What is DHOAS?

The Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme (DHOAS) helps current and former Australian Defence Force members and their families into home ownership. If you are eligible, DHOAS pays a monthly subsidy on an eligible home loan, which reduces the cost of your repayments for as long as you have service credit available.

The scheme is administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and DHOAS home loans are provided by approved lenders.

Who is eligible?

• Permanent members qualify after completing two years of continuous effective service.
• Reservists qualify after four years of effective Reserve service – a year counts when you complete at least 20 days of paid service in the financial year.
• Members medically separated for a compensable condition may be treated as “Incapacitated Members”, for whom the qualifying period does not apply.
• Eligible surviving partners of members may also be able to access DHOAS.

How much could you receive?

The subsidy you receive depends on your tier, which is based on your length of service. The 2026–27 amounts are:

The subsidy applies to the loan amount up to the maximum for your tier – if you borrow more, the extra isn’t subsidised. Subsidy amounts are reviewed and can change as interest rates move.

Service credit – how long the subsidy lasts

• Once you have qualified, Permanent members accrue one month of service credit for every month of effective service. Reservists accrue one year of credit for every financial year of effective Reserve service.
• You use up service credit for each month you receive the subsidy.
• You can accrue a combined maximum of 20 years across DHOAS and the earlier schemes (DHOS and DSH), or up to 25 years if you have warlike service. Warlike service adds between two and five years of credit depending on its length, but doesn’t speed up your qualifying period or tier.

Getting started: your subsidy certificate

• Before you buy, build or refinance, apply for a DHOAS subsidy certificate. You need it to take out a DHOAS home loan.
• A certificate is valid for 12 months and can’t be extended. A certificate doesn’t guarantee loan approval – your lender still assesses your application.
• The loan must be with an approved DHOAS lender, be secured over the property, and be used to buy, build, extend or renovate your home (or refinance a loan used for those purposes).
• You must hold at least a 50% interest in the property and be named on the title. You can receive the subsidy on only one loan, over one property, at a time.

Living in the home

• You must live in the home for at least 12 months from when the subsidy starts. If you are away, your dependants living there can meet this requirement.
• After those 12 months, the subsidy can continue even if you move out and rent the property.
• If you are posted, tell DVA straight away to avoid being overpaid.
• The subsidy stops if the property is used mainly for a business, is held through a trust, or if the loan is paid down to nil.

What happens when you leave the ADF

• You stop accruing service credit, but if you have completed the qualifying period you can still use the credit you have built up.
• If you have 20 or more years of service when you separate, your subsidy is paid at the Tier 3 level; otherwise it is paid at Tier 1.
• After separation you can apply for only one subsidy certificate – and the application counts even if it doesn’t result in a loan. The certificate lasts 12 months, so time your application for when you are ready to buy.
• Members medically separated for a compensable condition may receive additional service credit – check your position before you discharge.

Things to weigh up

• Whether to buy before or after you transition – your tier, borrowing capacity and income can all change when you leave.
• How much you can comfortably borrow as interest rates rise, and how the subsidy fits into your budget.
• Your deposit, loan structure and offset account options.
• Whether to use your service credit now or keep it for a future home.
• How a home purchase fits with your super, DVA entitlements and other goals.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Letting a subsidy certificate expire before settlement.
• Applying for your one post-separation certificate before you are ready to buy.
• Moving out of the home within the first 12 months.
• Assuming the subsidy covers the whole loan, or budgeting as if it will last forever.