Get your super backYes. If you worked in Australia under the PALM scheme on a subclass 403 visa, you can claim your super as a DASP once you have left Australia for the last time and your visa has ended. Your employer paid super on top of your wages, currently 12%. Because the 403 is not a working holiday visa, DASP tax is 35% on the taxed element, unless some of the super in that fund came from an earlier working holiday visa (417 or 462).
On a multi-year visa? Claim after your last trip
A DASP can only be paid once your visa has ended and you hold no other Australian visa, so leaving at the end of one placement is not enough while a multi-year 403 is still running. Many PALM workers hold a visa that lasts several years and come to Australia for several shorter placements. The PALM scheme’s advice is to claim after you leave Australia for the last time. If you will not be coming back and your visa still has time on it, ask your approved employer or your country’s labour sending unit what to do next.
What 35% means in dollars
On a 403 visa most PALM workers keep 65% of their super. These examples use round balances held entirely in the taxed element, which is the normal case. They are illustrations, not averages, and they are before any agent’s fee:
| Balance | Tax withheld (35%) | Paid to you |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $1,750 | $3,250 |
| $10,000 | $3,500 | $6,500 |
| $20,000 | $7,000 | $13,000 |
One exception changes the rate. If you ever held a working holiday visa (417 or 462) and some of the super in a fund came from that time, that fund applies 65% to the whole payment. Each fund decides from its own records. The DASP calculator works out your own figure, and DASP tax rates has the full table.
Super is paid on top of your wages, but it may not be paid on overtime, some allowances or bonuses, so it is worth checking your payslips against your fund before you leave.
Keep your Australian bank account open
The safest way to receive your DASP is into an Australian bank account in your name, so keep that account open until the money arrives. A super fund may be able to send it straight to a bank at home by international money transfer, but not every fund offers this, and fees and currency conversion can apply. If your super has already moved to the ATO, the ATO can only pay it into an Australian account in your name or by Australian dollar cheque. Ask your bank before you leave whether it can send the money on to an account at home.
Before you fly home
- Start your DASP online application while you are still in Australia, and keep the email address and password you used. You finish and submit it after you leave.
- Use the same name you gave the ATO and the Department of Home Affairs. A different spelling can hold up your claim.
- Certify any documents your fund needs before you go. Where a balance is $5,000 or more your fund may ask for certified copies, and certifying is easier, and often free, while you are in Australia.
- Check your employer has paid all the super it owes you before you submit.
Already back home?
You can still claim from home, and your super is not lost. If six months or more have passed since you left and your visa has ended, your fund will have moved your super to the ATO as unclaimed super money. You can still claim it as a DASP, and the tax rate does not change. The difference is that the ATO pays only into an Australian bank account in your name or by cheque, so the account you kept open matters.
PALM scheme questions
Can PALM scheme workers get their super back?
Yes. PALM scheme workers on a subclass 403 visa can claim their Australian super as a DASP once they have left Australia for the last time, their visa has ended, and they hold no other Australian visa. Tax is withheld at 35% on the taxed element for most PALM workers.
What DASP tax do PALM scheme workers pay?
The 403 visa is not a working holiday visa, so the ordinary DASP rates apply: 35% on the taxed element, 45% on any untaxed element, and nothing on the tax-free component. If some of the super in a fund came from an earlier 417 or 462 working holiday visa, that fund applies 65% to the whole payment.
Can my DASP be paid into a bank account in my home country?
Sometimes. A super fund that offers international money transfer can pay a bank at home, though fees and currency conversion may apply. Super already held by the ATO can only be paid into an Australian bank account in your name or by Australian dollar cheque, which is why keeping your Australian account open helps.
Is there free help for PALM scheme workers?
Yes. The ATO’s DASP online application system is free, and the PALM scheme lists free support for workers, including in-person help from government-funded National Tax Clinics and phone or online support. DASPA is a paid option for anyone who would rather hand the whole claim to a registered tax agent.
Do PALM scheme workers need to lodge an Australian tax return?
Not always. It depends on how you were paid and whether you had other Australian income. The ATO’s page for PALM scheme workers sets out who needs to lodge, and a DASP itself never goes in a tax return.
Ready when you are. 5 minutes, flat fee.
$150 · every fund plus ATO-held super · generally paid within 28 days.