Yes. Spanish citizens who worked in Australia on a temporary visa (typically the Work and Holiday visa subclass 462, which Spain’s arrangement offers to 18–30-year-olds) can claim their full superannuation balance as a DASP after leaving, once the visa has expired or been cancelled. The tax is set by legislation: 65% for working holiday makers (417 and 462 alike), 35% (taxed element) for other temporary visas such as the 482 or student 500, and 65% on amounts already transferred to the ATO as unclaimed money. Payment goes directly to your Spanish account, typically within 28 days.
What Spanish travellers usually get back
Every legal employer, the strawberry farm in Queensland, the Melbourne tapas bar, the Sydney warehouse, paid 12% superannuation on top of your wage into a default fund, whether you asked for it or not. A year or two of typical work-and-holiday jobs leaves $3,000–$8,000 behind, and it does not come home unless you claim it. After the legislated 65% working-holiday tax (per the ATO source above) and our flat fee, a $5,600 balance still puts roughly $1,800 (≈ €1,000) in your account.
417 or 462? For your super it makes no difference
Spain’s deal with Australia is the Work and Holiday visa subclass 462, signed in 2014, capped at age 30, with an annual quota and a functional-English requirement, not the 417 Working Holiday visa that British or Irish backpackers hold. The names are confusingly similar, but for the DASP both subclasses count as working holiday maker visas and are taxed at the same legislated 65%. And if you were in Australia on a skilled 482 or student 500 instead, you can still claim. The taxed element is withheld at 35% instead.
Paid to your Spanish bank
Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter, any account that accepts international payments works. We collect your IBAN-linked SWIFT/BIC details in the form, and the fund or the ATO pays you directly in AUD; your bank converts to euro at its own rate. Prefer to control the conversion? A multi-currency account like Wise or Revolut works too. We never hold your money at any point.
No notario, no cita previa
Spaniards know queues for official paperwork better than anyone. With DASPA there is none of it: identity is verified electronically with your passport and a selfie, powered by Didit, no certified copies, no notario, no cita previa at the consulate in Madrid or Barcelona, no posting documents to Australia. (Claiming directly from a super fund yourself can involve certified identity documents, the exact hassle this replaces.)
Left Australia a while ago?
Roughly six months after you leave, funds transfer inactive balances to the ATO as unclaimed super. It is still fully claimable. ATO-held amounts are taxed at the legislated 65% when paid as a DASP (see the ATO’s DASP page), and finding it is part of every claim we run, not an extra.
English paperwork, human help across timezones
ATO correspondence, fund forms and super statements are all in English and full of jargon (even Australians find “unclaimed superannuation money” confusing). Our form is plain English, takes five minutes, and if you get stuck you can message a human on WhatsApp, no hotline, no hold music, and we answer across timezones, so the 8–10 hour gap between Spain and Australia is our problem, not yours.
How the claim works from overseas
Everything is done from your phone: the 5-minute form, payment of the flat $149 + GST, and a passport-and-selfie identity check powered by Didit, no certified copies, no embassy appointments, no posting documents to Australia. We lodge with the ATO and your super funds through the registered-agent channel, and the money is paid directly to your nominated account, typically within 28 days of a complete application.
Common questions
¿Tengo que pagar impuestos en España por la DASP?
The DASP is taxed in Australia at the legislated rate before it is paid. How Spain treats the receipt is a question for the Agencia Tributaria or your asesor fiscal, as an Australian tax agent we can’t advise on Spanish tax, but we provide the payment summary you would show them.
My visa was called “Work and Holiday” (462), not “Working Holiday” (417). Does that change anything?
No. Spain’s arrangement with Australia is the Work and Holiday visa subclass 462 (open to Spanish citizens aged 18–30, with an English requirement and an annual quota), rather than the 417 that British or Irish travellers hold. For your super claim the two are treated identically: both count as working holiday maker visas, so the same legislated 65% DASP tax applies. Whatever subclass you held, it’s on your visa grant email, and if you can’t find it we can work it out from your passport details.
Do I need certified copies of my documents, or a notario?
No. With DASPA, identity is verified electronically with your passport and a selfie, powered by Didit, no certified copies, no notario, no cita previa at the consulate, no posting documents to Australia. Claiming directly from a super fund yourself, by contrast, can involve certified identity documents, which is exactly the paperwork most people come to us to avoid.
How do I know DASPA is legitimate?
DASPA is operated by Australian Registration Office Pty Ltd, Registered Tax Agent 26076969. You can verify that independently on the Australian Tax Practitioners Board public register (linked in our footer). Only registered agents may lawfully charge for DASP lodgement. And the ATO offers a free DIY application system at ato.gov.au if you’d rather do it yourself; our flat $149 + GST is for having every fund found, the forms handled and the claim chased for you, refunded in full if we recover no super.
Ready when you are. 5 minutes, flat fee.
$149 + GST · every fund plus ATO-held super · paid to your bank worldwide in about 28 days.