DASP 2026: How to Claim Your Australian Super Back After You Leave

The Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) is how temporary visa holders get their Australian super back after they go home. The short version: you can only submit a claim once you have left Australia and your visa has expired or been cancelled; the ATO's online DASP system is free; and the tax is heavy. Super earned on a working holiday visa (subclass 417 or 462) is taxed at 65% on the taxable component, while other temporary visa holders, such as international students, pay 35% on the taxed element and 45% on the untaxed element.

For international students and working holiday makers, the difference between those rates matters, and mixing visas can pull a whole account into the 65% rate. The ATO's service standard is payment within 28 days of a complete application. If you do nothing, your fund hands the money to the ATO once six months have passed since you left, and you can still claim it from there.

This guide is based on the ATO's DASP page, its help page for the online system and its published rate table. It covers who can claim, when to apply, the online steps, documents, tax, payment options and common mistakes, plus how DASP differs from a tax return refund and the airport TRS refund. Information is current as at 2026-11-13.

Contents

• 1. DASP at a glance
• 2. Who can and can't claim
• 3. When to apply: prepare before you leave, submit after
• 4. How to apply through the DASP online system
• 5. The $5,000 threshold and proof of identity
• 6. DASP tax rates: 65% for working holiday makers, 35%/45% for others
• 7. How you get paid and how long it takes
• 8. What happens if you don't claim: transfer to the ATO after six months
• 9. Common mistakes
• 10. DASP vs tax return refund vs TRS
• FAQ

1. DASP at a glance

While you work in Australia, your employer pays super on top of your wages under the super guarantee. The ATO's rate table shows 12% from 1 July 2025. That money has to stay in your super fund while you are in Australia, and DASP is the route for taking it out once you have gone.

2. Who can and can't claim

The ATO lists four conditions, and all of them must be met:

• You accumulated super while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa (not subclass 405 or 410).
• That visa has ceased to be in effect, meaning it has expired or been cancelled.
• You have left Australia and do not hold any other active Australian visa.
• You are not an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident of Australia.

In practice this takes in former working holiday makers, student visa holders, Temporary Graduate (485) visa holders and other temporary workers once they have gone home and their visa is over. Permanent residents cannot use DASP; their super stays under the ordinary retirement rules. New Zealand citizens are also outside DASP, and the ATO points them to separate trans-Tasman transfer arrangements.

The ATO also states that claiming a DASP will not affect future visa applications.

3. When to apply: prepare before you leave, submit after

You can start an online application and save it while you are still in Australia. The ATO strongly recommends gathering everything before you go, because fund details and certified documents are much easier to get onshore. Submitting is a different matter: the system only accepts the claim once you are out of the country and your visa is no longer active.

This catches people who leave early. If your student visa or working holiday visa still has months to run when you fly out, it remains in effect and the claim cannot be lodged. Waiting for it to expire always works. Asking for a cancellation does not: the Department of Home Affairs' "Cancelling a visa" page says it can process voluntary cancellation requests, made through ImmiAccount, from people who are outside Australia, but it will not process them for a Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa, visitor-type visas (subclasses 600, 601 and 651), any permanent visa, or any other visa with less than six months of validity left. You can check your visa status in VEVO. A cancelled visa cannot be used to come back, so think that through before requesting it.

Before you leave, do three things: check with your employer that all the super you are owed has been paid, note each fund's name, ABN and your member number, and decide how you want to be paid (see section 7).

4. How to apply through the DASP online system

The online system checks your immigration status with Home Affairs automatically, handles super held by funds and super held by the ATO in one place, and costs nothing.

What you need

• Your name, date of birth and other personal details, plus an email address.
• Passport country and number. Every later login needs the same passport details you entered the first time, even if that passport has since expired.
• Your tax file number (TFN). It is optional, but with it the system searches for your super accounts. Without it you enter the account details yourself.
• Fund details: fund name, ABN, your member or client number and the date you joined. Your super statements show these.

Steps

1. Open the ATO's DASP online application system and, on first use, set a "shared secret" question and answer.
2. Enter your personal and passport details. The eligibility check takes around 45 seconds, according to the ATO.
3. Review the super accounts the system finds. Each account becomes its own application. Add any missing fund manually using its ABN.
4. Check the "Visa information" screen, which shows whether you have ever held a 417 or 462 visa.
5. Choose how you want to be paid, review everything and submit. The ATO estimates around 30 minutes for a full application.
6. If your fund needs more, such as certified identity documents, it will contact you directly.

When you come back to a saved application you must enter exactly the same details as the first time and answer the shared secret correctly (you get three attempts), otherwise your earlier applications will not appear. A submitted application cannot be edited; changes go through the fund. If the screen says you have held a working holiday maker visa (417 or 462) and you believe that is wrong, the ATO's instruction is not to submit and to email DASPmail@ato.gov.au instead.

Paper is still available. For super held by a fund, send form NAT 7204 to each fund (funds may charge a fee depending on your balance). For super held by the ATO, send form NAT 74880 to the ATO. You can also give someone written authority to claim for you, and registered tax agents have their own ATO intermediary system.

5. The $5,000 threshold and proof of identity

The certification is requested from Home Affairs on Form 1194 and Home Affairs charges a fee for it. The form does not print the amount, so check the Department's website for the current charge. Because the online system verifies your immigration status itself, online applicants generally do not need this certificate unless a fund asks for one.

There are specific rules about who can certify documents, and it is far simpler to arrange inside Australia. If your balance is near or above $5,000, ask your fund before you leave which documents it wants and whose certification it accepts.

6. DASP tax rates: 65% for working holiday makers, 35%/45% for others

Tax is taken out by the fund (or the ATO) at the time of payment, so the amount you receive is already net. The ATO's table of DASP rates, applying from 1 July 2017, is:

Source: Australian Taxation Office, Key superannuation rates and thresholds – Payments from super, accessed 2026-11-13

Which rate applies to you?

• You only ever held a 417 or 462 visa (and associated bridging visas): the working holiday maker rate applies.
• You held a working holiday visa and another visa, for example a 417 followed by a student visa: the test is whether the DASP includes contributions made while you held the working holiday visa. If it does, 65% applies to the entire payment. If it does not, the ordinary rates apply.
• You only held non-working-holiday visas, such as a student visa or a 485: the ordinary rates apply.

The ATO notes that it does not matter when you held the working holiday visa. Each fund makes its own payment and works out the rate itself, so whether contributions from different visa periods sit with the same fund affects the outcome. The fund and the ATO make the final call.

A simple illustration, ignoring fund fees and investment returns and assuming the whole balance is a taxed element: on $3,000, the working holiday maker rate withholds $1,950 and pays $1,050; the ordinary rate withholds $1,050 and pays $1,950. The payer (your fund or the ATO) must send you a DASP payment summary within 14 days of paying, and summaries issued by the ATO carry an "H" indicator where the working holiday maker rate was used. If you think a fund withheld the wrong tax, raise it with the fund in the same financial year the DASP was paid; after that, or where the ATO made the payment, you need to lodge a written refund request with the ATO.

For background on the visas themselves, see our guides to the second and third working holiday visa and the 462 visa ballot.

7. How you get paid and how long it takes

For ATO-held super, the only options are EFT to an Australian bank account in your own name or a cheque. The ATO does not send DASP to an overseas bank account, so a direct transfer to your home country is only possible while the money is still with a fund that offers IMT.

On timing, the service standard is 28 days from a complete application, and longer where the application is incomplete or the fund asks for documents. The online system shows statuses such as submitted or rejected, not the fund's progress. After 28 days, contact the fund if it holds your super. For ATO-held super, the number from outside Australia is +61 2 6216 1111.

8. What happens if you don't claim: transfer to the ATO after six months

If you never apply, your fund will transfer your balance to the ATO as unclaimed super once two things are true: six months or more have passed since you left Australia, and your visa has ceased. The money is not lost. You can still claim it as DASP through the same online system or on form NAT 74880. The ATO's DASP page does not set a deadline for claiming.

The practical difference is the payout: once the ATO holds the money, you are limited to an Australian bank account or a cheque.

9. Common mistakes

• Trying to submit while the visa is still active. Leaving early does not end your visa.
• Passport details that don't match. Re-enter exactly the passport details you used the first time, even if that passport has expired or been replaced.
• Different details on your second login. If you gave a TFN the first time and not the second, your saved applications won't show.
• Forgetting other funds. A new job often means a new super account. Without a TFN the system will not search for them.
• Closing your Australian bank account before you leave. That leaves a cheque or, if your fund offers it, an international transfer.
• Not checking for unpaid super. The ATO suggests confirming with your employer before you apply.
• Putting DASP in your tax return. DASP is not assessable income and the tax is final, so leave it out.
• Assuming you must pay to apply. The ATO's online system is free and you can use it yourself.

10. DASP vs tax return refund vs TRS

People often call all three a "tax refund", yet they involve different money, different agencies and different timing:

None of them replaces the others, and you can do all three. If you are staying on after study instead of leaving, our 485 visa guide explains the Temporary Graduate visa.

FAQ

Q1: How much super do working holiday makers get back through DASP?

Super earned while holding a 417 or 462 visa is taxed at 65% on the taxable component under the ATO's rate table, and the tax-free component is not taxed. So roughly 35% of the taxable part is paid out, less any fund fees. Your fund's payment summary shows the exact figures.

Q2: What DASP tax rate applies to international students?

If you never held a 417 or 462 visa, the ordinary rates apply: 35% on the taxed element and 45% on the untaxed element of the taxable component, and nil on the tax-free component. If the DASP includes contributions from a time when you held a working holiday visa, 65% applies to the entire payment.

Q3: Can I apply for DASP before I leave Australia?

You can start and save an online application while you are still in Australia, and the ATO recommends getting your information together before you go. You can only submit it after you have left, your visa has expired or been cancelled, and you hold no other active Australian visa.

Q4: Can DASP be paid straight into my bank account overseas?

Only if the super is still with a fund that offers international money transfers, and fees and currency conversion may apply. Super held by the ATO can only be paid to an Australian bank account in your name or by cheque. The ATO says EFT to an Australian bank account is usually the most effective option.

Q5: I left Australia years ago. Can I still claim?

Once six months have passed since you left and your visa has ceased, funds transfer unclaimed super to the ATO, and you can still claim it through the DASP online system. The ATO's DASP page does not list a deadline for claiming.

Q6: Will claiming DASP affect a future Australian visa?

The ATO states that claiming a DASP will not affect any future visa applications. Any new visa is still decided by the Department of Home Affairs under the rules in force at the time.

Further reading

• Second and third Working Holiday visa guide
• Australia 462 visa ballot 2026–27
• 485 Temporary Graduate visa guide

Sources

• ATO: Departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) (eligibility, how to claim, $5,000 threshold, payment methods, 28 days, six months, how rates apply) | accessed 2026-11-13
• ATO: Help with the DASP online application system (information needed, 45 seconds, 30 minutes, shared secret, phone number) | accessed 2026-11-13
• ATO: Key superannuation rates and thresholds – Payments from super (DASP tax rate table: nil, 35%, 45%, 65%) | accessed 2026-11-13
• ATO: Key superannuation rates and thresholds – Super guarantee (super guarantee rate of 12%) | accessed 2026-11-13
• ATO: Working holiday makers (65% DASP tax for working holiday makers) | accessed 2026-11-13
• ATO: Returning to your home country (early tax return on paper; super stays in the fund) | accessed 2026-11-13
• Department of Home Affairs: Form 1194 Certification of Immigration Status (certification, fee, AUD5,000) | accessed 2026-11-13
• Department of Home Affairs: Check visa details and conditions (VEVO) (checking visa status) | accessed 2026-11-13
• Department of Home Affairs: Cancelling a visa (voluntary cancellation from outside Australia and the visas excluded) | accessed 2026-11-13
• Australian Border Force: Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS refunds GST and WET) | accessed 2026-11-13

Disclaimer: 1. This article is general information only and is not migration, tax or legal advice. 2. We have a qualified education agent counsellor (QEAC #2822) who can help with study planning, but visa decisions rest with the Australian Government. 3. Figures and rules reflect the official pages as accessed on 2026-11-13. 4. Course details, fees, start dates, and migration policies are subject to change. Please check the latest announcements from the school and the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
For personalised study or migration planning, please contact our professional advisory team.
Registered Migration Agent MARA: 2519162
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