If you have worked and earned super while visiting Australia on a temporary visa, you can apply to have this super paid to you as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) after you leave. The requirements  are as under which you will need to meet to claim your DASP.

Eligibility for DASP

You can claim a DASP from your super fund if all of the following applies:

  • you accumulated superannuation while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa issued under the Migration Act 1958 (excluding Subclasses 405 and 410)
  • your visa has ceased to be in effect (for example, it has expired or been cancelled)
  • you have left Australia
  • you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia

How and when DASP is paid

Your DASP will generally be paid within 28 days of receipt of your completed application; however, it may take longer if you submit an incomplete application or your super fund requires additional supporting documents.

There are three possible payment options:

  • cheque
  • electronic funds transfer (EFT) to an Australian bank account
  • international money transfer (IMT) – for fund applications only.

However, if your super money is held by the ATO, you can only select payment by cheque or EFT to an Australian bank account.

Not all super funds make payments electronically, and fees and charges (including currency conversion fees) may apply. So, it is advised to check with your fund before you make a request for payment via EFT or IMT.

How DASP is taxed

A final DASP tax will be withheld from your payment when it is made. The payment may be made up of two components – a tax-free component, and a taxable component (that may have a taxed element and/or an untaxed element).

The DASP tax rates that will be applied to the payment are:

  • 0% for the tax-free component
  • 38% for a taxed element of a taxable component
  • 47% for an untaxed element of a taxable component.

If you are a Working Holiday Maker (WHM), the tax rate for DASP will be 65% from 1 July 2017. This rate applies to both the taxed and untaxed element of the taxable component.

The payer of the DASP must issue you a DASP payment summary within 14 days of making the payment. The DASP payment summary will tell you what DASP tax was withheld and the amount issued to you.

Don’t include DASP in your tax return

DASP does not form part of your assessable income for Australian tax purposes. A final tax is withheld from DASP when the payment is made – so neither the payment nor the tax should be included in your tax return.

 

Need help with this? We can help you recover this payment.

 

Contact our Tax Accountants on (02)9223 9166 or submit an online enquiry.