Tax: If you leave, and what happens to contributions, super and pensions
If you stop being an Australian resident, assets other than taxable Australian property, such as listed shares, are treated as sold at market value on the day you stop, unless you choose to disregard those gains until a later sale or your return; the full 50% discount can apply to that deemed sale, but later sales of assets you bought after 8 May 2012 get only an apportioned discount. If you have a HELP debt, the ATO says you may still need to report worldwide income.
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The departing Australia superannuation payment is for temporary residents who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, so it is not a way for you to take super out. Australia and Greece have a social security agreement, in force since 1 October 2008. It covers the Age Pension, the Greek old age pension and the Australian superannuation guarantee; it lets you add Australian residence and Greek insurance periods to qualify for either pension, and benefits can be paid in the other country. Its Part II decides which country's rules apply to work: an employee working in one country is subject only to that country's legislation, a self-employed person working in Greece is subject to Greek legislation even if resident in Australia, and an employee sent by an employer covered in the first country to work there for up to four years, not permanently, stays under the first country's rules. Whether a remote worker with an Australian employer or clients counts as "sent", and how the agreement treats a self-employed person's Australian clients, we could not tell from the text, so ask Services Australia and e-EFKA. Self-employed people in Greece pay into e-EFKA in one of six categories chosen for the year, from 250.77 to 675.87 euros a month in 2026 for pension and health together (the first category 185.09 plus 65.68, the sixth 597.06 plus 78.81), plus small extra levies. Age Pension paid long-term outside Australia is generally at a rate based on your years of Australian residence.
Sources: Australian Taxation Office, Department of Social Services (Australian Government), Australian Embassy, Services Australia, e-EFKA (Greek social security institute). Checked 15 October 2026.