Centrelink Reverse Mortgage: Home Equity Access Scheme

A Centrelink reverse mortgage is commonly used wording for the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS), a voluntary government loan administered by Services Australia. It lets eligible older Australians borrow against Australian real estate to supplement retirement income. The loan is non-taxable, but you must repay the debt, interest and relevant costs.

You can receive fortnightly payments, a lump sum advance or both. An advance has its own cap and reduces the fortnightly loan available over the next 26 fortnights.

The scheme was previously called the Pension Loans Scheme. Services Australia’s scheme overview explains the current government route.

Identify the Scheme and Official Channel

Services Australia accepts Centrelink enquiries and applications for the Home Equity Access Scheme. A broker can explain the route and help a client prepare questions, but broker accreditation doesn’t make the broker a scheme originator.

As at October 2026, the official application instructions give this online path:

1. Sign in to myGov and open the linked Centrelink account.
2. Select Make a claim or view claim status, then Make a claim.
3. Under Older Australians, select Get started.
4. Select Apply for a loan under the Home Equity Access Scheme and follow the prompts.

Applicants who can’t claim online can use the single or partnered application form linked in those instructions. For help with a claim, call the Centrelink Older Australians line on 132 300 or visit a service centre. Veterans can follow the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) route linked from the scheme overview.

Services Australia also permits a nominee with legal authority over the client’s real estate and finances to apply on their behalf. A broker needs that authority to act as such a nominee. Keep referral assistance separate from authority to manage a client’s claim.

A HEAS advance is available to an eligible applicant who remains below their maximum loan amount and hasn’t exhausted the advance allowance. A new applicant selects the advance option in the claim. An existing borrower requests it through the HEAS Summary page or the alternative channels in the advance-payment instructions.

Check Eligibility and Property Security

HEAS eligibility combines pension qualification with property security, so owning a home or receiving a pension alone isn’t enough. Use Services Australia’s eligibility rules, as at October 2026, in this order.

1. Establish the age condition. You or your partner must be Age Pension age, currently 67. If the applicant is younger, their partner must meet that age condition and the applicant must qualify for Carer Payment or Disability Support Pension.
2. Establish pension qualification. The Centrelink qualifying pensions are Age Pension, Carer Payment and Disability Support Pension. A person can qualify even when income or assets reduce their pension payment to zero.
3. Check the qualifying pension’s residence rules. For Age Pension, the applicant normally must be living in Australia, physically present and an Australian resident on the claim date. Residence generally totals at least ten years, including five continuous years. Refugee and international agreement exceptions can change that result.
4. Identify Australian real estate owned by the applicant or their partner that can secure the debt. Record co-owners and existing mortgages. The applicant, partner and any co-owner must be free of bankruptcy or a personal insolvency agreement.
5. Check adequate insurance and consent. Services Australia treats building insurance of at least 90% of building value as adequate. The partner must agree to the application, even when they aren’t on the title.

The qualifying-pension rules distinguish receiving a payment from meeting qualification rules. A nil pension caused by the means tests doesn’t automatically exclude HEAS. Failing a pension’s residence requirements is a different issue, so apply the Age Pension residence rules where that is the qualifying pension.

What Secures the Debt

The security is equity in Australian real estate: market value less existing mortgages or loans. The property doesn’t have to be the applicant’s principal home. A person with a stake in property held by a company or trust can use it if that entity agrees to cover the full loan.

Under the scheme terms, the Commonwealth registers a charge or caveat on the property’s title. Registration and removal costs enter the loan balance. Co-owners need to agree to the security arrangements, and Services Australia can share relevant loan information with them.

The maximum loan amount depends on the equity offered and the applicant’s age, using the younger partner’s age for a couple. Borrowers can nominate a lower limit or retain some equity outside the security calculation. Offering less equity reduces available borrowing.

HEAS qualification doesn’t establish commercial lender eligibility or decide whether equity release suits the client. It also doesn’t itself qualify someone for a Pensioner Concession Card.

Compare Payment, Interest and Repayment Options

HEAS separates the amount paid each fortnight from the total debt limit and the lump sum allowance. Services Australia’s payment and interest rules, as at October 2026, set these limits.

Payment choice	How it works	Limit that affects the client
Fortnightly loan	Choose a fixed amount or a percentage within the permitted range	Pension plus loan can’t exceed 150% of the maximum qualifying pension rate
Advance only	Receive loan money as a lump sum	Up to 50% of the annual maximum qualifying pension rate across 26 fortnights, with no more than two advances
Advance plus fortnightly loan	Receive an advance and continue regular loan payments	The advance reduces the regular loan allowance for 26 fortnights

A full-rate pensioner can ordinarily borrow the extra 50% above their pension each fortnight. A qualifying person with no pension payment can receive up to 150% through the loan. Both remain subject to the total maximum loan amount.

See how pension payments affect HEAS borrowing.

The advance limit uses the annual pension amount, not the property’s value. Receiving the whole allowance in one advance uses it for that 26-fortnight period. Services Australia says borrowers can still top up their combined fortnightly payment to 100% of the maximum pension rate after an advance.

Interest and Costs

The HEAS interest rate is 3.95% per annum as at October 2026. Interest compounds fortnightly on the outstanding balance, including earlier interest and costs added to the loan. The Minister for Social Services sets the rate, which can change.

Loan payments stop at the maximum loan amount, but interest continues until repayment. Stopping further payments doesn’t freeze the debt. This government equity-release loan is neither a grant nor a free home loan for pensioners.

Hypothetical Debt-Growth Illustration

This fictional example assumes $200 borrowed at the start of every fortnight, a zero opening balance and 26 payments per year. It holds the October 2026 rate of 3.95% constant and assumes no repayments.

The approved maximum loan amount and fortnightly allowance are assumed sufficient throughout.

Period	Total cash borrowed	Modelled debt	Interest added
1 year	$5,200	$5,308	$108
5 years	$26,000	$28,757	$2,757
10 years	$52,000	$63,768	$11,768

The model adds $200 before each interest calculation, using 3.95% multiplied by 14/365 as the fortnightly rate. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. Legal costs, rate changes and lump sum advances are excluded.

This illustrates debt growth, not future home equity. It makes no assumption about property prices, other mortgages or sale costs. A client’s actual balance also depends on payment dates, applicable limits and costs charged.

Repayment and Protection

You can make a partial or full repayment at any time. On sale, the scheme permits transfer to another property or repayment at settlement. Notify Services Australia at least 14 days before an agreed full-settlement date so it can arrange the payout and release of security.

After death, Services Australia generally seeks repayment from the estate after 14 weeks. It can defer recovery where a surviving partner is Age Pension age and continues using the secured property. Interest continues during deferral.

The no negative equity guarantee limits repayment at settlement to the secured property’s market value less other mortgages or legitimate claims. Increasing a mortgage or encumbrance, misrepresentation or fraud can prevent the guarantee applying. It doesn’t preserve a chosen inheritance amount.

Assess Reviews and Client Fit

A useful HEAS review checks how the scheme’s terms affect the client’s retirement plans, rather than giving an unsourced star rating. The government application route and debt cap don’t remove the cost of compound interest.

Discuss these client-specific questions before a referral becomes a decision to borrow.

• Work out the regular spending shortfall and any separate expense needing an advance.
• Recalculate the household budget with the lower regular loan allowance after an advance.
• Plan for a move or aged-care admission that could require sale, transfer of security or repayment.
• Record the equity the client wants available for future housing costs or their estate.
• Identify the owners and anyone who would remain in the property after the borrower dies.
• Establish whether the client can manage Centrelink claims and reporting or needs an authorised representative.

An advance can affect pension means testing. Services Australia’s advance-payment guidance treats it as a financial investment subject to deeming and as an assessable asset. Where the principal home secures the loan, the advance has a 90-day assets-test exemption.

Update Centrelink when the money is spent or used to buy an asset.

Services Australia’s Financial Information Service can explain government-payment implications. A financial adviser can assess retirement cash flow and aged-care funding, while a lawyer can address ownership, authority and estate arrangements. Those questions need the client’s circumstances, not a generic HEAS endorsement.

For an application error or disputed decision, use the review route in the official application instructions. A scheme review about a decision is different from a consumer review about service experience.

Compare With Commercial Reverse Mortgages

HEAS and a commercial reverse mortgage both release property equity through debt, but their eligibility and payment structures differ. Services Australia’s rules and Moneysmart’s commercial reverse-mortgage guidance, as at October 2026, support this comparison.

Factor	Home Equity Access Scheme	Commercial reverse mortgage
Provider and application	Commonwealth scheme through Services Australia or the relevant DVA channel	Private lender, directly or through an available broker channel
Eligibility basis	Age Pension age for applicant or partner, qualifying-pension rules and Australian property security	Lender age and property criteria
Advance structure	Capped advance, fortnightly loan or both	Depending on lender policy, lump sum, regular income or line of credit
Costs	Scheme interest compounds fortnightly, with relevant legal costs	Product interest and fees, including possible establishment, ongoing and valuation costs
Protection	Scheme no negative equity guarantee, subject to its stated exceptions	Negative equity protection for reverse mortgages taken out from 18 September 2012
Repayment	Voluntary repayment, sale with transfer or settlement and estate recovery with conditional partner deferral	Generally full repayment on sale, moving out or estate sale, under the contract

A client needing a large one-off amount can reach the HEAS advance cap even when substantial property equity remains. A client seeking regular retirement income needs to consider how pension receipts determine the fortnightly scheme allowance. Neither fact alone decides which route suits them.

Use the commercial reverse-mortgage requirements guide for commercial application evidence and mechanics. The reverse-mortgage provider comparison covers provider selection, while the reverse-mortgage benefits guide examines broader suitability trade-offs.

Bulma publishes this guide and provides lender-policy research and scenario-planning software for brokers. Services Australia administers HEAS applications and decisions.

For a client considering the government route, start with scheme qualification and the required payment amount, then refer pension, retirement and legal questions to the relevant adviser.