Withdraw Super When Leaving Australia: A Guide for Temporary Residents

Superannuation, or super, is a retirement savings system funded by contributions most employers make for their employees in Australia. Typically, you can access it once you reach the preservation age and meet other criteria. However, if you’re a temporary resident in Australia, you might be able to claim it when leaving the country. 

In this article, we’ll examine the options for withdrawing super when leaving Australia. You’ll learn: 

• Who is eligible to claim their superannuation when leaving Australia
• What is the application process for the withdrawal
• What happens to your superannuation if you don’t claim it 
• How much of your super will be taxed when leaving

Who Can Withdraw Super When Leaving Australia?

You might be able to withdraw superannuation upon leaving Australia if you were working in the country on a temporary resident visa. The conditions you need to meet include: 

• Your resident visa was issued under the Migration Act 1958, except for the Retirement and Investor Retirement visas
• Your visa is no longer valid, either due to expiration or cancellation
• You are not physically present in Australia, and you don’t have another visa at the time of making the claim

The payment you receive is called a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP), and it can cover earnings and other contributions. Claiming DASP won’t prevent you from applying for a resident visa in Australia in the future.

Can Permanent Residents and Citizens Claim Superannuation When Leaving Australia Permanently?

If you’re an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, you cannot use DASP to access your superannuation earlier. Instead, you will typically receive your superannuation after meeting one of the two conditions: 

1. You have reached 65 years of age
2. You have reached your preservation age and have either retired or continued working while transitioning to a retirement income stream

Specific life circumstances might also allow earlier access to superannuation funds. These include: 

• Your superannuation balance is less than AUD 200 after you’ve been terminated or you’ve lost your account
• You want to access the voluntary contributions you made through the First Home Super Saver scheme
• You suffer from medical issues, impairment, or other life conditions that meet compassionate or hardship grounds for releasing the funds early

Can New Zealand Citizens Leaving Australia Withdraw Superannuation?

If you’re a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you were working in Australia on a temporary visa, you cannot withdraw your Australian superannuation when leaving the country. 

Instead, your super can be transferred to a KiwiSaver scheme in New Zealand, as long as you meet the following conditions:

• Your savings are in an APRA-regulated fund or held by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• You have gone back to New Zealand permanently, and you signed a statutory declaration to confirm it
• You want to transfer all the funds available to you

If the ATO is holding your superannuation, they might send it to an account at a financial institution if you’re older than 65 or the funds available are less than AUD 200. 

The Australian savings will be held separately from your New Zealand savings in your KiwiSaver account. You will not be able to use them to purchase your first home or transfer them into a third country, and you’ll be able to access them after meeting Australia’s retirement requirements.

How To Apply for Super When Leaving Australia

While you have to be outside of the country to claim superannuation when leaving Australia, you should start the process before you leave. The steps for claiming your super are:

1. Identify all of your super accounts
2. Prepare the necessary documentation
3. Submit your application 
4. Receive the payment

Identify All of Your Super Accounts

While you’re still in Australia, you should identify all of your super accounts after determining that you’re eligible for a DASP. If you’ve worked with multiple employers, it’s possible that each made payments in a different account and even a different super fund. 

You can determine where your superannuation is through one of three methods: 

1. Use the DASP online application system (you will need to provide your tax file number)
2. Use the Australian Taxation Office online services or app (you will need to create a myGov account first and link it to the ATO)
3. Contact the Australian Taxation Office by phone 

While your employers are required to make regular payments to the super, you should also confirm that all payments are up to date before proceeding with the application process. 

Prepare the Necessary Documentation

During the application process, you will have to provide information to prove your identity, including your: 

• Name, date of birth, and other personal information
• Email address
• Passport country and number
• Australian tax file number
• Superannuation account details, including the funds’ Australian Business Numbers

Whether you will need supporting documents depends on the superannuation fund where your account is held. If it requires you to present copies of your proof of identification documents, the copies will need to be certified. 

Certifying copies when you leave Australia can be difficult, as you’ll need to travel to an Australian consulate or embassy. This is why it’s usually more practical to inquire with the fund about the required supporting documents and to have certified copies of them before leaving the country. 

For some documents, you will have to wait until you leave Australia to prepare them. 

Depending on how you’re submitting your application, you might be required to provide evidence that you have left Australia. The DASP online application system can verify your immigration status electronically. If additional evidence is required, check with your super fund regarding the documents it accepts.

If the amount in your superannuation account exceeds AUD 5,000, the fund may request a Certification of Immigration Status, issued by the Department of Home Affairs. This document can be issued electronically and sent directly to your super fund.

Submit Your Application 

You can submit your DASP in three ways: 

Method	Submission Process
Online	Through the DASP online application system
In paper	Either to your super fund or the Australian Taxation Office if your superannuation is held by the ATO
Through an intermediary	Authorise someone to submit the application on your behalf

The online application system is the most practical option. It will allow you to search for any super account in your name, as well as the funds’ information you will need when applying, such as their Australian Business Numbers. 

The online system will also automatically check your immigration status with the Department of Home Affairs, removing the need to provide a Certification of Immigration Status unless otherwise directed by the superannuation fund. While you can start the application process online before you leave Australia, you have to be outside the country when submitting the application. 

If you opt for a paper application, you will have to submit it to the fund via mail or the ATO if they’re holding your funds. You will have to submit a separate application for each superannuation fund you have an account with. 

Super funds can charge processing fees if you use this method to apply for a DASP, and they can also ask for additional documents, such as the Certification of Immigration Status. 

If you want to authorise someone to submit the application instead of you, you need to choose between: 

• A registered and authorised tax agent who can apply for your DASP both in paper form and online 
• Another person, who can only apply in paper form

You will need to provide the person with a written authorisation to claim the DASP on your behalf. Super funds may have additional requirements, so it’s best to inquire about them before submitting an application.

Receive the Payment

How you’ll receive your DASP depends on where your superannuation is located. Generally, payments are made using one of three methods: 

1. To your Australian bank account via an electronic funds transfer (EFT)
2. Via an Australian dollar cheque
3. To your foreign bank account via an international money transfer (IMT)

The IMT option is only available for payments from a super fund that supports this payment method. If the Australian Taxation Office is holding your superannuation, you can only be reimbursed via an EFT to your Australian account or a cheque.

The process from submitting the application to receiving the payment typically lasts 28 days.

What Happens to Your Superannuation if You Don’t Claim It?

There are no deadlines for applying for a DASP after leaving Australia. However, if you don’t have an Australian visa and you don’t claim your superannuation within six months of leaving Australia, the money in your super account will be considered unclaimed superannuation money (USM) and transferred to the ATO. 

The ATO can hold your super money indefinitely, and you can claim it at any time using the regular methods for submitting an application. 

How Much Superannuation Do You Get Back When Leaving Australia?

The amount you receive as a DASP depends on two factors: 

1. The tax rate applied to your super balance
2. The additional fees you might be charged 

How Much Is Super Taxed When Leaving Australia?

Each super fund you have a balance with will determine your tax liability separately. The rate at which your super is taxed when leaving Australia depends on the type of visa you held and the components that make up your super balance. 

The DASP tax rates are: 

Balance component	Ordinary Tax Rate	WHM Tax Rate
Tax-free component	/	/
Taxable component (taxed element)	35%	65%
Taxable component (untaxed element)	45%	65%

The three types of components are defined by their tax treatment before being released to you:

1. Tax-free component: Includes any after-tax contributions you made to your super balance, which aren’t taxable again
2. Taxable component (taxed element): Includes most contributions from your employer under the Super Guarantee program, which are taxed at 15% within the super balance
3. Taxable component (untaxed element): Includes contributions from certain public-sector super schemes and constitutionally protected funds that aren’t taxed within the super balance

While multiple tax rates can apply to different components of a single super balance, most temporary residents have only the taxed element of the taxable component in their accounts.

The ordinary tax rate is applied to DASPs for most temporary visas, except for working holiday maker (WHM) visas:

• 417 visa (Working Holiday visa)
• 462 visa (Work and Holiday visa)
• An associated bridging visa

If any contributions were made to a super account while you held a Working Holiday Maker visa, the entire taxable component of that account is taxable at the higher, WHM rate, not just the portion earned while on the WHM visa. This applies even if you held other visa types and made contributions to those same accounts. The tax-free component remains unaffected. 

Which Additional Fees Can Apply When Claiming Superannuation?

You might incur additional charges when claiming superannuation if:

• Your superannuation fund charges for paper applications 
• You decide to receive your funds via an international money transfer, making you liable for money transfer and conversion rate charges
• You use the services of a tax agent to submit an application on your behalf

You can reduce these fees by applying online without relying on the services of a tax agent and keeping an Australian bank account in your name open after leaving the country. 

What Happens to a Super When Citizens and Permanent Residents Leave Australia?

If you’re an Australian permanent resident or citizen and you plan to leave Australia, you won’t be liable for any taxes on your superannuation balance since you won’t be able to access it until you meet the conditions of release.

The funds in your super will continue generating returns, but your accounts will also remain subject to standard fees. That’s why it’s generally advised to combine any smaller accounts before leaving.

When members of a self-managed super fund (SMSF) leave, the situation is different. An Australian SMSF needs to meet the following three conditions to remain compliant: 

1. Be established or hold assets in the country
2. Be centrally managed or controlled from within Australia
3. Have no active members or have Australian-resident active members holding at least 50% of either the fund’s assets attributable to super interests or the amounts payable if active members leave the fund

If you become a non-resident and continue contributing to your SMSF or keep managing it, the fund risks becoming non-compliant. The consequences can be significant and include a one-off tax on existing assets and loss of the concessional tax rate on any future contributions.

Planning for your superannuation is one of the most important decisions you have to make when choosing to leave Australia permanently. The capital gains tax triggered by ceasing residency and the fiscal treatment of your Australian income and assets by your new country of residence are some of the other important considerations you need to make when planning to leave Australia. 

To ensure no aspect of the move is overlooked, it’s best to work with professionals who can help you navigate these decisions before leaving. For assistance with your departure strategy, consider Nomad Capitalist.

Plan Your Exit From Australia With Nomad Capitalist

Nomad Capitalist is an advisory firm that specialises in global mobility and wealth protection. More than 1,500 clients relied on our services to obtain residency abroad, reduce their tax liabilities legally, and identify and explore investment opportunities in foreign countries. 

Our most comprehensive service is the Action Plan, a step-by-step guide for reaching your financial and lifestyle goals. We create each Plan in close collaboration with our clients to ensure that the strategy we build and the blueprint for its realisation are aligned with a client’s situation and needs. 

Here’s what partnering with Nomad Capitalist looks like: 

1. We ask you to fill out a short form to help us determine whether we’re a good match
2. We schedule a 45-minute onboarding call to learn about your situation and desires
3. Our agents create an Action Plan and present it to you for approval
4. We implement the Plan over 12 months and manage the administrative parts
5. You continue receiving support from us even after the Plan is implemented

If you’re interested in leaving Australia and establishing residence in another country, Nomad Capitalist can help you explore the most tax-friendly destinations and their straightforward residency programs. We can also examine the tax implications of the move and manage the residence application process for you. To get started, contact Nomad Capitalist right away!