Lender review
Is Australian Military Bank a good home loan lender?
The short answer
A member-owned bank built for the defence community, with a 98 per cent loan-to-value limit including mortgage insurance, an offset on its two main variable loans, and no monthly account fees. The catch is a narrow borrower base: no companies, trusts or self-managed super, and the self-employed need a defence link.
An ADF member may be eligible for home loan subsidies under DHOAS. Australian Military Bank is a DHOAS home loan provider, and we are accredited with it and can help you apply for its home loans. We are unable to confirm your eligibility for DHOAS. For full eligibility criteria, visit dhoas.gov.au or call 1300 434 627.
How we rate them
Our assessment, not a lender claim. Five dimensions, scored out of five, revisited when the policy-checked date changes. Rate & fees is judged on the pricing borrowers actually transact at, not the advertised rate card.
- Rate & fees competitiveness
- 3.5/5
- Approval speed
- 3/5
- Technology & apps
- 3/5
- Product & policy flexibility
- 3/5
- Service
- 3.5/5
Australian Military Bank is a member-owned bank with variable and fixed loans. No home loan carries a monthly account-keeping fee, and the offset sits only on the Value and Standard Variable loans, not on the Rate Saver, Construction or fixed loans.
Can I get a loan with them?
Yes, if the borrowers are Australian citizens or permanent residents with employment income. Self-employed borrowers need a defence connection, and business, company, trust and super fund borrowing is not described in its policy.
Employed borrowers need at least six months with the current employer, with exceptions at the assessor's discretion. Self-employed borrowers qualify only where the business is affiliated with the Defence Force or Department of Defence, where the self-employed borrower is the spouse of an ADF or Defence employee who is also on the loan, or where they are ex-Defence, plus two years of trading. Income is assessed conservatively: investment rent is counted at 80 per cent, foreign income and discretionary-trust income are not accepted, and repayments are stress-tested with a 3 per cent buffer. Tax debts, court judgements and bad debts cannot be paid out of a loan, and a loan can be refused where unpaid defaults or bankruptcy sit within the last five years. An ADF member may be eligible for home loan subsidies under DHOAS. We are unable to confirm your eligibility for DHOAS. For full eligibility criteria, visit dhoas.gov.au or call 1300 434 627.
What they will and will not do
Facts from the lender's current policy, not judgements.
- Yes: Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
- No: Help to Buy
- Yes: Construction loans
- Yes: Offset account (Value and Standard Variable only)
- No: Offset on fixed rates
- Yes: Fixed rates (1, 2, 3 and 5 years)
- Yes: Family guarantee (security guarantor)
- Yes: Interest only (investment and construction)
- Yes: Debt consolidation
- No: Tax debt payout
- No: Trust or company borrowers
- No: Non-resident income
Pros and cons
What works
- It lends to a 98 per cent loan-to-value ratio including mortgage insurance for owner-occupiers, and works with the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme.
- No monthly account-keeping fee on any of its home loans.
- A 100 per cent offset account on the Value and Standard Variable loans, with redraw on Value and Rate Saver.
- A family guarantee lets a parent or other immediate relative secure the loan against their property to avoid mortgage insurance, without being assessed as a borrower.
- Defence allowances, reserve pay and commission are recognised in the income assessment, and published service levels set expectations at each stage.
- Additional repayments can be made on fixed loans up to an annual limit, and construction is available on a fixed-price contract with a licensed builder.
What doesn't
- Companies, trusts and self-managed super funds are not described in the bank's policy, so we do not treat them as available.
- Self-employed borrowers need a defence connection and two years of trading.
- Fixed loans have no redraw and no offset, and extra repayments above the annual limit trigger break costs.
- Tax debts, court judgements and bad debts cannot be paid out of a loan, and foreign income is not accepted.
- Rural property is limited by land size, and owner-builder loans are capped lower than standard construction.
- Investment rent is counted at 80 per cent, which trims borrowing capacity for investors.
What are they distinctly good at?
Serving and ex-serving defence members with a bank that understands payslips full of allowances. Its policy spells out ADF payslip items, reserve pay and allowances, so income that other lenders discount can count here.
The policy describes how to read ADF payslips, which allowances count in full once paid for 12 months, and how to treat reserve and continuous full-time service. Combined with a 98 per cent loan-to-value limit and a family guarantee, it suits first-home buyers in the defence community who have little deposit. It is less useful outside that circle: the business, company and trust borrowers that specialist lenders chase are not what this bank is built for.
Who it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if
- Defence Force members, reserves and Defence public servants buying with a small deposit.
- First-home buyers who can use a family guarantee or the 5% Deposit Scheme.
- Borrowers who want an offset on a variable loan and no monthly loan fee.
- Employees whose income includes ADF allowances and reserve pay.
Look elsewhere if
- Companies, trusts, self-managed super funds and business-purpose borrowing.
- Self-employed borrowers without a defence connection.
- Borrowers needing tax debt paid out or foreign income counted.
- Anyone wanting an offset on a fixed rate.
Our verdict
A specialist bank for the defence community, strongest where deposits are small and payslips are complicated. Its loan-to-value limit is high, its family guarantee is practical, and there is no monthly fee. Its policy spells out ADF income more clearly than most lenders. The walls are firm: employed borrowers and defence-linked self-employed only, no entities, no tax debt payouts, and fixed loans without an offset. DHOAS is a separate government scheme and we do not advise on it; the notice above carries the bank's required statement.
We can arrange loans with this lender.
Comparable lenders
Lenders that solve a similar problem, and that we can arrange.
Lender assessments are our own opinion, based on the policy and product terms in force on the policy-checked date shown above, and are not a recommendation.
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