your tax file number, through ATO online services or the ATO app linked to myGov, or by phoning the ATO.
Identity documents. Where a balance is $5,000 or more, your fund may ask for certified copies of your identity documents, and a paper application to a fund may also need a Certification of Immigration Status from Home Affairs (Form 1194), which Home Affairs charges for. Certifying documents is much easier while you are still in Australia, so do it before you fly. The online system confirms your immigration status itself, so most online applicants never need Form 1194.
More on each route: the DASP online application, the NAT 7204 paper form, and claiming your super yourself for free.
How long does a DASP take?
A DASP is generally paid within 28 days of a complete application reaching the fund or the ATO. It takes longer if the application is incomplete or the fund asks for more documents. Each fund works on its own timeline, so with several funds the payments can arrive on different days. Whoever pays you must send a DASP payment summary within 14 days of paying, showing the tax withheld and the amount paid.
What starts the clock, what stops it, and how to check where a claim is up to are covered in how long a DASP takes.
What happens to your super after six months?
If you have not applied, your fund transfers your super to the ATO as unclaimed super money once two things are both true: it has been six months or more since you left Australia, and your visa has ceased. The money is still yours and you can still claim it as a DASP. The tax rate does not change, because it follows the visa you held.
What does change is how it can be paid. The ATO pays ATO-held super only by electronic transfer to an Australian bank account in your name, or by Australian dollar cheque. International money transfer is not available, which matters if you have already closed your Australian account. Claiming while a fund still holds the money keeps more options open. Check your own dates with the six-month deadline checker.
Can your DASP be paid to an overseas bank account?
Yes, if a super fund is paying it and that fund offers international money transfer. There are three ways a DASP can be paid:
- electronic transfer to an Australian bank account
- an Australian dollar cheque
- international money transfer, available only on applications to super funds, and not every fund offers it
Fees and currency conversion can apply to an international transfer, so check with each fund. Super already held by the ATO can only be paid to an Australian account in your name or by cheque. The ATO suggests keeping your Australian bank account open until your DASP arrives and checking with your bank that it can send the money on to your home country.
Can you come back to Australia after claiming a DASP?
Yes. Claiming a DASP does not affect any future visa application. If you later return to Australia as a permanent resident and your fund has already moved your super to the ATO as former temporary resident unclaimed super, you can either transfer it back into an Australian super fund or apply to have it paid to you, if you meet the conditions. Either way it is still treated as a DASP and taxed at the DASP rate. To move it back into a fund, call the ATO on 13 10 20.
Do you need to declare a DASP in your tax return?
No. A DASP is not assessable income in Australia, and the tax withheld is final, so neither amount goes in an Australian tax return. If you think a fund withheld the wrong amount, ask that fund for a refund in the same financial year it paid you. After that year ends, or if the ATO paid your DASP, you can ask the ATO in writing, with your circumstances and evidence of the incorrect withholding. How your home country treats the money is a question for its tax office; the payment summary is the document they will want.
Should you claim it yourself or use a registered agent?
Both work. The ATO’s free online system suits a simple claim from one fund. A registered agent earns its fee when there is something to find or fix: funds you did not know you had, money already with the ATO, certified-document requests, name mismatches, rejected applications, or several funds to chase from another time zone. We have written up the free route step by step. With DASPA the fee is a flat $150, published before you start, and it is refunded in full if we recover no super. We are a registered tax agent, number 26076969, on the Tax Practitioners Board register.
Visa guides: Working Holiday 417 · Work & Holiday 462 · Skilled 482 · Student 500. By home country: UK · Ireland · Germany · Philippines · Italy · France · Spain · India · Indonesia · Thailand · Malaysia. For Pacific and Timor-Leste workers: PALM scheme.
DASP questions
What is DASP in Australia?
DASP stands for Departing Australia Superannuation Payment. It is the super you built up while working in Australia on a temporary visa, paid out to you after you have left and your visa has ended. A final tax is withheld first: 35% on the taxed element for most visas, 65% if any of it came from a working holiday visa.
How do I get my super back when I leave Australia?
Wait until you have left and your visa has expired or been cancelled, then apply for a DASP. You can apply free through the ATO’s DASP online application system, by paper form to each fund, or through a registered tax agent. You can start the online application before you fly and submit it once you have gone.
How much super can you claim back when leaving Australia?
All of it, less the DASP tax. Most temporary visa holders keep 65% of the taxed element, because 35% is withheld. If any of your super in a fund came from a working holiday visa (417 or 462), that fund withholds 65% of the whole payment and you keep 35%. On $10,000 that is $6,500 or $3,500.
How long do I have to claim my super after leaving Australia?
Your fund holds your super for six months after you leave and your visa ends. After that it transfers the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super money, and you can still claim it from the ATO at the same tax rate. The difference is that the ATO pays only to an Australian bank account in your name or by cheque.
Can I withdraw my Australian super if I live overseas?
Yes, if you were in Australia on a temporary visa, your visa has ended, and you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident. You apply from overseas. A fund can pay it to an overseas account by international money transfer if it offers one; super held by the ATO goes only to an Australian account or by cheque.
Can I withdraw my super before I leave Australia?
No. A DASP can only be paid after you have left Australia and your visa has expired or been cancelled. You can, and should, start the online application before you fly, so it is ready to submit the moment you are eligible.
Can permanent residents claim their super when leaving Australia?
No. A DASP is only for former temporary visa holders. Permanent residents and citizens keep their super in the Australian system even if they move overseas. A New Zealand citizen leaving Australia permanently may be able to transfer their super to New Zealand instead.
Is a DASP taxed again in my home country?
The DASP tax is a final Australian withholding tax, so you do not report the payment in an Australian tax return. How your home country treats it is a question for its tax office, and the DASP payment summary you receive is the document they will ask for.
Last updated: 5 November 2026. Checked against the ATO’s DASP page (last updated 21 April 2026).
Ready when you are. Five minutes, flat fee.
$150 · refunded if we find no super · every fund plus ATO-held money · generally paid within 28 days.