Getting Your D.A.S.P Sorted

There are a range of temporary resident visas in the 400 and 500 class (most notably the 457 Long-stay business visa) which, upon expiry, permit their holders to apply to receive the superannuation contributions paid on their behalf while they were working in Australia.

Does this affect you?

Yes, it probably does if you are (or were) a temporary resident working in Australia. There is a good chance you are entitled to a D.A.S.P. (Departing Australia Superannuation Payment) when you leave the country, if you:

• are /were employed by a sponsor to work for a period of time in Australia;
• came to Australia to do an internship in a company or corporation;
• came to Australia to study, and worked part-time while you were here;
• visited Australia on a working holiday.

If you are someone who falls into one of these categories – or perhaps you employ someone from one of these categories and are looking to add value to your offering – you would do well to consider a few facts about the D.A.S.P.

3 Facts You Need to Know

Fact 1
Significant balances are left in superannuation each year by temporary residents who have worked for a period of time in Australia.

Fact 2
Whereas the process of paying into a super-fund is relatively simple, the complexities involved in securing the release of this money can be quite significant. This is largely due to the fact that superannuation funds are bound by very strict guidelines governing the release of money to an individual who has not yet reached retirement age.

Fact 3
Temporary residents who have worked in Australia, and have super contributions paid by their employer, are not entitled to receive their super benefits until two conditions have been satisfied:

• the person has departed Australia
• the person’s temporary visa has been cancelled or expired.

The combination of facts 2 & 3 (above) accounts for fact 1. Allow me to explain.
The difficulty in negotiating the release of benefits from super funds, even when both parties are onshore, is evidenced by fact 2.

That difficulty is escalated to near impossibility when the beneficiary is offshore; and, as fact 3 informs us, the beneficiary is necessarily offshore.

Legally, it’s yours. Actually, forget it.

Thus, the most eloquent of the three facts is the first. Temporary residents who leave Australia leave behind them millions of dollars in unpaid super. This is not because they don’t want their entitlement, but because the logistics involved in obtaining it are so onerous as to seem prohibitive.

Alpha Advisers –Your Advocate

Current Super regulations entitle you to repatriate your superannuation benefits, and Alpha Advisers will assist in the transaction of your D.A.S.P. With us, you have an advocate who, for a modest service fee, will work to ensure that you receive what is rightfully yours.

This what we do for you:

1. If you have more than one super fund, we’ll consolidate your benefit, while you are still in the country.
2. We contact the Department of Immigration to gain the necessary proof that you have exited the country, and that your visa has expired or been cancelled.
3. We track the progress of your application.
4. We conduct all dealings with the relevant super-fund, persisting until the transaction has been completed.

Call or Email Alpha Advisers now, and begin the process that will reunite you with your entitlements.