About Superannuation

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Superannuation, or 'super', is money put aside by your employer over your working life for you to live on when you retire from work. Super is important for you, because the more you save, the more money you will have for your retirement. You can only withdraw your super money in certain circumstances – for example, when you retire, turn 65 years old or leave the country after spending a number of years as a temporary resident. 

For most people, your employer pays money – ‘contributions’ – into a super account for you. This is called the ‘super guarantee’. They pay these contributions on top of your salary and wages. There are laws about how much super your employer must pay.

You earn super if you work part-time or full-time hours, and if you are a temporary resident. You may also be eligible if you are a contractor who is paid primarily for labour, even if you have an Australian business number (ABN).

Money paid into your super account by your employer is taxed at 15%. 

There are some exceptions to this rule:

- If you earn $37,000 or less, the tax is paid back into your super account through the low-income super tax offset (LISTO) .

- If your income and super contributions combined are more than $250,000, you pay Division 293 tax, an extra 15%.

If you are a temporary resident working in Australia and you are eligible for super, your employer has to make super guarantee contributions for you. You may be paid your super money once you have left Australia. This payment is called a Departing Australia super payment (DASP).

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents of Australia are not eligible for this payment.

Generally, you’re able to claim your DASP if:

- you earned super while working in Australia on a temporary visa

- your visa has expired or was cancelled

- you’ve left Australia and don’t have another active Australian visa.

You can’t claim DASP if:

- you’re a citizen or permanent resident of Australia

- you’re a New Zealand citizen.

If you do not claim DASP within 6 months of your visa expiry date, your super may be transferred to the ATO where it will be held until you claim it. Super held by the ATO is only paid into an Australian bank account.

You must apply after you’ve left Australia but it's usually better to start the application before leaving so you can complete some of the paperwork while still in Australia. 

If you want us to complete your DASP application, please contact us. 

DASP is usually paid within 28 days of submitting a complete application. An application for payment that is incomplete or missing supporting documents will be delayed. Make sure your application is complete. Your super may be paid into an Australian bank account, posted to you as an Australian dollar cheque, or paid by international money transfer (for fund applications only). Many overseas banks will not accept Australian cheques and not all funds provide all 3 payment options. Check with your super fund about the best payment method and if any fees and charges apply. 

Your super fund (or the ATO if they are holding your super) will assess your application and work out the amount of DASP tax to withhold from your payment.

You’ll be issued a DASP payment summary within 14 days of payment telling you the amount of DASP tax withheld.

If you’re submitting a paper-based claim, or claiming more than $5,000 in the DASP online system, you’ll need to prove your identity. . It is much easier to certify documents while you are in Australia.

A certified copy of your passport or birth cert are accepted a proof of identification. If your certified documents aren’t in English, you must provide a certified translation. 

Take your original ID documents and a photocopy of the documents to an authorised person and ask them to certify them. To certify your documents, the authorised person must: 

• compare the photocopy to the original 
• stamp or write ‘This is a true and correct copy of the original’ or ‘Certified true copy’ on the copy, followed by their: signature,  full name, qualification or position, date of signing. 

The following people can certify copies of your original identity documents as true and correct:

• Barrister
• Solicitor
• Medical practitioner 
• Judge
• Justice of the Peace
• Minister of religion (who has the authority to celebrate marriage)
• Police officer
• Bank, building society or credit union officer with at least five years of service
• Sheriff's officer
• Commissioner of Declarations (only in Queensland).