ArticlesMay 9, 202616 min read

Superannuation For Immigrants And Temporary Residents: What Happens To Your Money When You Leave

Last updated: 25 July 2026 Super can be easy to ignore when you first arrive in Australia. Rent, work, visas and settling into a new routine tend to demand more attention. Then you check a payslip and notice money going into an account you barely remember opening. That money does not disappear when your visa […]

Last updated: 25 July 2026

Super can be easy to ignore when you first arrive in Australia. Rent, work, visas and settling into a new routine tend to demand more attention. Then you check a payslip and notice money going into an account you barely remember opening.

That money does not disappear when your visa ends. It belongs to you, although Australian law controls when and how you can take it out.

For many former temporary residents, the usual way to claim it is through a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, commonly called a DASP. The rules become much easier to understand once you separate temporary visa holders from permanent residents, Australian citizens and New Zealand citizens.

General information only: Superannuation, tax and visa outcomes depend on your personal circumstances and visa history. Check the current Australian Taxation Office rules or speak with a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser before acting.

How super works when you are employed in Australia

Superannuation is money set aside for retirement. In most cases, your employer pays it into a super fund on top of your wages.

The super guarantee rate is currently 12% of an employee’s qualifying earnings. Employers generally need to pay it for eligible full-time, part-time and casual employees. Temporary residents can qualify too.

People under 18 usually need to work more than 30 hours in a week to qualify. Some contractors who are paid mainly for their labour may also be entitled to super.

Since 1 July 2026, payday super rules have required employers to pay eligible super contributions each payday. The payment will generally need to reach the employee’s fund within seven business days, although longer time limits apply in some situations, including certain first payments for new employees.

You can read the current eligibility and payment rules on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

The contribution shown on your payslip may not equal 12% of every dollar you receive. Super is calculated using qualifying earnings, and different rules can apply to overtime, allowances and other payments.

Most employees can choose which fund receives their super. If you do not choose one, your employer may use a super account already linked to you, known as a stapled fund. If no stapled fund exists, the employer may use an eligible default fund.

Keep a record of your fund’s name, your member number and the email address connected to the account. You may need those details long after leaving Australia.

Check your super before you leave

Do not wait until the week of your flight to look at your account. Check that your name, date of birth, passport information and tax file number are recorded correctly.

A small difference in spelling can slow down a later claim. This is especially common when a passport contains several names but an employer has used only one or two of them.

Compare the contributions in your fund with your payslips. If money appears to be missing, contact your employer and super fund while you are still in Australia. It is usually easier to sort out a payroll problem before your work email, Australian telephone number and local bank access disappear.

Under the payday super rules, contributions should now arrive more frequently than they did under the former quarterly system. There can still be a short processing delay between payday and the money appearing in your account.

Your visa status decides what happens next

The word “immigrant” covers people with very different legal positions. A worker on a temporary visa does not have the same super access rules as a permanent resident, Australian citizen or New Zealand citizen.

You may qualify for a DASP when:

You accumulated super while holding an eligible temporary Australian visa.
You have left Australia.
Your temporary visa has expired or been cancelled.
You do not hold another active Australian visa.
You are not an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident.

You cannot submit a DASP application while you are still in Australia. You also cannot submit it while the relevant visa remains active.

The ATO’s online system allows you to start and save an application before departure. You can return and submit it after leaving Australia and after your visa has ceased.

Leaving Australia permanently does not give an Australian citizen or permanent resident automatic access to super. Their savings normally remain preserved until they meet an ordinary condition of release, such as reaching the required age and retiring.

What happens if you are a New Zealand citizen?

New Zealand citizens cannot claim a DASP under the usual temporary-resident rules.

They may be able to leave their money in Australia or transfer eligible retirement savings to a participating KiwiSaver scheme. The transfer is covered by the Trans-Tasman retirement savings arrangement.

The transfer is voluntary, and not every Australian super fund or New Zealand KiwiSaver provider participates. Rules also apply to how transferred Australian savings can later be withdrawn.

What is a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment?

A DASP is a lump-sum payment of eligible Australian super to a former temporary resident after departure.

You do not have to claim it immediately. Still, leaving the account untouched does not necessarily mean it will remain with the same fund indefinitely.

If you do not claim the money within six months of leaving Australia and your visa ceasing, your fund may be required to transfer the balance to the ATO as unclaimed super.

The money is not lost when that happens. You can still apply for it through the DASP system. The difference is that the ATO, rather than your previous super fund, will hold it.

That difference can affect what happens to the balance. Money held in a super fund remains invested according to the fund’s investment option. Fees and insurance premiums may continue to reduce it. Once the balance moves to the ATO, it is no longer invested through the old fund.

Investment earnings in an accumulation super account are generally taxed at up to 15% inside the fund. That does not mean your final DASP withdrawal will be taxed at only 15%. A separate DASP withholding tax applies when the payment is released.

How much tax comes out of a DASP?

This is often the unpleasant surprise.

DASP tax is deducted before you receive the payment. The rate depends on the components recorded in your super account and whether the working holiday maker rules apply.

For an ordinary DASP, the current withholding rates are:

Tax-free component: 0%
Taxable component, taxed element: 35%
Taxable component, untaxed element: 45%

Most ordinary employer contributions and fund earnings sit within the taxable taxed element, although your fund must calculate the actual components.

A different rate applies to some people who held a Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, or a Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462.

The working holiday maker DASP rate is generally 65% of the taxable component.

The rule can reach further than many former workers expect. If your DASP contains an amount linked to contributions made while you held a 417 or 462 visa, or an associated bridging visa, the 65% rate can apply to the entire taxable component of the payment. That may include super earned later while you were working under another type of visa.

The tax-free component, if your account has one, remains subject to a 0% DASP rate.

Check the current table and working holiday maker rules on the ATO’s DASP page.

A simple DASP tax example

Suppose your account contains $10,000 and the fund confirms that the whole amount is a taxable taxed element.

Under the ordinary 35% DASP rate, $3,500 would be withheld. You would receive $6,500 before any bank charges or currency-conversion costs.

If the 65% working holiday maker rate applies, $6,500 would be withheld. You would receive $3,500 before other costs.

This is only an example. Your fund determines the components and the amount of tax to withhold.

Does being over 60 make a DASP tax-free?

No. The rules people commonly hear about tax-free super withdrawals after age 60 do not replace the DASP withholding rules.

A payment made under the DASP system is taxed under the DASP schedule. Your age does not turn it into an ordinary Australian retirement withdrawal.

This distinction matters for older temporary residents who assume they can wait until age 60 and avoid DASP tax. The DASP rates can still apply.

How to apply for your super after leaving Australia

The ATO operates an online DASP application system. It can help locate money held by super funds and balances that have already been transferred to the ATO.

You will usually be asked for:

Your full name and date of birth.
Your current email and postal address.
Your passport country and passport number.
Your Australian tax file number, if you have one.
Your super fund’s name and Australian Business Number.
Your super account or member number.

A tax file number is optional, but providing it can help the system search for accounts connected to you.

You can begin through the ATO DASP online application system.

The system checks your identity and visa history with the Department of Home Affairs. It will also identify whether you held a working holiday maker visa.

You may prepare and save the application before leaving Australia. It cannot be submitted until you have departed and your visa has expired or been cancelled.

If you have already left but the visa remains active, the application system may direct you to information about requesting cancellation through the Department of Home Affairs. Cancelling a visa can have immigration consequences, so check those consequences before making a request.

How long does a DASP payment take?

The ATO says you will generally receive the payment within 28 days after the fund or ATO receives all the information it requires.

That is not a guaranteed deadline. A fund may ask for certified identification or more information before it processes the application.

Common causes of delay include:

Your passport name does not match the name on the super account.
The fund has an old address or telephone number.
Your identity documents are incomplete or incorrectly certified.
You entered the wrong member number or fund details.
The money has already moved to another fund or the ATO.
The bank account supplied cannot receive the payment.

The online DASP portal does not show detailed processing progress. For money held by a fund, contact that fund. For ATO-held money, contact the ATO.

What to collect before your final day at work

Save the following information somewhere you can reach outside Australia:

Your passport details.
Your tax file number.
Your fund’s name and website address.
Your member or account number.
The fund’s Australian Business Number and unique superannuation identifier.
Recent super statements.
Your final payslips.
Employment separation documents.
A personal email address you expect to keep.

Do not rely on a work email address. It may be shut down as soon as your employment ends.

Ask your fund how it handles identity checks for members living overseas. Some funds use SMS security codes, which can become a problem if you lose your Australian telephone number or cannot connect to an Australian mobile network from your new country.

Set up another approved security method before departure where the fund offers one.

Should you combine several super accounts before leaving?

Combining accounts can make a later claim easier. It may also reduce duplicate administration fees and paperwork.

Do not move the money without checking what you may lose.

Super accounts can include life insurance, total and permanent disability insurance or income protection cover. Rolling the full balance out of an account may cancel that insurance. A replacement fund may not offer the same terms, particularly if your health or occupation has changed.

Moneysmart recommends checking insurance and other benefits before consolidating. Its super consolidation guide explains the checks to make.

Defined benefit accounts need extra care. Leaving one may mean giving up benefits that cannot be restored. Get advice before transferring a defined benefit balance.

There is also a timing problem to consider. If you close an old account too soon, your employer might send the final contribution after the rollover. That payment could be rejected or placed into a different account.

Wait until your last contributions have arrived before closing or combining accounts.

What if the balance is small?

A small super balance can still be worth claiming, but look at the amount you will receive after DASP tax.

Suppose you have a $1,000 taxable balance and the ordinary 35% rate applies. The net amount would be about $650 before bank or currency charges. Under the 65% working holiday maker rate, it would be about $350.

You should also check whether insurance premiums and fund fees are reducing the balance while you wait.

There is no rule saying a small balance is not yours. The question is whether you want to claim it now, allow the fund to hold it for a period, or deal with it later after it moves to the ATO.

Can you transfer Australian super to a pension fund overseas?

For most people, there is no general right to transfer Australian super directly into any overseas retirement account they choose.

The main individual portability arrangement is between Australia and New Zealand. Eligible savings may be transferred between participating Australian super funds and New Zealand KiwiSaver schemes.

For most other countries, a former temporary resident claims a DASP instead of arranging a direct pension-to-pension transfer.

After receiving the DASP, you may decide to place the cash into a pension, retirement or investment account in your new country. That is a separate transaction. The other country may have its own tax and reporting rules.

Your Australian super fund can explain its payment process. It may not be qualified to advise you about tax law in your destination country.

Will your home country tax the payment?

Possibly. Australian DASP withholding does not automatically settle your obligations in another country.

Your new country may treat the payment as foreign retirement income, a pension withdrawal, investment income or capital. The result depends on local law, your tax residency and any tax agreement with Australia.

Keep your DASP payment summary. Your fund must provide one after making the payment, and you may need it when completing a foreign tax return.

Speak with a tax adviser who understands the rules in the country where you live. An Australian adviser may not be able to advise on foreign tax unless they also work in that jurisdiction.

Common misunderstandings about temporary residents and super

“My employer paid it, so it is not really my money”

It is your money. The employer is required to pay the contribution into an eligible super account for you. Access is restricted because super is normally preserved for retirement, not because the employer owns the account.

“I lose my super when I leave Australia”

You do not lose it simply because you leave. An eligible former temporary resident can apply for a DASP.

If the fund later transfers the balance to the ATO, it can still be claimed through the DASP system.

“Anyone moving overseas can cash out their super”

No. DASP is intended for eligible former temporary residents.

Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens cannot use DASP. Ordinary preservation and release rules continue to apply to them.

“People over 60 receive DASP tax-free”

No. DASP has its own withholding rates. The usual tax treatment of retirement withdrawals after 60 does not override those rates.

“The 65% rate applies only to super earned on a working holiday visa”

Not necessarily. If the payment includes super linked to contributions made while you held a subclass 417 or 462 visa, the working holiday maker rate can apply to the entire taxable component, including amounts earned under another visa.

“My fund will hold the account forever”

Not always. After the six-month period, the fund may be required to send the money to the ATO as unclaimed super.

“I can transfer the balance into any overseas pension”

There is no general transfer arrangement covering every country. New Zealand has a specific portability scheme. Most former temporary residents from other countries use the DASP process.

What happens if you return to Australia later?

Receiving a DASP does not, by itself, prevent you from applying for another Australian visa later.

DASP eligibility is based on your position when you make the claim. At that point, you must have left Australia, the relevant visa must have ceased, and you must not hold another active Australian visa.

If you later receive a new visa and work in Australia again, your employer may begin paying super for the new period of employment. That money will sit in a new or reopened super account.

Keep the payment summary from the earlier DASP. It provides a record of the gross amount and tax withheld.

Future visa questions should go to the Department of Home Affairs or a registered migration agent. Your super fund cannot decide whether you will qualify for another visa.

A practical leaving-Australia checklist

Check every super account connected to you.
Compare employer contributions with your payslips.
Ask about missing payments before your employment ends.
Wait for the final contribution to reach your fund.
Update your personal email, telephone number and overseas address.
Download account statements and record your member numbers.
Check whether the account includes insurance.
Review your visa expiry date.
Find out whether working holiday maker DASP tax could apply.
Confirm how the fund can pay someone living overseas.
Keep your Australian bank account open until you understand the payment requirements.
Save copies of all applications, emails and payment summaries.

Your super does not vanish when you leave

The basic rule is straightforward. Eligible temporary residents can usually claim their super after leaving Australia and after their visa has ceased.

The details need more attention. DASP tax can take a large portion of the account, particularly for former working holiday makers. Unclaimed money may move from the fund to the ATO after six months. Identity and bank problems can also hold up a payment.

Treat the balance shown in your super app as a gross figure, not the amount that will reach your bank account. Check the tax components and your full visa history first.

Keep copies of your records, make sure the fund can contact you overseas and use the official ATO application system. A few checks before departure can save weeks of emails later.

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