If you worked in Australia on a temporary visa, your employer paid superannuation into a fund for you. Once you have left Australia and your visa has ended, you can claim that money as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment, known as a DASP. Many people now living in the UK make that claim from here, and certifying their identity documents for it is a regular part of my work.
When you need certified copies
The Australian Taxation Office says that where your super account holds AUD 5,000 or more, you need to provide certified copies of your proof of identity documents. For most people that means their passport. Below that figure your fund may accept other evidence of your departure and visa expiry, so check with your fund before you book anything.
The ATO recommends having documents certified before you leave Australia. If that did not happen, a notary public can certify them here.
Who can certify outside Australia
The ATO’s guidance for applicants outside Australia lists notaries public and staff at an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate as people who can certify copies. Some super funds state a preference for consular staff and accept a notary where that is not available, so read your fund’s own claim form first.
The wording
The ATO asks the certifier to sign and annotate the copy with wording similar to:
“I have sighted the original document and certify this to be a true and correct copy of the original document sighted.”
Your super fund may set its own form of words, and where it does I use the fund’s wording exactly. A certification that says the right thing in the wrong words can be sent back. Send me your fund’s current guidance or claim form with your enquiry so that I work to the version you are being held to.
The certification goes on the face of the copy itself, rather than on the separate certificate I would normally attach.
What goes on the copy
Following the ATO’s guidance, each certified copy carries:
- the certification statement
- my signature and seal
- my full name and qualification as a notary public
- my telephone number
- the date of certification
Where a document runs to more than one page, I initial the bottom of each page, front and back, and number the pages.
Originals and attendance
The ATO requires the certifier to see the original and the copy together. I need your original passport at the appointment and I take the copy myself from it. I cannot certify a scan or a photocopy you bring with you. The ATO also states that it does not accept certified copies of digital identity documents. Do not send your original passport to the ATO or your fund, as it will not be returned.
What a notary does not provide
Your certified passport copy is one part of the claim. Where your balance is AUD 5,000 or more, the ATO says you also need a Certification of Immigration Status from the Department of Home Affairs, for which Home Affairs charges a fee. That comes from Home Affairs, not from me.
I do not advise on the tax deducted from a DASP or on how to make the claim. The ATO sets out the eligibility rules, tax rates and application routes on its DASP page, and its certification requirements on its page for applicants outside Australia.
Cost
A certified copy of your passport is a single notarial act. The fee is £160, with no VAT payable, and each further document certified at the same appointment is £90.
Before you get in touch
Email me your fund’s certification requirements and a photograph of your passport photo page so that I can confirm the wording and the fee. Although I act independently as a notary, I am also a solicitor with the firm RWK Goodman and I use their offices for my notarial appointments. My professional practice rules require me to keep a copy of each notarised document, in most cases for 12 years but for a public form notarial act I have to keep a copy permanently, and I am also required to keep a copy of your identity documents for five years. Once I have your fund’s requirements I can confirm the position and we can take matters from there.
Malcolm GregoryNotary Public and Solicitor, in practice as a notary since 2006. Member of The Notaries Society, regulated through the Faculty Office. Ask Malcolm about your document
This guide is general information about notarial practice in England and Wales. It is not advice on your particular matter. The requirements of foreign governments and other receiving authorities are set by them and can change without notice, so check them with the authority before you act. I only act for you once I have confirmed your instructions and fees in writing. Fees and third-party charges were correct when written and can change.