Departure prohibition orders: when the ATO can stop you leaving Australia

A departure prohibition order (DPO) is an order the ATO can make to stop a person who owes tax from leaving Australia, often called an ATO travel ban. While it is in force, knowingly leaving for another country without a departure authorisation certificate from the ATO is a criminal offence.

We act for individuals and business owners facing an ATO departure prohibition order, as part of our work on tax debts, and we move quickly where travel is booked.

What is a departure prohibition order?

The power is in Part IVA of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA), not the anti-avoidance rule in Part IVA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936. Section references are to the TAA unless stated. The Commissioner may make a DPO if (s 14S(1)):

1. you are subject to a tax liability, and
2. the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that it is desirable to make sure you don't leave Australia without paying the liability in full or making arrangements satisfactory to the ATO to do so.

The order applies whether or not you intend to come back (s 14Q(2)), and lasts until the ATO revokes it or a court sets it aside (s 14S(2)).

When can the ATO stop you leaving Australia?

A tax liability is a liability to the Commonwealth arising under, or by virtue of, a taxation law (s 2(1)), broadly any Act the Commissioner administers (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, s 995-1). That includes income tax, GST and, on its terms, a director penalty under a director penalty notice.

The ATO doesn't stop taxpayers leaving just because they owe tax. The aim is to stop people leaving where, in the Commissioner's reasonable belief, recovery of the tax would or might be impaired (Gazal v Deputy Commissioner of Taxation [2024] NSWSC 1 at [10]).

The ATO's practice statement PS LA 2011/18 (Appendix D, last updated 20 May 2026) lists factors it may weigh for and against an order, including (para 150):

• Recoverability: the size and age of the debt and the prospects of recovery.
• Engagement: whether you respond to the ATO, keep your lodgments up to date and keep to payment arrangements.
• Distancing from assets: concealing assets, advertising them for sale, disposing of them to associates below value, or moving money overseas.
• Propensity to depart: your ties to Australia, dual citizenship, assets or family overseas, and frequent travel with no apparent need.
• Impact on recovery: whether the ATO could still recover from your Australian assets if you left.

The ATO says a DPO isn't appropriate for a merely future liability, where the debt is completely irrecoverable, solely to pressure someone into bankruptcy, or to punish (paras 147, 149). It can apply to Australian citizens and foreign nationals (para 145).

Disputing the debt doesn't by itself stop or lift an order. The amount generally stays recoverable, including while a review by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) or a court appeal is pending (ss 14ZZM, 14ZZR). If the debt is wrong, see ATO objections. Child support DPOs fall under separate legislation.

What happens if you try to leave?

• It is an offence. Leaving while you know a DPO is in force, without a certificate, carries up to 50 penalty units or 12 months' imprisonment, or both (s 14R).
• Others are told. The ATO must inform you straight away, and give a copy of the order and identifying details to the Secretary of the department that administers the Migration Act 1958 (for an Australian citizen, only if it considers that desirable) and to any prescribed people it considers appropriate (s 14S(4)–(5)).
• You can be stopped. Customs officers and Australian Federal Police members can stop you boarding, or remove you from, a plane or ship (ss 14Q, 14Z).

A DPO takes effect when it is made, not when you open the letter. The ATO's view is that it is valid even before you are told (PS LA 2011/18 para 153). If you have a large ATO debt and travel booked, check before you fly.

How do you get a DPO lifted?

The ATO must revoke a DPO, on your application or its own initiative, if (s 14T(1)):

• your tax liabilities have been paid in full, and it is satisfied that any liabilities you may face from matters that have already happened are likely to be paid or completely irrecoverable, or
• it is satisfied your tax liabilities are completely irrecoverable.

Arrangements satisfactory to the ATO for paying the liabilities count as paying them (s 14T(3)), so a realistic ATO payment arrangement that it accepts is often the most practical way out.

The ATO also has a general discretion to revoke or vary an order (s 14T(2)). It says it reviews DPOs regularly and considers changes such as a lower debt (PS LA 2011/18 paras 170–171), but won't vary one to let you travel (para 174).

Can you travel overseas with a departure prohibition order?

Only with a departure authorisation certificate. The ATO must issue one if it is satisfied of any of the following (s 14U(1)):

1. No security needed. You are likely to leave and return within an appropriate period, your tax liabilities are likely to be paid (or satisfactory arrangements made) within an appropriate period, and security isn't necessary or desirable.
2. Security given. You have given security for your return, by bond, deposit or other means, to its satisfaction (s 14U(2)).
3. Humanitarian or national interest. You are unable to give that security, and a certificate should be issued on humanitarian grounds, or refusing one would be detrimental to Australia's interests.

In practice:

• "Unable" means unable. The third route is open only if you genuinely can't give security, not if you are unwilling or can't agree an amount with the ATO (Lui v Commissioner of Taxation [2009] FCAFC 115 at [33]–[38]; PS LA 2011/18 paras 158–160). You need evidence of both the inability and the grounds.
• Security is about your return. The ATO's position is that it needn't match the debt, and that if you don't come back on time it is forfeited to the Commonwealth and not applied against your tax debt (para 161). The ATO weighs the risk you won't return, who owns the asset offered and whether you have fully disclosed your finances (para 162).
• The departure window is short. A certificate authorises departure on or before the seventh day after a day it specifies, which can be no more than 7 days after issue (s 14U(1)). The ATO can agree to a later return date, but may refuse unless you increase the security or give further security (s 14U(2)(b)–(c)).

How quickly do you need to act if travel is booked?

Straight away. The ATO has to assess the application, and any security has to be arranged. Apply with your itinerary and return booking, evidence of why you need to travel, a full picture of your income, assets and liabilities, and a concrete proposal for security or payment. A refusal can be reviewed by the ART (s 14Y), but review takes time, so don't plan around it.

Can you challenge a departure prohibition order?

Decision	Where to challenge it
Making the DPO	Appeal to the Federal Court or a State or Territory Supreme Court (s 14V)
Refusing to revoke or vary it, or refusing a certificate or later return date	Review by the ART (s 14Y)

In a court appeal, the questions are whether you are subject to a tax liability, whether the Commissioner actually held the belief s 14S requires, and whether there were reasonable grounds for it. It isn't a full rehearing, the onus is on you, and the focus is the material that existed when the order was made, with later material of doubtful relevance (Gazal at [12]). The court can set the order aside or dismiss the appeal (s 14X).

Neither the TAA nor the Federal Court's rules set a time limit for an appeal to the Federal Court (Federal Court Rules 2011, r 33.05). State and Territory Supreme Court rules may. In NSW, for example, the Supreme Court's general appeal rules appear to apply, which would mean starting the appeal within 28 days after you are given notice of the order, unless the Court allows more time (Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 50.1–50.3). Other States and Territories have their own rules. So act promptly and, to be safe, start any appeal within 28 days of the date of the order. If that date has passed, get advice straight away, as an appeal may still be possible.

For ART review, the time limit is generally 28 days after you are given written notice of the refusal or, if you are given a statement of reasons, 28 days after you are given it (Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, s 18; Administrative Review Tribunal Rules 2024, r 5). The Tribunal can extend the time if that is reasonable in all the circumstances, even after it has expired (ART Act s 19), but don't rely on that. The safe course is to apply well within 28 days of the refusal. See challenging decisions in the ART and Federal Court.

How we help with a departure prohibition order

• Travel applications. We prepare certificate applications with the evidence and a security proposal.
• Revocation. We build a payment arrangement or other proposal around the s 14T tests.
• Testing the order. We review the debt and the ATO's reasons, and advise whether a challenge is worth bringing.
• The whole debt. A DPO can sit alongside garnishee notices or statutory demands and bankruptcy. We work with your accountant throughout.

Next step

Send us the DPO letter, your ATO statement of account, your travel details (dates, destination, reason and bookings) and a short summary of your assets, income and any payment offer. In a first call we'll tell you whether to apply for a certificate, seek revocation or challenge the order, and what the ATO will need to see.