Claim Superannuation Australia (DASP): A Guide to Departing Australia Superannuation Payment
Understanding the DASP
When you have worked in Australia on a temporary visa such as a working holiday visa (subclass 417) or a student visa (subclass 500), and are leaving the country, you can claim back the superannuation contributions that were paid by your Australian employer. This process is called the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP). In this guide, I will be going through the necessary steps and requirements to claim your superannuation back after you have departed the land down under.
Eligibility for DASP
To be eligible for DASP, you must have accumulated superannuation while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa (excluding subclass 405 and 410), and your visa has either expired or been cancelled. It is important to note that the Australian government will withhold tax on this payment, currently at a rate of 65%.
The DASP Application Process
Something to take into consideration is that if you worked multiple jobs, you may have been registered for multiple supers, so it’s best to contact your superannuation provider and get them consolidated into one account.
You can start you claim online before you leave Australia and save it, but you cannot submit the claim until you have left Australia and your visa has expired or been terminated. However, if you are a New Zealand citizen leaving Australia permanently, you may be able to transfer your super to New Zealand.
Employers are required to make super contributions on a quarterly basis, so you should check with your employer that all contributions have been paid into your fund before submitting your application. If you don’t withdraw your super before 6 months, you will have to claim it directly from the ATO.
If the value of your super is $5000 or more, your may need to validate your form of identification. I was in Asia at the time of submitting my super and only spending a short amount of time in each place, so I had to a print a copy of a bank statement, and a scan of my passport which was stamped and signed by a police officer in Vietnam, then posted it whenI arrived in Japan back to Australia! Had I of known this before hand, I would have gotten the documents prepared in Australia before leaving.
You will be asked to submit personal details including passport number, TFN, name, date of birth, email and superannuation details. The application takes approximately 30 minutes, the process is pretty straightforward.
You can access the free application on the ATO website: https://applicant.tr.super.ato.gov.au/applicants/default.aspx?pid=1
After Submission: What Happens Next?
Once you have submitted all the required information, the ATO will get in touch with your super fund to confirm the application. Once approved, the payment will be sent to your nominated bank account minus 65% tax for working holiday makers (ouch I know). Make sure you keep an eye on your emails to check that you don’t miss any requests for additional information in order to avoid delays.
If the fund is satisfied you meet all the criteria, they will process the application within 28 days. If you don’t hear anything from them after 28 days, get in touch with your super fund.