This scheme lets older Australians who are Age Pension age or older get a voluntary non-taxable loan from us. You need to use equity in Australian real estate as security for the loan. To help you decide whether to apply for the loan, you can use our calculators. If you have a Centrelink online account, access the calculators via your account. This will provide you with a more accurate estimate. If you don’t, access the:
- Home Equity Access Scheme eligibility calculator to see if you want to apply
- Home Equity Access Scheme calculator to see how much you can borrow.
Once you know the amount you can borrow, you can choose the amount of loan you get. You can choose to get the loan amount as:
- a fortnightly amount
- an advance payment of the loan as a lump sum
- a combination of both.
You must repay the loan to us, plus interest and legal costs. Read about the ways you can repay the loan.
The current interest rate is 3.95% per annum. This rate compounds each fortnight on the loan balance until you repay the loan in full. Keep in mind that the longer you take to repay the loan, the more interest will accumulate.
A no negative equity guarantee applies to Home Equity Access Scheme loans.
If you’re a veteran, you can learn how to apply for the Home Equity Access Scheme on the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) website.