Home Equity Access Scheme Calculator
How Much You Can Borrow at 3.95%
Work out your maximum loan amount, the fortnightly income you can add to your pension, and how the debt and your remaining equity change over time — using Services Australia's own rules.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: Under the Home Equity Access Scheme, the government lends you up to a maximum loan amount of your age component × every whole $10,000 of the property you pledge. At 70, the age component is $3,080, so an $800,000 home supports up to $246,400.
Each fortnight, your pension plus the loan can reach 150% of the maximum Age Pension: a full-rate single pensioner can add $618.85 a fortnight, and a single self-funded retiree can take up to $1,856.55. You can also take up to $16,090.10 as lump-sum advances in any 26 fortnights.
Interest is 3.95% a year, compounding fortnightly: $500 a fortnight for 10 years ($130,000 received) grows to a debt of about $159,271. A no negative equity guarantee means you never owe more than the property is worth.
Source: Services Australia, checked 26 September 2026; pension rates from from 20 Sep 2026.
How much can I borrow under the Home Equity Access Scheme?
Your age component × every whole $10,000 you pledge. At 70 on an $800,000 home: up to $246,400, at 3.95% compounding fortnightly.
Maximum loan amount today
$246,400
Fortnightly loan limit
$618.85
Debt after 15 years
$265,822
Equity left
$980,552
$500.00 a fortnight is within your limit of $618.85 (150% of the maximum pension rate, less the $1,237.70 pension you get now).
Over 15 years you receive $195,000 and owe $265,822: $70,822 of it is interest.
Last reviewed 10 November 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
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Maximum loan amount = the pledged value rounded down to the nearest $10,000, ÷ 10,000, × the age component of the younger partner (Services Australia's table, reproduced below). It is recalculated each year as the age component rises, and on the grown property value, which assumes you ask Services Australia to reassess when the value rises.
Fortnightly limit = 150% of the maximum pension rate ($1,237.70 single, $1,866.00 couple combined, from from 20 Sep 2026) minus the pension you already get. A lump-sum advance of up to 50% of the annual maximum rate is allowed in any 26 fortnights; we model it as reducing the fortnightly limit by one twenty-sixth of the advance, never below the top-up to 100% of the maximum rate. That interaction is our estimate: Services Australia's calculator in your Centrelink online account gives the exact figure.
Interest is 3.95% a year, charged fortnightly (÷ 26) on the balance. Payments stop once the balance reaches the maximum loan amount. Legal costs, and any effect of an advance on your pension under the income and assets tests, are not included.
Your loan, year by year (3.95% compounding fortnightly)
| Year | Age | Received | Debt | Limit | Equity left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70 | $13,000 | $13,250 | $246,400 | $810,750 |
| 2 | 71 | $13,000 | $27,033 | $262,400 | $821,687 |
| 3 | 72 | $13,000 | $41,371 | $279,720 | $832,810 |
| 4 | 73 | $13,000 | $56,287 | $301,020 | $844,120 |
| 5 | 74 | $13,000 | $71,803 | $324,000 | $855,616 |
| 6 | 75 | $13,000 | $87,944 | $345,000 | $867,298 |
| 7 | 76 | $13,000 | $104,734 | $370,500 | $879,165 |
| 8 | 77 | $13,000 | $122,200 | $396,900 | $891,216 |
| 9 | 78 | $13,000 | $140,370 | $425,210 | $903,448 |
| 10 | 79 | $13,000 | $159,271 | $455,520 | $915,862 |
| 11 | 80 | $13,000 | $178,933 | $487,920 | $928,454 |
| 12 | 81 | $13,000 | $199,387 | $521,400 | $941,222 |
| 13 | 82 | $13,000 | $220,664 | $562,020 | $954,163 |
| 14 | 83 | $13,000 | $242,798 | $600,210 | $967,274 |
| 15 | 84 | $13,000 | $265,822 | $644,930 | $980,552 |
Age component amounts (per $10,000 of security)
Services Australia uses the younger partner's age. At 67, each $10,000 pledged supports $2,740 of borrowing; at 80 it supports $4,560.
| Age | Age component | Limit on $500,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 55 or younger | $1,710 | $85,500 |
| 56 | $1,780 | $89,000 |
| 57 | $1,850 | $92,500 |
| 58 | $1,920 | $96,000 |
| 59 | $2,000 | $100,000 |
| 60 | $2,080 | $104,000 |
| 61 | $2,160 | $108,000 |
| 62 | $2,250 | $112,500 |
| 63 | $2,340 | $117,000 |
| 64 | $2,430 | $121,500 |
| 65 | $2,530 | $126,500 |
| 66 | $2,630 | $131,500 |
| 67 | $2,740 | $137,000 |
| 68 | $2,850 | $142,500 |
| 69 | $2,960 | $148,000 |
| 70 | $3,080 | $154,000 |
| 71 | $3,200 | $160,000 |
| 72 | $3,330 | $166,500 |
| 73 | $3,460 | $173,000 |
| 74 | $3,600 | $180,000 |
| 75 | $3,750 | $187,500 |
| 76 | $3,900 | $195,000 |
| 77 | $4,050 | $202,500 |
| 78 | $4,210 | $210,500 |
| 79 | $4,380 | $219,000 |
| 80 | $4,560 | $228,000 |
| 81 | $4,740 | $237,000 |
| 82 | $4,930 | $246,500 |
| 83 | $5,130 | $256,500 |
| 84 | $5,330 | $266,500 |
| 85 | $5,550 | $277,500 |
| 86 | $5,770 | $288,500 |
| 87 | $6,000 | $300,000 |
| 88 | $6,240 | $312,000 |
| 89 | $6,490 | $324,500 |
| 90 or older | $6,750 | $337,500 |
Reverse mortgage vs the Home Equity Access Scheme
Both let you borrow against your home and repay nothing while you live in it: interest compounds on the balance and the loan is repaid when the home is sold or from your estate. The scheme is the government's version, run by Services Australia. A reverse mortgage is the commercial version, from a bank or other credit provider.
Who lends
Scheme
Australian Government (Services Australia)
Reverse mortgage
A bank or other credit provider
Interest rate
Scheme
3.95% a year, set by the scheme, compounding fortnightly
Reverse mortgage
Set by the lender, with its own fees
How you get it
Scheme
Fortnightly payments up to 150% of the maximum pension, less any pension, plus up to $16,090.10 a year in advances (single)
Reverse mortgage
On the lender's terms, which can include a larger lump sum
How much
Scheme
Age component × every $10,000 pledged: $246,400 on an $800,000 home at 70
Reverse mortgage
Set by the lender
If the debt passes the home's value
Scheme
No negative equity guarantee
Reverse mortgage
For contracts entered into from 18 September 2012, the law caps what you owe at the home's adjusted market value
The legal protection comes from the National Credit Code (sections 86A to 86F). Once the lender receives at least the property's adjusted market value, from you or from selling the home, the debt and the mortgage are discharged, any surplus is paid to you, and the lender can't ask for more. It doesn't apply if the borrower committed fraud or misrepresentation.
Same amount, same years: what the rate does
Interest on both compounds, so the rate decides how fast the same balance grows. For example, $50,000 owed for 15 years grows to $90,385 at the scheme's 3.95%, and to $192,422 at a hypothetical 9.0%. That 9.0% is an illustration, not a lender's rate: enter the rate from a quote you've received to compare.
Scheme, 3.95%, 15 yrs
$90,385
Hypothetical 9%, 15 yrs
$192,422
Both figures compound fortnightly over the 15 years set in the calculator above, so only the rate differs. At 9% you would owe $102,038 more. Lender fees, and how often a lender actually compounds, are not included.
What to weigh before you pledge your home
The debt compounds. At 3.95%, a balance doubles in about 18 years even with no new payments, so every fortnightly payment you take late in the loan costs less interest than one taken early. Taking only what you need, and starting later, preserves the most equity for your estate or for aged care.
The no negative equity guarantee protects you and your estate from owing more than the property is worth, but it does not protect the equity itself: the money your heirs would have inherited is what repays the loan. Advances also count under the pension income and assets tests (the first 90 days are exempt if your home is the security), so an unspent lump sum can reduce a part pension.
Downsizing is the main alternative. Selling can free far more capital, and the proceeds may go into super as a downsizer contribution. The scheme lets you stay put. See how the equity sits in your wider position with the home equity calculator, and check your pension first with the Age Pension calculator.
How to use this calculator
- Choose single or couple and enter the age of the younger partner.
- Enter the value of the property and how much of it to pledge as security.
- Enter any pension you get now, then a fortnightly loan amount and any lump-sum advance.
- Read your maximum loan amount, fortnightly limit and how the debt grows year by year.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I borrow under the Home Equity Access Scheme?
Your maximum loan amount is the value of the real estate you pledge, rounded down to the nearest $10,000, divided by 10,000 and multiplied by the age component for your age (or your partner's, if younger). The age component is $2,740 at 67, $3,080 at 70, $4,560 at 80 and $6,750 from 90.
Services Australia's own example: a 70-year-old pledging $256,000 can borrow up to $77,000.
What is the Home Equity Access Scheme interest rate?
3.95% a year, compounding each fortnight on the loan balance. Interest keeps accruing until the loan is repaid, usually when the home is sold or from the estate.
Legal costs are added to the loan as well.
How much can I get each fortnight?
Your pension plus the loan can't exceed 150% of the maximum pension rate. From from 20 Sep 2026 the maximum Age Pension is $1,237.70 a fortnight for a single person and $1,866.00 for a couple combined, so a single person on the full pension can borrow up to $618.85 a fortnight, and a single person with no pension up to $1,856.55.
Part-pensioners fall in between.
Can I take a lump sum from the Home Equity Access Scheme?
Yes. You can take an advance of up to 50% of the maximum annual pension rate in any 26 fortnights: $16,090.10 for a single person or $24,258.00 for a couple combined, in no more than 2 advances.
An advance may reduce the fortnightly loan you can get over the next 26 fortnights, though you can always top up to 100% of the maximum pension rate.
Who can get the Home Equity Access Scheme?
People of Age Pension age (67) or older, or whose partner is, who have equity in Australian real estate to use as security and meet the other conditions Services Australia sets. You don't need to receive a pension: self-funded retirees can borrow too.
The loan is voluntary and not taxable.
Is the Home Equity Access Scheme a reverse mortgage?
It works like one: you borrow against your home, make no repayments while you live there, and interest compounds on the balance until the loan is repaid, usually when the home is sold or from your estate. The difference is the lender.
The Australian Government runs the scheme through Services Australia, the rate is the scheme's 3.95% rather than a lender's price, and you draw it as fortnightly payments plus capped advances. A commercial reverse mortgage comes from a bank or other credit provider on its own terms; contracts entered into from 18 September 2012 carry a statutory protection so you can't owe more than the home's adjusted market value.
Is the Home Equity Access Scheme better than a reverse mortgage?
It is the government's version of one. Its 3.95% rate is fixed by the scheme rather than set by a lender, it carries a no negative equity guarantee, and the income comes as fortnightly payments plus capped advances rather than one large lump sum.
A commercial reverse mortgage can release a bigger lump sum sooner. Compare the rate, fees and lump-sum needs, and get independent advice before pledging your home.
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Further Reading
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