Defence Force First Home Buyer Guide: How ADF Members Buy Their First Home in Queensland & Victoria (2026)

By Chaice Paterson, CEO & Founder, Low Deposit Homes | Updated June 2026

If you serve in the Army, Navy or Air Force — permanent, Reserve, or transitioning out — you can stack more first-home help than almost any other buyer in Australia, and most members never use half of it. On top of the civilian first home buyer schemes every Australian can access (the 5% Deposit Scheme with no LMI, the First Home Owner Grant, and full stamp duty exemptions on new builds in Queensland), ADF members get three Defence-specific benefits: DHOAS (the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme — a monthly subsidy paid onto your home loan interest, worth up to roughly $980 a month at the top tier), HPAS (a one-off $16,949 before-tax payment toward your first home), and HPSEA (reimbursement of buying and selling costs when you’re posted). The catch most members hit isn’t eligibility — it’s that no one shows them how these stack together, and which lenders actually understand them. That’s what we do. This guide walks through every benefit, how they combine, and where to buy near the major South East Queensland and Victorian bases.

What home-buying help can ADF members actually get?

There are two separate “buckets” of assistance, and the power comes from using both at once:

Bucket 1 — the civilian first home buyer stack (every Australian gets these):
– 5% Deposit Scheme — buy with a 5% deposit and pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance, because the government guarantees the rest. On an $850,000 build that’s roughly a $42,500 deposit instead of $170,000, and no five-figure LMI premium.
– First Home Owner Grant — $30,000 in Queensland (reducing to $15,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026) and $10,000 in Victoria, on new builds under $750,000.
– Stamp duty exemption — Queensland charges $0 stamp duty for first home buyers on new builds with no upper price cap; Victoria gives a full exemption where the dutiable value is under $600,000 (and at construction stage, only the land value is counted).
– First Home Super Saver Scheme — release up to $50,000 of voluntary super contributions to boost your deposit.

Bucket 2 — the Defence benefits (on top of the above):
– DHOAS — a monthly government subsidy paid directly onto your home loan to reduce what you pay.
– HPAS — a one-off $16,949 (before tax) lump sum toward your first home.
– HPSEA — reimbursement of costs when a posting makes you buy or sell.

The civilian schemes and the Defence schemes sit in separate eligibility silos — qualifying for one doesn’t reduce the other. That’s the core insight: a serving member buying their first home in Queensland can potentially combine the 5% Deposit Scheme, $0 stamp duty, DHOAS and HPAS on the same purchase.

What is DHOAS and how much is it worth?

DHOAS pays a monthly subsidy onto the interest of your home loan, for as long as you hold an eligible loan and meet the scheme conditions. The amount depends on your subsidy tier, which is set by how long you’ve served, and on your loan balance up to a subsidised loan limit.

For the 2025–26 year, the subsidised loan limits — the portion of your loan that can attract a subsidy — are:
– Tier 1 (from 2 years permanent / 4 years Reserve service): loans up to $413,690
– Tier 2 (from 4 years permanent / 8 years Reserve): loans up to $620,535
– Tier 3 (from 8 years permanent / 12 years Reserve): loans up to $827,380

These limits are 40%, 60% and 80% of the national Average House Price ($1,034,225 as at 1 July 2025), reviewed each financial year. The actual monthly subsidy dollar figure moves with interest rates — at recent median rates the maximum monthly subsidy has sat around $490 (Tier 1), $736 (Tier 2) and $981 (Tier 3), but treat those as live estimates that rise and fall with rates, not fixed amounts. Over the life of a loan the subsidy can add up to a very significant sum. Eligibility runs through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), who issue your subsidy certificate; you then take that to a DHOAS-approved lender.

What is HPAS, and who can get it?

HPAS (Home Purchase Assistance Scheme) is a one-off lump sum of $16,949 before tax, paid once per career, to help permanent ADF members buy or build their first home in their current posting location. Key conditions: you must be a permanent member (Reservists aren’t eligible for HPAS), you must intend to live in the home as your principal residence for at least 12 months, and you can’t have received HPAS before. It’s treated as taxable income, so your take-home depends on your marginal rate — commonly around $11,000–$12,000 in the hand. Because it’s tied to your posting location, HPAS pairs naturally with buying near your base — which is exactly where we build.

What is HPSEA?

HPSEA (Home Purchase or Sale Expenses Allowance) reimburses reasonable costs — conveyancing, legal fees, agent’s commission and similar — when an official posting requires you to sell and/or buy a home. It’s a reimbursement of actual expenses (you pay, then claim), not a lump sum, and it’s tied to a genuine posting-driven relocation. For members moving between bases, used well it stops thousands in transaction costs from eroding your deposit.

How do these stack with the first home buyer grants?

Here’s the combination that no generic mortgage calculator or buyer’s agent puts together. Take a serving member buying their first new-build home near their Queensland base:

5% Deposit Scheme brings the deposit down to 5% and removes LMI
$0 stamp duty (Queensland first home buyer, new build)
HPAS adds $16,949 (before tax) toward the purchase
DHOAS then reduces the monthly repayment for years afterward
and if a posting drove the move, HPSEA reimburses the transaction costs

The civilian schemes lower your entry cost (deposit, stamp duty, grant), HPAS lowers your upfront cash, and DHOAS lowers your ongoing repayment. Different levers, same purchase. The reason members miss it is that the civilian schemes are administered by the states and the Defence schemes by DVA and Defence — different systems, different paperwork, and no single official source that adds them together. We do that math for you, and we work with defence-savvy lenders who are across DHOAS and exactly how it stacks with the first-home grants.

Where should ADF members buy near South East Queensland bases?

Low Deposit Homes builds new house-and-land packages across Queensland and Victoria — these are examples of where members commonly buy near their postings, but we match you to wherever your posting and budget point:

RAAF Base Amberley (Air Force, Ipswich) — Australia’s largest RAAF base. The Ipswich growth corridor (areas such as Walloon, Deebing Heights, Collingwood Park, Ripley and Redbank Plains) offers new builds close to base.
Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera (Army, north-west Brisbane) — Brisbane’s north-side growth estates put you within reach of base.
Greenbank (Army, Logan) — the Greenbank, Flagstone and wider Logan corridor sits close to the training area.

Wherever you’re posted, the same principle applies: we build across Queensland and Victoria and match you to the corridor that suits your base, your family and your budget.

Where should ADF members buy near Victorian / Melbourne bases?

RAAF Williams (Laverton & Point Cook, Air Force) — Melbourne’s west and the Melton corridor are the natural fit, and often the most affordable entry point in the state.
Simpson Barracks, Watsonia (Army, north-east Melbourne) — Melbourne’s north-east growth areas.
HMAS Cerberus, Crib Point (Navy, Mornington Peninsula) — the south-east and peninsula side of Melbourne.
Puckapunyal (Army, regional Victoria) — the Seymour and regional corridor.

As with Queensland, these are starting points — we match you to your posting, not the other way around.

Does buying near base make sense if I might get posted?

This is the real question for serving members, and the honest answer is: it depends on your stage and plan. Buying makes strong sense when you expect to be in a location for a few years, when you want HPAS (which requires 12 months’ occupancy in your posting location), or when you want to start building equity rather than paying rent. If a future posting moves you, you have options — keep the home as an investment (DHOAS can continue on an eligible loan), or sell with HPSEA reimbursing the costs. A 12–18 month build timeline on a house-and-land package can also line up well with a posting cycle. We’ll talk through your specific situation honestly rather than pushing you to buy before it’s right.

How does Low Deposit Homes help ADF members specifically?

We bring the whole picture together: the civilian grant stack, the Defence schemes, defence-savvy lenders who understand DHOAS and how it stacks, and house-and-land stock in the corridors where members are posted. We work out which schemes you qualify for and what they’re worth combined, we arrange your full bank approval before you commit to a package, and we link you up with the banks or brokers who’ll handle your application. Then we match you to a new-build package near your base. We’ve helped a strong number of Defence families do exactly this. Book a 15-minute call and we’ll map your stack.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use DHOAS and the First Home Owner Grant together? Yes. DHOAS (a Defence scheme administered by DVA) and the First Home Owner Grant (a state scheme) are separate — qualifying for one doesn’t affect the other. Most eligible serving first home buyers can use both, plus the 5% Deposit Scheme and stamp duty concessions.

Do Defence members get a stamp duty exemption? Not a Defence-specific one — but as a first home buyer you access the standard state concessions, which in Queensland means $0 stamp duty on a new build (no price cap) and in Victoria a full exemption under $600,000 dutiable value. HPSEA can also reimburse certain transaction costs on a posting-driven move.

Is HPAS available to Reservists? No — HPAS is for permanent ADF members only. Reservists may still access DHOAS (with longer qualifying periods) and the civilian first home buyer schemes.

How much is the DHOAS subsidy? It depends on your tier and your loan balance, and the monthly dollar figure moves with interest rates. At recent rates the maximum has been roughly $490/month (Tier 1), $736/month (Tier 2) and $981/month (Tier 3), calculated on subsidised loan limits of $413,690, $620,535 and $827,380 respectively for 2025–26.

Do I have to buy right next to my base? No. These corridors are examples — we build across Queensland and Victoria and match you to the area that suits your posting, family and budget.

I’m transitioning out / ex-serving — can I still use DHOAS? Yes, if you’re eligible. DHOAS is open to eligible current and former serving members who meet the service and scheme conditions — and importantly, there’s no longer a 5-year post-service deadline to start using it, so leaving the ADF doesn’t automatically close the door. The details depend on your service history and accrued entitlement, so confirm your specific position with DVA. We can point you in the right direction.

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Low Deposit Homes operates under Winning Homes Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 633 321 758). All figures are illustrative and current as at June 2026; DHOAS subsidy values move with interest rates and scheme limits are reviewed annually. This is general information, not financial or credit advice — finance is arranged through licensed brokers. Confirm DHOAS/HPAS/HPSEA entitlements with DVA and the Department of Defence.