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Official rules

ATO DASP Guidelines

Quick summary

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ATO DASP rules

✓Eligibility & the 6-month rule

✓28-day payment, 3 options

✓35%/65% tax, not in your return

Video coming soon

ALITAX · Bilal Jivraj — Registered Tax Agent 25287564. Original guidance from 10+ years of DASP and tax casework.

This chapter summarises the official ATO rules for a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP), in plain language. Everything here reflects current ATO guidance — always confirm the latest at ato.gov.au (DASP).

Eligibility for DASP

According to the ATO, you can generally claim a DASP if all of the following apply:

you accumulated super while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa under the Migration Act 1958 (excluding subclasses 405 and 410)
your visa has ceased (expired or been cancelled)
you have left Australia and do not hold any other active Australian visa
you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen (New Zealand citizens transfer super to New Zealand instead). Permanent residents can usually still claim super earned on a prior temporary visa

ATO recommendation

The ATO strongly recommends you gather your information and start your application before you leave Australia, as it can be harder to begin once you have gone.

Source: ATO — Eligibility for DASP.

Locating your super

The ATO notes that if you worked for multiple employers you may have more than one super account. You can find your super using the DASP online application system (once eligible and after providing your TFN), through ATO online services / the ATO app (via myGov), or by phoning the ATO. The ATO advises checking with your employer that all contributions have been paid before you apply.

The 6-month rule (ATO)

If you don’t claim, your fund will transfer your super to the ATO as unclaimed super money once it has been 6 months or more since you left and your visa has ceased. You may then claim it as ATO-held super.

Source: ATO — Locating your super.

How to claim — ATO methods

The ATO provides three ways to apply:

the DASP online application system (free) — for both fund-held and ATO-held super
a paper form — form NAT 7204 for super held by a fund (sent to each fund), or NAT 74880 for ATO-held super (sent to the ATO)
by authorising someone (such as a registered tax agent) to claim on your behalf

Why we use the online intermediary system

The DASP online system automatically confirms your immigration status with the Department of Home Affairs, so you generally do not need a separate Certification of Immigration Status unless your fund directs it. As registered tax agents, we claim on your behalf through the DASP online intermediary system.

Source: ATO — How to claim your super; Authorising someone to claim.

Identity documents — the $5,000 rule (ATO)

The ATO advises that where your super is $5,000 or more, your fund may require certified copies of your identity documents, and paper applications may require a Certification of Immigration Status from Home Affairs (form 1194, which carries a fee). For balances under $5,000, you may be able to provide other evidence that you have left and your visa has ceased — ask your fund. The ATO stresses it is much easier to certify documents while still in Australia.

Source: ATO — Super value of $5,000 or more / less than $5,000.

How and when DASP is paid (ATO)

The ATO states your DASP is generally paid within 28 days of a complete application being received — longer if it is incomplete or extra documents are needed. There are three payment options: EFT to an Australian bank account, an Australian dollar cheque, or an international money transfer (not offered by all funds; for ATO-held super only EFT to an Australian account or a cheque is available).

ATO tip — keep your bank account open

The ATO notes EFT is usually the most effective option, and recommends keeping your Australian bank account open to receive your DASP. Confirm with your bank that you can move the money to your home country.

Source: ATO — How and when DASP is paid.

How DASP is taxed (ATO rates)

A final DASP tax is withheld before payment. The ATO’s rates are:

Tax-free componentNil / Nil

Taxable — taxed element (ordinary / WHM)35% / 65%

Taxable — untaxed element (ordinary / WHM)45% / 65%

The working holiday maker rule (ATO)

If you have ever held a 417 or 462 (WHM) visa and your DASP includes super contributed while you held it, the fund applies the WHM rate (65%) to the entire payment — including super earned under other visas. It doesn’t matter when you held the WHM visa.

Source: ATO — How DASP is taxed; DASP tax rates.

Don’t include DASP in your tax return (ATO)

Importantly, the ATO states a DASP does not form part of your assessable income. Because a final tax is already withheld, you do not include the DASP amount in your Australian tax return.

Source: ATO — Don’t include DASP in your tax return.

If you think the tax was withheld incorrectly (ATO)

If you believe your fund withheld the wrong amount, the ATO says to contact the fund and request a refund within the same financial year the DASP was paid. After year-end, or if the ATO paid the DASP, you can lodge a written refund request with the ATO. ALITAX can help you with this process.

Source: ATO — If you believe tax has been withheld incorrectly.

Returning to Australia later (ATO)

The ATO confirms that claiming a DASP will not affect future visa applications. If you later return permanently and your super was transferred to the ATO as former-temporary-resident unclaimed super, you can transfer it back to an Australian fund or, if eligible, have it paid to you — still treated as a DASP at the relevant DASP tax rate.

Source: ATO — Returning to Australia after claiming DASP.

How ALITAX aligns with the ATO

We follow the ATO’s DASP rules precisely — using the registered-agent online intermediary system, meeting each fund’s identity requirements, applying the correct DASP tax rate, and keeping DASP out of your income tax return. This chapter is a plain-language summary; the ATO website is always the authoritative source.

Not sure how this applies to you? At ALITAX we handle exactly these situations every day — and check what you’re owed in super and tax, for free.

✎ Written by Bilal Jivraj

Original work of Bilal Jivraj, Director and Registered Tax Agent (No. 25287564), ALITAX — based on 10+ years of DASP and tax casework. © 2026 ALITAX. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, republished or distributed without the written permission of the author. When referenced, please cite ALITAX — Bilal Jivraj as the source.