Unlocking Hidden Capacity: Are Your Potential Consumers Aware of the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS)?

Australia’s aged care system is facing a familiar tension:

– Many older Australians are asset-rich but cash-constrained — particularly when it comes to funding care.

At the same time, there is an estimated $3 trillion of housing wealth held by retirees — much of it sitting idle while care decisions are delayed or constrained.

One government mechanism designed to help bridge this gap, the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS), has been available for many years, yet remains less widely used than might be expected.

– Only around 18,000–20,000 older Australians currently access the scheme

– Compared to millions of homeowners in retirement

This suggests that awareness, rather than availability, is the primary barrier.

Why This Matters to You as an Aged Care Provider

As an aged care provider — across both Support at Home and Residential Aged Care (RAC), you are often at the frontline of:

Consumers struggling to fund home care services

Residents delaying entry due to affordability concerns

Families navigating complex decisions around:

– Selling the home

– Paying RAD vs DAP

– Managing ongoing care costs

In many of these scenarios, HEAS may be a relevant consideration, yet it is rarely raised early enough in the consumer journey.

From our experience working closely with providers across financial and strategic engagements, we observe that awareness of HEAS is often limited, including among frontline teams who regularly engage with prospective residents and Support at Home consumers.

As such, we believe this is an important opportunity to reintroduce and reinforce awareness of the scheme across your organisation. 

We note that this is not financial advice in any shape or form, and anyone planning to access HEAS should seek independent financial advice.  

What is HEAS (in simple terms)?

The Home Equity Access Scheme is a government-backed loan that allows eligible older Australians (67+) to:

– Access regular income or lump sums

– Using equity in their home

– Without needing to sell it immediately

It is often described as a reverse mortgage-style arrangement, with key safeguards such as:

– No negative equity guarantee

– Government-set interest rate (currently ~3.95%)

As mentioned above, this is not financial advice.

However, it is: A legitimate, government-supported option that may materially influence a consumer’s ability to fund care.

We note that your role is also not to recommend, but to ensure awareness exists at the right point in the journey.

Where HEAS Can Make a Difference

1. Support at Home consumers

consumers who:

– Own their home

– Are on full/part pension (or self-funded)

– Struggle with ongoing care costs

HEAS can:

– Supplement income

– Enable higher levels of care

– Delay premature transition to residential care

2. Residential Aged Care (RAC) consumers

Families often face:

– “Do we sell the home?”

– “Can we afford RAD?”

– “How do we manage DAP and care fees?”

HEAS can:

– Provide cash flow to support DAP payments

– Reduce pressure to immediately sell the home

– Enable more flexible RAD/DAP structuring

A Simple Example (End-to-End)

What Potential Consumers Should Be Aware Of

While HEAS can be powerful, it is not without trade-offs:

This reinforces the need for:

Your Opportunity as a Provider

Providers who proactively incorporate HEAS awareness into their engagement:

How We Can Support You

At Anchor, we recognise that introducing concepts like HEAS requires clarity, consistency, and care.

We can support providers by:

1. Consumer Awareness Materials

For the first 20 providers, we have provided this as a free resource – please click here to access and download. This brochure provides:

2. Team Discussion Guides

Structured prompts for:

 3. Staff Education Sessions

Helping teams understand:

4. Integration into Potential Consumer Journey

Embedding HEAS awareness into:

5. Where to Learn More

For factual information and eligibility, consumers and families can refer to Services Australia – Home Equity Access Scheme.

A Simple Question to Ask Your Team

“At what point in our consumer journey do we ensure HEAS is at least considered?”

Not recommended. Not advised. But considered.

Final Thought

Australia does not have a shortage of wealth in aged care. It has a disconnect between where wealth sits (housing) and how care is funded (income/cash flow). HEAS is one of the few mechanisms designed to bridge that gap.

The question is not whether it is right for every consumer, but whether your consumers are even aware that it exists.