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The ATO has stopped you leaving Australia
A Departure Prohibition Order bars you from leaving the country until your tax debt is dealt with. No court order is required, and the order has no expiry date.
A DPO takes effect the moment it is issued, not when you receive it. A postal delay or an old address does not pause it.
Send us the order and we will tell you where you stand today.
Free, confidential, and no obligation.The four ways a DPO comes off
A DPO has no expiry date. It stays in force until the ATO revokes it or a court sets it aside. These are the routes.
Pay the liability in full
The fastest and most certain route. Once the debt is wholly discharged and the ATO is satisfied there is no ongoing recovery risk, it will revoke the order as soon as practicable.
Have the liability properly addressed
The legislation refers to the debt being wholly discharged, which includes arrangements under which it will be paid. A credible, funded plan that deals with the underlying liability is the argument that works. This is where a formal Small Business Restructure proposal carries weight that a phone call does not.
Apply for a Departure Authorisation Certificate
A DAC permits one defined trip. It does not remove the DPO, which resumes the moment you return.
Seek external review or apply to a court
You can seek review of the decision or ask a court to set the order aside. Both require evidence and neither is quick.
Do not attempt to leave without a DAC
Border Force officers and the Australian Federal Police are authorised to prevent your departure and can require you to answer questions or produce documents at the departure point. Leaving Australia in breach of a DPO is an offence under tax law and can result in penalties or imprisonment.
Found out at the airport, or worried you might?
Call us today. We deal with the underlying debt that caused it.What to do in the next 48 hours
Send us the order and any covering letter
It names the liability the DPO relates to and the contact officer. That tells us what has to be dealt with for it to be revoked.
Confirm your contact details with the ATO and ASIC
A DPO takes effect the moment it is issued, not when you receive it. Out of date details are the single most common reason people discover one at the departure gate.
Get the full picture of the debt
Both your personal tax position and the company position. A DPO attached to a director penalty cannot be resolved without dealing with the company liability underneath it.
Bring all lodgements up to date
Outstanding returns undermine any argument that the liability is being properly addressed, and they create further personal exposure through the director penalty regime.
Do not book or pay for overseas travel
The ATO has said it may issue a DPO precisely where someone appears to be spending money on overseas trips rather than meeting tax obligations. Booking now makes the position worse, not better.
Speak to us before you make any application
A DAC application and a revocation request are two different arguments. Making the wrong one first can weaken both.
A DPO has no end date of its own.
It comes off when the debt is dealt with, and not before.How a Small Business Restructure relates to a DPO
Be precise about what an SBR does here, because a DPO works differently to the other ATO actions on this site.
A DPO is personal. An SBR is a company process. Appointing a restructuring practitioner does not, by itself, lift a departure prohibition order, because the order attaches to you as an individual rather than to the company.
What it does do is remove the cause. For most directors, the liability behind the DPO is a director penalty arising from the company’s unpaid PAYG withholding, GST or superannuation. A Small Business Restructure deals with that company debt under a legislated plan, keeps the business trading and generating income, and gives the ATO a documented, funded proposal for how the underlying liability gets paid. As that liability is discharged, the basis for the DPO falls away and revocation becomes a realistic request rather than a hopeful one.
It also stops the rest of the sequence. Once the practitioner is appointed, affected creditors including the ATO cannot commence or continue recovery action against the company without the practitioner’s consent or the court’s approval, which ends the garnishee and winding up pressure while the plan is prepared.
To be eligible for an SBR, a company generally needs
Total liabilities under $1 million, excluding employee entitlements- All employee entitlements that are due and payable to be paid
- Tax lodgements up to date, which can be brought current before appointment
- No restructuring or simplified liquidation by the company or its directors in the past seven years
- Not already in liquidation or voluntary administration
Find out in 60 seconds whether your company qualifies.
Dealing with the company debt is how the personal order comes off.What is a Departure Prohibition Order?
A Departure Prohibition Order is made by the Commissioner of Taxation under Part IVA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. It prevents a person with an outstanding tax liability from leaving Australia until the liability is paid or otherwise properly addressed.
Three features make it different from every other ATO action.
- No court order is required. The Commissioner makes the order administratively where there is an existing liability and reasonable grounds to believe the order is desirable to ensure it is dealt with before the person leaves.
- It takes effect when issued, not when received. The ATO must serve notice, but a postal delay or an out of date address does not suspend the order. This is why people discover them at the airport.
- It has no expiry date. It remains in force until the ATO revokes it or a court sets it aside.
It applies to individuals, both Australian and foreign nationals, rather than to companies. For directors, that usually means it arrives after a Director Penalty Notice has already made them personally liable for the company’s tax debt.
The Departure Authorisation Certificate
If a DPO is in force and you need to travel, you can apply for a Departure Authorisation Certificate. A DAC permits departure for a limited, specified period. It does not cancel or revoke the DPO, which remains in force when your authorised travel ends.
It is granted in limited circumstances, broadly where one of the following is satisfied.
Likely return
You are likely to return within an appropriate period, the DPO is likely to be revoked within it, and security is not necessary.
Security provided
You provide appropriate security for your return by a specified date, often a substantial cash bond.
Humanitarian grounds
You cannot provide security, but a certificate should issue on humanitarian grounds or in Australia’s interests.
Plan around the timeframe rather than the trip. A DAC application is assessed on evidence, and applying a fortnight before a booked flight is not a strategy.
Revocation vs a Departure Authorisation Certificate
These are two different applications with two different tests. Confusing them costs people time they do not have.
Revocation
Removes the order permanently. Granted where the liability has been wholly discharged, including under an arrangement to pay it, and there is no ongoing risk to recovery.
This is the outcome worth working towards, and the one a funded restructuring plan supports.
Departure Authorisation Certificate
Permits one defined trip and nothing more. The DPO resumes the moment you return, and conditions can be attached.
Useful in an emergency. It is not a solution, and obtaining one does not improve your position on the debt.
Why the ATO issued one
DPOs are not issued for ordinary overdue tax. They are aimed at people the ATO believes have the means to pay and are taking deliberate steps to avoid it, or who appear to be at risk of leaving the jurisdiction with the debt unpaid.
The ATO has been explicit that spending on overseas travel while a significant debt goes unpaid is a trigger. Before issuing an order it considers the individual’s circumstances, including their engagement and any steps taken to address the debt, which is why a documented, serviced arrangement matters so much more than intention.
Usage has risen sharply. DPOs are now deployed alongside Director Penalty Notices, garnishee notices and winding up applications as part of the same escalation, so a DPO rarely arrives alone. If you have received one, assume the rest of the sequence is live and deal with the whole position rather than this order in isolation.
How to avoid one in the first place
- Keep your details current with the ATO and on the ASIC register. Most of the horror stories start with a notice going to an address the person left years ago.
- Engage before you are chased. The ATO weighs your engagement history when deciding whether an order is desirable.
- Do not let an arrangement default silently. A broken payment plan is the most common trigger across every ATO enforcement action, this one included.
- Check your status before booking international travel if you carry a significant tax debt. Confirming takes one phone call. Finding out at the gate costs a fare and a great deal more.
Commonly asked questions
Does a DPO have an expiry date?
No. It stays in force until the ATO revokes it or a court sets it aside. There is no automatic end date and no annual review.
Can I still travel with a DPO in place?
Only with a Departure Authorisation Certificate, which is granted in limited circumstances and usually with conditions. It permits one defined trip. It does not cancel the DPO.
What happens if I try to leave anyway?
Border Force officers and the Australian Federal Police can stop you at the departure point. Leaving Australia in breach of a DPO is an offence under tax law and can carry penalties or imprisonment.
Does a DPO apply to my company or to me?
To you personally. A DPO is issued against an individual with a tax liability, which is why directors most often encounter one after a Director Penalty Notice has made them personally liable.
Does a payment arrangement get a DPO revoked?
It can, but not automatically. The ATO may accept a structured arrangement as the liability being properly addressed, and that is a discretionary decision based on your compliance history and the risk that the debt is not recovered.
Can I challenge a DPO?
Yes. You can seek external review of the decision or apply to a court to have the order set aside. Both require evidence, and neither is quick.
Does it apply to foreign nationals?
Yes. The legislation applies to both Australian and foreign nationals who are liable to pay Australian tax.
Get advice before it goes further
Small Business Restructuring Specialists is Australia’s leading independent SBR practice. A free eligibility check takes 60 seconds and a confidential call costs nothing.
Check your eligibility Call 1300 947 465Reviewed by Thomas Dawson, Registered Liquidator, Small Business Restructuring Specialists. Last reviewed September 2026. This page is general information only and does not take your circumstances into account. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.