DHOAS home loans and ADF defence lending with cash back

Compare ADF defence home loans and earn monthly cash back on top of your DHOAS subsidy, for the life of your loan.

Mates Rates Mortgage Brokers is an accredited broker with Australian Military Bank, a DHOAS home loan provider. As a current or former ADF member eligible for the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme, you can combine your DHOAS monthly subsidy with our exclusive Mates Rates cash-back credit to pay off your defence home loan faster than any other option available to you.

$14M+

Cash-back paid to borrowers

45+

Lenders compared

Since 2005

Australia’s original & best cash-back broker

What is the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme (DHOAS)?

The Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme, or DHOAS, is an Australian Government initiative designed to help current and former ADF members and their families achieve home ownership. If you meet the DHOAS eligibility conditions, including a qualifying period of service, accrued service credit, and occupancy requirements, you may receive monthly subsidy payments paid directly into your DHOAS home loan.

The longer you serve in the ADF, the more entitlements you accrue and the higher your subsidy tier. The three tiers are:

Subsidy tierMinimum permanent serviceMinimum reserve service
Tier One2 years4 years
Tier Two4 years8 years
Tier Three8 years12 years

To confirm your eligibility, contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au. Once you know your eligibility, Mates Rates can help you find the most cost-effective DHOAS loan available.

How does the Mates Rates cash back work for DHOAS loans?

As with every Mates Rates loan, 100% of the lender trailing commission paid to us through our aggregator Finsure, is credited directly to your DHOAS home loan account every month for the life of the loan. On a DHOAS loan with Australian Military Bank, this amounts to an additional 0.10% per annum cash-back credit on top of your government DHOAS subsidy.

To be clear: the 0.10% pa cash back is paid by Mates Rates Mortgage Brokers from our trailing commission. It is not a cash back paid by the Australian Military Bank or the DHOAS scheme itself.

The Mates Rates DHOAS cashback is a compound-interest saving. When the monthly credit is applied directly to your loan principal, it reduces your balance faster, which in turn reduces the interest you pay on the remaining balance. Over the life of a DHOAS loan, this saves eligible ADF members thousands of dollars in interest on top of what the DHOAS subsidy alone delivers.

Why not just choose the lowest interest rate?

Some mortgage brokers, unable to offer DHOAS loans themselves, will steer ADF members toward lower-interest-rate lenders that do not include the DHOAS subsidy. This approach looks cheaper upfront but almost always costs you more over the life of the loan.

Only Mates Rates has the calculators to accurately compare:

  • Lower interest rate lenders with no monthly DHOAS subsidy
  • DHOAS loans with subsidy only
  • DHOAS loans with subsidy plus the Mates Rates cash-back credit

Contact us for a free DHOAS home loan comparison and we will show you the true life-of-loan cost for all three scenarios so you can make an informed decision.

Why use Mates Rates for your DHOAS home loan?

Monthly Cash-back

An additional 0.10% pa is credited to your DHOAS loan each month, in addition to your government DHOAS subsidy, for the life of the loan.

Free Service

Our fee comes from the lender’s upfront commission. You pay nothing extra for our broking service.

Accredited DHOAS broker

We are an accredited broker with Australian Military Bank, a DHOAS home loan provider, and understand the specific requirements of defence lending.

Accurate comparison tools

Only Mates Rates has calculators that compare all three DHOAS loan scenarios so you can see the true life-of-loan cost before you decide.

Specialist Advice

Our brokers understand DHOAS eligibility, subsidy tiers, and the compound interest benefit of combining your subsidy with our cash-back credit.

45+ Lenders Compared

We compare defence home loan options across our full lender panel to ensure you are getting the most cost-effective solution available.

How the DHOAS loan process works

From eligibility check through to settlement, a Mates Rates broker manages every step on your behalf.

1

Confirm DHOAS eligibility

Contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au to confirm your eligibility and subsidy tier. Once confirmed, contact Mates Rates for a free loan comparison.

2

Free DHOAS loan comparison

We compare your DHOAS loan options, including your government subsidy plus our 0.10% pa cash-back credit against lower rate non-DHOAS lenders, so you can see the true life-of-loan cost for each option.

3

Application and approval

We prepare and lodge your DHOAS home loan application with Australian Military Bank, manage all documentation, and liaise with the lender through to formal approval.

4

Settlement and cash back begins

Your DHOAS loan settles, your government subsidy payments begin, and your monthly Mates Rates cash-back credits begin simultaneously, reducing your effective loan cost from day one.

DHOAS and defence home loan types we compare

We arrange DHOAS and defence home loans across every major loan type:

  • DHOAS subsidy rate home loans
  • ADF investment property loans
  • Fixed-rate ADF home loans
  • First home buyer ADF loans
  • ADF owner-occupied home loans
  • Defence force refinancing loans
  • Variable rate ADF home loans
  • ADF construction loans

Common questions about DHOAS home loans

Current and former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members who have completed a qualifying period of service, accrued a service credit, and met the DHOAS subsidy loan scheme conditions, including occupancy requirements. Contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au to confirm your eligibility before applying.

If you are eligible for a DHOAS subsidy loan, your subsidy will be paid monthly, directly into your DHOAS home loan. The amount you receive depends on your subsidy tier level and the balance of your home loan up to your subsidised loan limit. The Mates Rates cash-back credit is then applied on top of this subsidy as a separate monthly payment from us.

There are three subsidy tiers under the DHOAS scheme. The longer you serve in the ADF, the higher your tier and the greater your monthly subsidy entitlement:

Subsidy tierMinimum permanent serviceMinimum reserve service
Tier One2 years4 years
Tier Two4 years8 years
Tier Three8 years12 years

To confirm which tier you qualify for, contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au.

Mates Rates offers eligible ADF members an additional 0.10% per annum cash-back credit on a DHOAS subsidy rate loan with Australian Military Bank. This is credited monthly to your home loan account, in addition to your government DHOAS subsidy, and is paid by Mates Rates from our trailing commission at no additional cost to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Current and former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members who have completed a qualifying period of service, accrued a service credit, and met the DHOAS subsidy loan scheme conditions, including occupancy requirements. Contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au to confirm your eligibility before applying.

If you are eligible for a DHOAS subsidy loan, your subsidy will be paid monthly, directly into your DHOAS home loan. The amount you receive depends on your subsidy tier level and the balance of your home loan up to your subsidised loan limit. The Mates Rates cash-back credit is then applied on top of this subsidy as a separate monthly payment from us.

There are three subsidy tiers under the DHOAS scheme. The longer you serve in the ADF, the higher your tier and the greater your monthly subsidy entitlement:

Subsidy tierMinimum permanent serviceMinimum reserve service
Tier One2 years4 years
Tier Two4 years8 years
Tier Three8 years12 years

To confirm which tier you qualify for, contact the DHOAS helpline on 1300 434 627 or visit dhoas.gov.au.

Mates Rates offers eligible ADF members an additional 0.10% per annum cash-back credit on a DHOAS subsidy rate loan with Australian Military Bank. This is credited monthly to your home loan account, in addition to your government DHOAS subsidy, and is paid by Mates Rates from our trailing commission at no additional cost to you.

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