The quick answer
If you worked in Australia on a temporary visa, you may be eligible to claim your super when you leave. The payment is called a departing Australia superannuation payment, or DASP.
You can only apply once you have left Australia and no longer hold an active visa. The application can be prepared before you go.
Tax is withheld before the payment reaches you. The rate depends on the components of your super and on whether you were a working holiday maker.
The harder part: knowing whether you are eligible, what will be withheld, and what else has to be finished before you go.
The claim is simple. The tax on it isn’t small.
When you work in Australia, your employer may be required to pay super for you, and that generally doesn’t depend on your visa. If you leave after working here on a temporary visa, you may be able to claim that super, less tax, as a DASP.
The part people don’t expect is how much is withheld. At the time of this review, the ATO’s DASP page set out the rates this way:
No tax is withheld from the tax-free component. For the taxable component, tax is withheld at 35% on the taxed element and 45% on the untaxed element. For working holiday makers, the rate on the taxable component is 65%.
So the balance on your super statement is not the amount that arrives in your bank account.
Timing matters as well. If you don’t apply, your super fund transfers the money to the ATO as unclaimed super once it has been six months or more since you left Australia and your visa has ended.
Two people, same balance, different payments
Two people leave Australia with about the same super balance. One receives noticeably more than the other.
The difference comes down to the visa each one held, the components that make up each balance, and whether and when each claim was made.
Six questions that decide what you receive
QUESTION 1
Are you eligible?
It depends on the visa you held, whether it has ended and whether you have left. Australian and New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents are not eligible.
QUESTION 2
Were you a working holiday maker?
A higher withholding rate applies to working holiday makers.
QUESTION 3
What is your super made of?
The tax-free and taxable parts are treated differently. Your fund can tell you the split.
QUESTION 4
Do you have more than one super account?
Each job may have opened a new one, and each account needs to be found and claimed.
QUESTION 5
Has your super already gone to the ATO?
Super that isn’t claimed can be transferred to the ATO as unclaimed super. Where it is held changes how you go about claiming it.
QUESTION 6
What else has to be finished?
A final tax return, and an ABN or GST registration if you had one, are separate from your super.
There is no single answer to any of these. Each one depends on your own situation. Working them out is what we do every day.
What getting it wrong can cost
Super you never claim. If you don’t apply, it is transferred to the ATO as unclaimed super rather than paid to you.
Less than you expected. Tax is withheld before payment, at 65% of the taxable component for working holiday makers.
A delayed claim. For balances of $5,000 or more, a super fund may require certified copies of your identification, which are easier to arrange before you leave.
A tax return or BAS left unfinished, because the super claim was treated as the last step.
Does this sound like you?
I worked in Australia on a temporary visa.
I’m leaving Australia soon.
I’ve already left and never claimed my super.
I had more than one job and I’m not sure where my super is.
I was on a working holiday visa.
I also had an ABN while I was here.
I haven’t lodged my last tax return.
If even one of these is you, it’s worth a quick conversation. Sorting it out before you go is almost always easier than fixing it from the other side of the world.
Common questions
When can I apply?
Only once you have left Australia and no longer hold an active visa. The application can be prepared before you leave.
Do I include the payment in my tax return?
No. The ATO says a DASP does not form part of your assessable income for Australian tax purposes. You may still need to lodge a tax return for the income you earned before you left.
I left Australia a while ago. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Super that wasn’t claimed may have been transferred to the ATO as unclaimed super, and a claim may still be possible. Tell us when you left and we’ll help you work out where it is.
How much does it cost?
It depends on your situation, so we give you the fee before any work starts. Asking for a quote costs nothing.
