Under Australian rules for the 2026/27 financial year, it depends mainly on your visa and residency status. If you worked in Australia on an eligible temporary visa, you may be able to claim your super as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) once you have left and your visa has ended, provided all the ATO conditions are met. If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, your super generally stays in the fund until you reach preservation age and meet a condition of release, wherever you live.

Many British expats who spent a few years in Sydney or Perth before moving to Dubai, Spain or back to the UK still have a super balance in Australia. The broad position is set out below. For the bigger picture on super and the insurance inside it, see our guide to Australian super and life insurance for expats.

If you were on a temporary visa: the DASP route

The ATO says you may claim a DASP only if all of the following apply:

  • you built up super while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa (excluding subclasses 405 and 410)
  • your visa has ceased to be in effect, because it expired or was cancelled
  • you have left Australia and hold no other active Australian visa
  • you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident

Your visa subclass and residency status therefore matter. You cannot apply until you have departed, but the ATO suggests gathering your fund details before you leave. Applications can be made online, on paper or through a registered tax agent.

DASP is taxed when it is paid. The ATO's current rates are nil on the tax free component, 35% on the taxed element and 45% on the untaxed element of the taxable component. Working holiday makers pay 65% on both elements. The split between these components is set by your fund, so the fund's records control the calculation.

If you do nothing, your fund will generally pass your balance to the ATO as unclaimed super once it has been six months or more since you left and your visa has ended. You may still be able to claim it from the ATO afterwards.

If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident

Leaving Australia does not unlock your super. The ATO's conditions of release include:

  • reaching preservation age and retiring
  • turning 65, even if you are still working
  • specific early access conditions, such as severe financial hardship or incapacity

Preservation age is 60 for anyone born on or after 1 July 1964, which covers most readers in their 40s and 50s. Until then the money generally stays invested in the fund.

Australian super cannot generally be moved into a UK pension or another overseas scheme. The one formal cross-border route the ATO describes is the trans-Tasman arrangement, which allows transfers between Australia and New Zealand when you move between those two countries.

Do not forget the insurance

Many super accounts carry default life and disability cover. Moneysmart explains that, by law, funds cancel insurance on accounts with no contributions for at least 16 months unless you tell the fund you want to keep it. Fund rules, opt-in elections, balance thresholds and other exceptions can change the outcome, and some funds have stricter rules. Once you stop working in Australia, contributions usually stop, so check your own fund's position.

For expats who have not replaced that cover elsewhere, losing it quietly can leave a gap. Your fund should write to you before cover ends, so keep your contact details up to date.

Tax in your new country

Australian tax and tax in your new country are separate questions. Once you are 60 or over, the ATO treats a lump sum from a taxed source as non-assessable, non-exempt income in Australia. Your country of residence may still tax it, depending on local law and any tax treaty with Australia. The UAE does not currently levy personal income tax on individuals, while the UK, Spain and Portugal each apply their own rules to overseas pension payments.

Illustrative example only, not a real client. Sarah, a British national, worked in Melbourne for four years on a temporary skill visa and left with AUD 40,000 in super. Assume all of it is taxable component, taxed element, she is not a working holiday maker and she meets every DASP condition. If she claims a DASP, 35% (AUD 14,000) would be withheld, leaving AUD 26,000 before any fund fees or exchange costs. Had she held permanent residency instead, she could not claim a DASP and the balance would generally stay preserved until she met a condition of release.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming you can transfer super to a UK pension or an offshore scheme when you leave.
  • Forgetting the account entirely, so it ends up as unclaimed money with the ATO.
  • Losing life or disability cover after a period without contributions, with nothing in place to replace it.
  • Ignoring how your new country of residence taxes a later withdrawal.

A regulated financial adviser can help you look at super alongside your other pensions and protection. Get in touch for a free introduction.

Sources and further reading

Last reviewed: October 2026. Tax year: 2026/27 (UK); 2026/27 financial year (Australia). Jurisdictions covered: Australia, UK, UAE. Rates, legislation and guidance change, so recheck before relying on this. Rules can differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; tax residence is fact-specific; treaty outcomes depend on residence, domicile or nationality provisions; examples are simplified and omit reliefs, costs, exchange rates and anti-avoidance rules. This is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Take advice in the relevant country before acting.