Early release of super through the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment
The Departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) is available to departed temporary residents who worked and earned super in Australia. Not available for permanent Australian residents, Australian, and New Zealand citizens.
Under normal circumstances, you can only access your super once you’ve reached preservation age and/or met a condition of release (e.g. retire from the workforce or turning 65). However, these release conditions do not apply to temporary Australian residents.
To be eligible, you need to have accumulated superannuation whilst working as a temporary resident in Australia, your temporary visa (to work in Australia) must have expired and you must have left Australia.
Temporary residents working in Australia must have a work visa to legally be employed. A range of work visas are available, including skilled worker visas and working holiday-maker visas. The type of work visa you have is important in relation to your DASP, as it affects how much tax you’ll pay when you receive it.
Australian tax payable on a DASP depends on three factors:
- Whether you have a working holidaymaker visa or another type of visa that enables you to work in Australia.
- Whether your DASP contains taxable and non-taxable (tax-free) components.
- Whether the taxable component of your DASP contains taxed and untaxed elements. Taxed elements are amounts that your fund has already paid 15% tax on.
| DASP component | Tax rate for working holiday makers | Tax rate for non-working holiday makers |
| Non-taxable component | Nil | Nil |
| Taxable component (taxed element) | 65% | 35% |
| Taxable component (untaxed element) | 65% | 45% |
Tax payable in your home country will depend on its specific tax legislation for foreign earnings and this specific type of payment.
Division 293 tax – Have you paid a super surcharge for high earners? Division 293 tax is paid by individuals whose taxable income and concessional super contributions (contributions made before tax) exceed $250,000 in a financial year. The Division 293 tax rate is 15%, which means that these excess super contributions are taxed at 30% (concessional rate of 15% plus the 15% Division 293 tax rate).
If you’re a temporary resident departing Australia who has paid or is liable to pay Division 293 tax, you can apply to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to be released from both your current and future tax obligations. You must have received a DASP payment prior to making this application. You may also be entitled to a refund of some of the Division 293 tax you have paid. The ATO will make this assessment based on your specific situation.
Apply – Contact the super fund provider (or the ATO if they have your funds). Your super fund may have transferred your super ATO if it’s been six months or more since you left Australia, or if your visa has expired. The ATO will class your super balance as unclaimed super money that you’re entitled to claim as a DASP.
You can check online if the ATO is holding any of your super.
Whether you’re applying for your DASP via the super fund or the ATO, you are required to provide documentary evidence that your temporary Australian visa has expired and that you’re no longer living in Australia as part of the application process.
You can authorise someone else to claim your DASP for you, such as a registered tax agent or another suitable person of your choosing. Authorisation must be in writing and enables the nominated person to act on your behalf in relation to your claim.
You should receive your DASP within 28 days of your application if you provide all the required supporting documentation.
Accessing your DASP when you leave Australia is your legal right and it can help you to consolidate your retirement savings in your home country.