A young American woman has revealed she has still not been able to withdraw her superannuation more than a year after leaving Australia. 

Sophia Kim, a former swimwear brand owner, moved to Sydney on a working holiday visa in 2021 and stayed on for another four years in a digital marketing agency job.

She returned to California in May 2025 and has been trying to withdraw almost $10,000 in super built up through AustralianSuper.

‘It’s just been getting absurd,’ Ms Kim told Yahoo. 

‘They’re a mess.’ 

Ms Kim lodged a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) application online immediately after leaving Australia.

She discovered she could not access the funds until her visa had expired.

Ms Kim said she has continued to apply regularly without success.   

A young American woman (pictured, Sophia Kim) has revealed how she has still not been able to withdraw her super more than one year after leaving Australia

‘I applied again in February 2026, and then I applied again on March 17, April 10 and April 15,’ she said. 

‘I just kept turning in new applications because I was so over waiting at this point.’

After her most recent application in June, Ms Kim said she was told to wait 28 days, the standard timeframe for a super fund to release the money. 

In the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) response to her last application, Ms Kim said she was advised to submit a new application.

‘It’s basically making me go back to square one,’ she said. 

She shared her frustration on TikTok, saying she felt she was given the runaround.

‘I’m just like, you guys are purposely doing this to not send, not give me my superannuation back,’ Ms Kim said. 

‘It’s been over a year now since I have been out of the country. 

Sophia Kim, a former swimwear brand owner, moved to Sydney on a working holiday visa in 2021 and stayed on for another four years in a digital marketing agency job

‘It’s just getting ridiculous at this point.’

Social media users were quick to slam the ATO and share their support for Ms Kim. 

‘That’s so bad,’ one said. 

‘Keep on hounding them everyday,’ a second said. 

While the ATO declined to comment on Ms Kim’s case due to taxpayer privacy laws, a spokesman encouraged people to provide as much detail in their applications as possible and said some claims could take longer than others. 

‘Some payments may require longer processing times due to complexity and incomplete nature of the applications,’ he said.

‘It can also take longer to resolve queries where contact needs to be made with individuals residing overseas in different time zones and there may be challenges confirming the identity of an individual where they lack the necessary documentation in their initial enquiry.’

Daily Mail has contacted the ATO and AustralianSuper for comment.