The Only Route That Releases Super on Leaving the Country
A Departing Australia Superannuation Payment lets a former temporary resident claim their superannuation once their visa has ceased and they have left the country. It is the only departure-based release in the system, it is taxed at rates well above ordinary super benefits, and an unclaimed balance is transferred to the ATO six months after departure.
- The answer: A former temporary resident whose visa has ceased and who has left Australia can claim their super balance as a DASP.
- The trap: The withholding rates are high — considerably higher than ordinary super benefits tax — and higher again for a former working holiday maker.
- The recommendation: Claim it through the ATO's own application rather than a paid service. The application is free and the paid services charge a percentage for lodging the same form.
Where the AI summary above gets this wrong
"When you leave Australia you can claim your superannuation back tax-free."
That's surface-true. Here's what it misses:
- It is taxed, and at high rates — DASP withholding rates are set well above ordinary super benefit rates, and a former working holiday maker's rate is higher again. The payment is not tax-free in any circumstance.
- It is not available to permanent residents or citizens — Only a former temporary resident whose visa has ceased. Australians and New Zealanders have other arrangements or none.
01 Who can claim it
You must have entered Australia on a temporary visa, that visa must have ceased to be in effect, and you must have left the country. Australian and New Zealand citizens and permanent residents cannot claim a DASP.
The claim is made after departure, and the fund or the ATO verifies the visa status directly with Home Affairs. There is no need to produce documents proving the visa has ceased in most cases.
New Zealand citizens have a separate route: super can be transferred to a KiwiSaver scheme under the trans-Tasman portability arrangement rather than being cashed out, which preserves the retirement purpose and avoids the DASP tax rates.
02 What it is taxed at
The tax-free component is not taxed. The taxed element of the taxable component and the untaxed element are each withheld at specified DASP rates, which are substantially higher than the rates that apply to an ordinary super benefit.
A former working holiday maker — someone who held a subclass 417 or 462 visa — is subject to a higher DASP rate again on the whole taxable component. That is a deliberate policy setting rather than an anomaly.
The tax is withheld by the fund or the ATO when the payment is made, so the amount that arrives is the net amount. There is no later return to lodge and no refund mechanism for the withholding.
Shows: what a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment nets after withholding, given the split between the tax-free and taxable components of the balance. Ignores: the higher rate that applies to a former working holiday maker unless you enter it, the untaxed element, which is withheld at a different rate, and any fund exit costs.
03 The six-month rule and how to claim
If the payment is not claimed within six months of both the visa ceasing and departure, the fund must transfer the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super. It is still claimable after that, from the ATO rather than the fund, but it stops being invested.
The claim is made through the ATO's DASP online application, which is free. Commercial services charge a percentage of the balance for lodging the same application, which is a substantial fee for a form.
Claiming requires your tax file number, passport details and the fund's details. Consolidating accounts before leaving makes this much simpler, for the same reasons set out in the leaving Australia reference.
The paid DASP services are the thing I would avoid. They charge a percentage of your balance to lodge a free ATO form, market themselves to people who have just left the country, and add nothing. The application takes twenty minutes and the money goes to you rather than to a percentage.
FAQ
As a temporary resident leaving Australia, how do I claim my Departing Australia Superannuation Payment?
Through the ATO's free DASP online application, after your visa has ceased and you have left the country. You need your tax file number, passport details and the fund's details.
Is a DASP taxed?
Yes, and at rates well above ordinary super benefits. The tax-free component is not taxed; the taxable component is withheld at specified DASP rates, with a higher rate again for former working holiday makers.
What happens if I do not claim within six months?
The fund transfers the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super. It remains claimable from the ATO afterwards, but it stops being invested in the meantime.
Sources
Regulator references
- ATO — Payments from super (rates and thresholds) · Australian Taxation Office · 2026The low-rate cap, the untaxed plan cap and the super lump sum tax table.Last verified: 2026-09-07
- ATO — Withdrawing and using your super · Australian Taxation Office · 2026Preservation age and the conditions of release.Last verified: 2026-09-07
Calculator unit tests · the assertions this page's worked example is checked against, and their last result
Changelog
- 2026-09-07 — initial publish (new format)
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Jordan Reeves
Founder of Talk Through Wealth. A software engineer for over a decade before turning to retirement planning, Jordan built the projection engine after watching family members get fragmented, country-by-country advice that never reconciled. He writes about retirement the way the engine computes it: month-by-month, lifetime-long, and skeptical of any rule of thumb that hasn't been run through the math.