Claiming your super (DASP) when you leave Australia: a student guide
Worked in Australia on a Student visa? Your super is yours to claim once you leave and your visa ends. Here is what to set up before you fly, how the DASP claim works and how much tax comes out.
If you worked in Australia on a Student visa, your employer was probably paying super for you. That money is yours. Once you have left Australia and your visa has ended, you can usually claim it back as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP), less tax.
The catch is timing. You can only submit the claim after you leave, but the ATO says the setup is much easier while you are still here. So if you are finishing your course and heading home, read this before you book the flight.
Who can claim a DASP
According to the ATO's DASP page, you can generally claim if all of these are true:
- you built up the super while working in Australia on a temporary visa (a Student visa counts; subclasses 405 and 410 do not)
- your visa has ended, either expired or cancelled
- you have left Australia and you do not hold any other active Australian visa
- you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident
That third point trips people up. If you move from a Student visa to a Temporary Graduate visa and stay, you are not eligible yet. The claim only works once you have actually left and no visa is active.
What it means for you
If you have worked for more than one employer, the ATO notes you may have more than one super account, sometimes with different funds. Small balances from casual jobs add up, and they are easy to forget about.
If you leave and never claim, your fund will send the money to the ATO as unclaimed super once 6 months have passed since you left and your visa has ended. It is not lost. You can still claim it from the ATO later, but you need a different form and the process is slower from overseas.
One worry we hear a lot: will claiming my super hurt a future visa? The ATO says claiming a DASP will not affect any future visa applications.
What to do before you leave
- Find all your super accounts. Log in to myGov, link the ATO, and check your super in ATO online services or the ATO app. If you can't do that, you can phone the ATO.
- Ask each employer to confirm they have paid all the super they owed you. The ATO recommends doing this before you submit anything.
- Start your DASP application in the free DASP online system and save it. Write down exactly what you entered. You need the same details to reopen it after you leave.
- If any balance is $5,000 or more, your fund may ask for certified copies of your ID. Get these certified in Australia. It is much harder to do overseas because of the rules about who can certify.
- Keep your Australian bank account open. The ATO says direct transfer (EFT) to an Australian account is usually the most effective way to get paid. Check with your bank that you can move the money to your home country later.
What to do after you leave
- Wait until your visa has ended and you are outside Australia.
- Reopen your saved application and submit it. The online system checks your immigration status with Home Affairs for you, so you normally don't need a separate certificate unless your fund asks.
- Watch your email. Funds sometimes ask for more documents, and that slows things down.
The ATO says payment usually arrives within 28 days of a complete application.
How much tax comes out
A final tax is taken out before you get paid. The rates on the ATO page are:
- tax-free component: nil
- taxable component, taxed element: 35%
- taxable component, untaxed element: 45%
If you have ever held a Working Holiday visa (417 or 462) and part of your super came from that time, a 65% rate applies to the whole payment.
Your fund must send you a DASP payment summary within 14 days of paying you. Do not put the DASP in your tax return. It is not assessable income. Your normal tax return for the year you leave is a separate job. For the wider money side of leaving, see our plan for when your visa is ending.
Paper forms and getting help
You can also claim on paper. For super still in a fund, use form NAT 7204 and send one to each fund. For super already sent to the ATO, use NAT 74880. Paper claims to a fund may come with a fee, and for balances of $5,000 or more the fund may want a Certification of Immigration Status from Home Affairs, which also costs money. The online system avoids most of this.
You can also let a registered tax agent claim for you. The ATO's advice is to think carefully about who you give that authority to, because they can update your details.
Questions people ask
Can I claim my super while I'm still in Melbourne?
No. You can start the application here, but you can only submit it after you have left and your visa has ended.
I'm staying on a 485 visa. Should I claim now?
You can't. While you hold an active Australian visa you are not eligible. Your super keeps sitting in your fund until you leave for good or your situation changes.
What if I already left and forgot?
You can still claim. If 6 months have passed, your fund may have moved the money to the ATO. Use the DASP online system, which covers both fund-held and ATO-held super.
Talk to us before you go
Leaving Australia means closing a lot of loose ends at once: super, tax, your car, your phone plan. If you are weighing up whether to stay and study further instead, OneCall Melbourne can connect you with an education consultant. Start at OneCall Melbourne or call 0485 057 057. If you are staying and want work in the meantime, see free help into support work.
Sources
General information only, checked against the official sources above on the day it was written. It is not migration advice: only a registered migration agent or a lawyer can give you that.