A DASP is generally paid within 28 days of your completed application being received — that's the ATO's published standard, and it binds both super funds paying fund-held super and the ATO paying ATO-held super. The word doing the work is completed: the 28 days only starts once the payer has the application and every piece of supporting evidence it requires. An incomplete application, a fund's extra document requirements, or a name that doesn't match your passport can add weeks before the clock even begins — and the international bank transfer adds a few business days after payment.
The 28-day standard — and what it actually covers
"28 days" gets quoted everywhere (including by us — see the leaving-Australia guide and the online application page). This page is about the fine print behind the number. There are really two 28-day standards, one for each possible payer:
| Who holds your super | The standard | When the clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| Your super fund (money still in your account) | Process and pay within 28 days | When the fund has received your completed application and all the documentary evidence it requires in support of the claim |
| The ATO (already transferred as unclaimed super money) | Process and pay within 28 days | When the ATO has received your request and any additional information it needs to satisfy the claim |
Source: ATO — Departing Australia superannuation payment and ATO — DASP: receiving and processing claims (for funds).
Notice what the standard is not: it's not "28 days from when you hit submit". It's 28 days from complete. A claim lodged today with a document missing hasn't started its 28 days — it has started an email exchange. That single distinction explains most "my DASP is taking forever" stories: the calendar the applicant is counting on and the calendar the fund is counting on started on different days.
What starts (and stops) the clock
A DASP application is complete when the payer can verify three things without asking you for anything more:
- Your identity — the name, date of birth and passport details on the application match the fund's records and your documents.
- Your immigration status — you held an eligible temporary visa, it has ceased, and you've departed. Applications lodged through the ATO's online DASP system (which is what a DASP online application uses, DIY or via an agent) have this confirmed electronically with Home Affairs, which is why online claims rarely stall on visa evidence.
- Where to pay — valid bank details the payer can actually pay to.
Anything the payer still has to query pauses effectively everything. The request for more information usually arrives by email, sometimes by post to an Australian address you no longer live at — and until you answer it, no clock is running anywhere. Rule of thumb: if your claim is past week two and you haven't heard anything, check — don't wait.
What commonly makes a DASP take longer than 28 days
Five patterns account for nearly all slow claims we see:
- Incomplete applications. The ATO says it plainly: payment may take longer if you submit an incomplete application or are asked for additional supporting documents (source: ATO — DASP). Missing fund member numbers, an old address that doesn't match fund records, or a skipped employment question are the usual culprits.
- Fund evidence requirements — especially over $5,000. Each fund sets its own supporting-document rules. For balances of A$5,000 or more, many funds require a Certification of Immigration Status issued by the Department of Home Affairs (which has its own application step and its own queue); under A$5,000, certified copies of your visa evidence and stamped passport are typically accepted instead (source: ATO — DASP). If a certification is needed and nobody starts it until the fund asks, that alone can add weeks.
- Name and passport mismatches. Married name at the fund, maiden name on the passport; a middle name recorded at one place and not the other; transliteration differences. The fund can't pay until the identities reconcile, which usually means certified documents proving the link.
- Super in transit to the ATO. If your fund is in the middle of transferring your balance to the ATO as unclaimed super money (which happens roughly six months after departure — check your dates with the 6-month deadline checker), neither side can pay until the transfer settles. And once the money is ATO-held, it's taxed at 65% whichever visa you held, versus 35% on the taxed element for most non-working-holiday visas while fund-held, per the ATO's DASP rate schedule — the delay is the least of the damage. The full rate breakdown is at how much is super taxed when leaving Australia.
- Payment-leg problems. Wrong SWIFT/BIC, a closed account, or a cheque posted overseas. The 28-day standard runs to the payment being made — a bounced international transfer restarts the slowest part.
A realistic week-by-week timeline
For a claim that's complete at lodgement — which is the whole game — a typical DASP runs like this:
| Stage | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Day 0 — lodgement | Application lodged through the ATO's online DASP system with identity details matching your passport, full visa history, fund details and bank account. Immigration status is confirmed electronically with Home Affairs. The 28-day clock starts — provided your fund needs nothing more. |
| Week 1 — verification | The fund (or the ATO, for ATO-held money) matches the application to your account and checks identity and eligibility. Any mismatch or missing document triggers a request to you here — answer it same-day if you can, because the clock pauses until you do. |
| Weeks 2–3 — processing | The claim is approved, your balance is finalised, and DASP tax is withheld at the legislated rate for your situation (rates per the ATO's DASP schedule — worked examples in the DASP tax calculator). |
| Week 4 — payment | Payment is issued, within the 28-day standard for a complete application. Multiple funds pay independently — three funds means three timelines, each with its own clock. |
| + a few business days | The international transfer lands and converts. Australian accounts clear fastest; overseas cheques are the slow lane. |
Two honest caveats. First, the ATO notes it can't always meet the service standard — a claim a few days over isn't necessarily stuck. Second, each fund runs its own claim: if we lodge for you across four funds plus ATO-held money, most pay inside the window and occasionally one straggles; the straggler is the one that gets chased.
When — and how — to chase a slow claim
Don't chase on day 10; do chase past day 28. In order:
- Check for an unanswered request first. Search your email (and spam) for the fund's name and "DASP". An evidence request you never saw is the number-one cause of a silent claim.
- Fund-held super: call or secure-message the fund's member services line with your member number, passport details and lodgement date, and ask two questions: is my application complete, and what date did you receive the last document you needed? That second date is when their 28 days started.
- ATO-held super: after 28 days you can contact the ATO about the progress of your application — superannuation enquiries on 13 10 20 within Australia, or +61 2 6216 1111 from overseas, weekdays 8am–5pm AEST (source: ATO — contact us).
- Escalate in writing if a fund blows well past the standard with everything provided: funds are required to process a DASP within 28 days of holding a complete claim (source: ATO — receiving and processing claims), and a written complaint citing that obligation, with your document dates, moves queues.
If we lodged your claim, all of this is our job, not yours — chasing funds, answering their document requests and escalating stragglers is what the flat $149 + GST covers, and if no super is recovered the fee is refunded in full. The step-by-step of the whole process, from finding lost funds to payment, is in the complete leaving-Australia guide.
Processing-time questions, answered straight
How long does a DASP take in 2026?
The ATO's service standard is payment within 28 days of a complete application being received — and it applies both to super funds paying fund-held super and to the ATO paying ATO-held super. Claims that are complete on day one usually land within that window; anything incomplete stops the clock until it's fixed. Allow a few extra business days after payment for the international bank transfer to arrive and convert.
When does the 28-day clock actually start?
When the payer has everything it needs — not when you hit submit. For a super fund, that means the completed application plus all the documentary evidence the fund requires in support of the claim; for ATO-held super, the request plus any additional information the ATO asks for. Lodging an application with missing evidence doesn't start the clock — it starts a correspondence.
My DASP application is taking longer than 28 days — what should I do?
First check whether anything has been requested of you — an unanswered evidence request from the fund is the most common reason a claim stalls, and the email often lands in spam. If nothing is outstanding, chase the payer directly: the fund's member line for fund-held claims, or the ATO for ATO-held super — 13 10 20 within Australia, or +61 2 6216 1111 from overseas, weekdays 8am–5pm AEST. Have your reference number, passport details and lodgement date ready.
Does using an agent make the DASP faster?
Not the 28-day standard itself — that's identical whether you use the ATO's free DASP application system yourself or a registered agent. What an agent changes is everything around the standard: lodging a complete application the first time, catching name and passport mismatches before a fund bounces the claim, and chasing the payer so a stalled claim doesn't sit unnoticed for months. A clean DIY application is just as fast.
Is ATO-held super paid faster than fund-held super?
The standard is the same 28 days from a complete request. ATO-held claims skip fund evidence requirements, but there are two catches: super that is mid-transfer from a fund to the ATO can't be paid by either side until the transfer completes, and ATO-held super is taxed at 65% whichever visa you held, per the ATO's DASP rate schedule — so for most non-working-holiday visas, waiting for the ATO transfer costs far more than it saves.
How long after payment until the money is in my bank account?
The 28-day standard runs to the payment being made, not to it landing overseas. An international transfer typically adds a few business days on top, plus any currency-conversion time your bank takes. Payments to an Australian bank account usually clear fastest; cheques posted overseas are the slowest option and worth avoiding if you can.
Want it done in one pass? Lodge it complete.
$149 + GST flat · no super, no fee · every fund plus ATO-held money · lodged complete, chased until paid — typically within 28 days.