Yes — former Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) holders can claim their full super balance once they have left Australia and the visa has expired or been cancelled. DASP tax of 65% is withheld by law for working holiday makers, and claims are typically paid within 28 days of a complete application. Waiting does not help: after roughly six months your fund must transfer the balance to the ATO, where it earns only CPI interest.
What 417 backpackers usually have waiting
Employers must pay superannuation on top of your wage — 12% of ordinary earnings — no matter how short the job. A typical one-to-two-year working holiday leaves $3,000–$8,000 spread across one or more funds, because many employers sign you up to their own default fund. Two farms and a bar job can easily mean three super accounts.
Our flat-fee service finds every account held in your name (plus any money already moved to the ATO), lodges one DASP application covering all of it, and has it paid to your bank at home.
The 65% question, answered honestly
Working holiday makers pay a legislated 65% DASP tax. No agent, including us, can reduce it — anyone implying otherwise should be avoided. What you control is the other 35%: whether it sits unclaimed in Australia or lands in your account. On a $5,600 balance that is roughly $1,960 before our fee, about $1,796 after it.
What you need
- Passport (the one you travelled on, plus your current one if renewed)
- Departure date and confirmation your 417 has expired or been cancelled — not sure? We check for you
- Bank details, Australian or international (SWIFT/BIC for overseas accounts)
- Optional but helpful: your TFN and any super fund paperwork or app logins
Then it is the 5-minute form, the flat $149 + GST, and a passport-and-selfie identity check from your phone. We lodge with the ATO and your funds; the money is paid directly to you.
Common questions
I did my second and third year on the 417 — does that change anything?
No. However long you held working holiday visas, the same rules apply: claim once you have left and the visa has ended, with 65% DASP tax withheld. Longer stays usually just mean a bigger balance — often across more funds.
I moved from a 417 to another visa. Which rate applies?
If your super includes amounts earned while you held a working holiday visa, the 65% rate generally applies to the payment. If your history is mixed, note it in the form — checking how your funds will treat it is part of what we do before lodging.
My employer never paid my super. Can you chase it?
Unpaid super is an ATO enforcement matter rather than part of a DASP, but we will tell you honestly what is showing in your name and point you to the ATO unpaid-super process. Message us on WhatsApp if you suspect an employer skipped payments.
I left Australia years ago. Is my super gone?
No — it will almost certainly be sitting with the ATO as unclaimed super money. It is still 100% claimable; ATO-held amounts are taxed at 65% when paid as a DASP. We search ATO-held money on every claim.
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.