Applying for Member choice accommodation

The benefits of MCA include:

• Quality properties located close to base or city centres
• No competition with open rental market
• View and reserve your property online any time
• No inspection needed to reserve a property
• No fixed lease term
• No bond or rent in advance
• Rent is automatically deducted from your pay
• 24/7 maintenance phone service

You are eligible for MCA if you are categorised as:

• A member who has no resident family (MBR) or recognised other persons.
• A member who has unaccompanied resident family (URF),and/or recognised other persons.
• you are eligible for Rent Allowance

You might not be eligible for MCA if you own a property in your housing benefit location. If you do own a property, advise us via Online Services.

We will assess the property for suitability in accordance with PACMAN Chapter 7 Parts 2 and 3.

You will be able to view available MCA properties when you apply for Rent Allowance in Online Services or if you are currently receiving Rent Allowance.

Each MCA property will display photographs, a list of features, floor plans and dimensions of the property.

Your dashboard will display a summary of available MCA properties. You can scroll through or click on the ‘View all’ link to see all properties on one page.

The Viewing Window

The properties displayed are determined by the date you require housing and the Ready Date of the property. This is called the viewing window. All available properties that have a ready date that is 2 weeks prior to and 2 weeks after your housing required date will appear in this window.

Changing the viewing window

To see other properties that may be outside of your viewing window, you can edit the date you require MCA on the dashboard of your Online Services.

If there are no MCA properties available within your viewing window, and your relocation dates are not confirmed, you can select ‘View next 6 months’ and you will be able to view properties that are available in the coming months.

If you select a MCA property based on the new date, you will be required to occupy the property based on the new date. If you have a Commonwealth removal, you will need to contact Toll Transitions on 1800 819 167 to discuss the change in dates.

Online Services is a live site and the MCA available for selection may change at any time. During the peak posting months of October to January many members may be viewing the same properties as you. We recommend logging into Online Services regularly.

If you would like to be notified when new properties become available, you can indicate that you would like to receive notifications when more properties become available. This notification can be turned off or on at any time.

When you are viewing a home, select the ‘Reservation’ link. You will then have 30 minutes to either accept or decline your selection. A counter will be activated to indicate how much time you have left to make your decision. During this 30 minutes, the home will be removed from other members viewing. If you accept your selection, the MCA will be reserved to you. If you decline your selection the MCA will reappear on Online Services for other eligible members to view and reserve.

Your next step to secure the home you have selected is to submit your completed Application for Relocation (AFR) to Toll Transitions if you are eligible for a Commonwealth removal and have not already submitted it. If you are arranging your own removal, please complete the Notification of Housing (NOH) form. Submit completed forms in an Online Enquiry via Online Services.

You can share an MCA property with one other serving Defence member. Civilians cannot live in MCA properties.

Only one member needs to reserve the MCA property in Online Services.

This should be the member who is moving in first if occupying on different dates.

Once the property has been reserved, submit an enquiry via Online Services to advise the rank, name and Employee ID of the member you are sharing with.

If your sharing arrangements change during your tenancy, update the changes via ‘View/Update Tenancy Details’ on your dashboard in Online Services.

Some MCA allow pets to be kept at the property in accordance with local council regulations. All Strata/Body Corporate properties require pet approval before a member can occupy. The specific pet requirements are outlined against each property in Online Services.

Many MCA properties are not suitable for more than one or two animals and may also require DHA approval.

Where the requirements indicate `By Application - Strata', request approval by submitting an enquiry via Online Services. In these cases, approval is required from authorities such as the building's body corporate who may place restrictions on the size, type or number of animals allowed.

Some councils also have rules and regulations around pet ownership that may affect choosing and/or living in MCA.

Furniture rental allowance is not available for members who occupy MCA.

You can apply to have utility costs reimbursed if you are categorised as:

• A member who has unaccompanied resident family (URF) and/or recognised other persons. or
• A member with no resident family (MBR) and/or recognised other persons submariner.

The maximum benefit you can claim is advised in PACMAN Chapter 7 Part 10.

You can request a utility reimbursement via your dashboard or 'My Account' in Online Services.

Please note, only one bill can be submitted per request. If you have multiple utility bills to claim please submit separate requests for each. 

You cannot claim:

• Green energy
• Late fees
• Refundable deposits

You will be able to inspect the home you have selected on the day prior to your confirmed occupation date. The keys to the home will be made available to you on this day either from the property manager, or via lockbox details, depending on your welcome visit type.

A Welcome Visit occurs prior to you occupying your property. It is a requirement that the Defence member signs the Tenancy Agreement and Ingoing Condition report (ICR) upon acceptance of a property. Detailed below are the three different ways you can have a Welcome Visit.

Self-service welcome visit

Members who have occupied a DHA property in the past five years and attended a Welcome Visit, and who are moving in to a property which does not contain asbestos materials or is not heritage listed will have the option to conduct a Self-Service Welcome Visit.

This means you will not be contacted by DHA for a phone inspection nor will a DHA representative meet you at the property the day prior to your occupancy.

Those members who don't meet the above criteria will have a phone or on-site Welcome Visit with a DHA representative.

Details on how to gain access to the property will be provided to you by SMS the day prior to occupation. This information will also be available in your Online Services account.

Your Tenancy Agreement will be available for review once you have confirmed your selection of a MCA property. The Inspection Condition Report (ICR) will become available the day prior to your occupation.

You will be required to sign and upload your Tenancy Agreement, and acknowledge the ICR terms and conditions in Online Services prior to your occupancy. Please also ensure both the Service Member and Witness signatures have been completed before uploading in Online Services.

If you are eligible for a Self Service Welcome Visit, however would prefer to have a traditional inspection (i.e. a DHA Representative will contact you prior to occupancy to conduct a phone inspection or will conduct an on-site Welcome Visit), you can update your inspection preferences in Online Services.

Note: if your occupation is within the next seven days, and you wish to change your Welcome Visit preference, please contact us on 139 342 as you will be unable to update your preferences in Online Services.

Phone inspections

You will receive details of the time of the Welcome Visit phone inspection, to be conducted on the day prior to your occupation. You will need to be at the property for this call.

Details on how to gain access to the property will be provided to you by SMS the day of your phone inspection. This information will also be available in your Online Services Account.

Your Tenancy Agreement will be available for review once your phone inspection has been booked. The Inspection Condition Report will become available the day prior to your occupation.

You will be required to sign and upload your Tenancy Agreement and acknowledge the ICR terms and conditions in Online Services prior to your occupancy. Please also ensure both the Service Member and Witness signatures have been completed before uploading in Online Services.

During the Welcome Visit phone call, the Property Manager will:

• Discuss your rights and responsibilities as the occupant and explain DHA services
• Take you through the ICR, explaining the amenities and features of the home
• Ensure you have signed and returned your Tenancy Agreement and accepted your ICR

Please take the opportunity during the phone inspection to ask the Property Manager any questions about your new residence.

On-site inspections

Your Property Manager will meet you at the property to conduct an inspection with you.

During the inspection the Property Manager will:

• Discuss your rights and responsibilities as the occupant and explain DHA services
• Arrange for your Tenancy Agreement to be signed
• Take you through the ICR, explaining the amenities and features of the home and obtain acceptance of this
• Handover the property keys and remotes

Please take the opportunity during the inspection to ask the Property Manager any questions about your new residence.

No. Insurance does not cover any damage, injury or loss caused as a result of the goods being on the property.

If you are unable to attend a scheduled inspection at your property, you may appoint someone to attend on your behalf. Log into Online Services and go to ‘My Account’ then ‘Agents’. The agent will receive an email notification once created to accept or reject the request.

Your appointed agent will be able to:

• accept full responsibility for standard carpet cleaning expenses
• accept actual or potential non fair wear and tear tenant charges as detailed on the signed Inspection Condition Report (ICR)
• accept all aspects associated with return/acceptance of the property
• allow access to the property

Please note that your appointed agent cannot attend a welcome visit on your behalf. If you are unable to attend your welcome visit please contact us by submitting an enquiry via Online Services. If your welcome visit is within 72 hours, please contact us on 139 342.

If the removals contractor causes any damage to the residence or its surroundings, it must be recorded on the contractor's inventory form before they leave the property; you should also request a copy for yourself.

The damage must then be reported to Toll Transitions immediately on 1800 819 167 (who will issue you with a reference number). You are also required to advise DHA by submitting an enquiry via Online Services.

MCA contributions are calculated using Rent Allowance (RA) ceilings and contributions.

The rent ceiling is the maximum amount Defence pays towards your housing costs based on the property market in your housing benefit location.

The contribution rate is the minimum you pay towards your housing costs and is displayed in Online Services against the property you reserve.

PACMAN Chapter 7 Part 7 Division 2 and 3 explains how ceilings and contributions are calculated.

As with any rental property, your MCA property may have a rent increase or decrease during your lease term.

The increase could occur:

• on the anniversary of your move in date, based on market rent values, or
• after Defence reviews the rates for contributions and rent ceilings each year

We will advise you by email of any changes to the market rent of the property.

Your contributions will start from the date of occupation. Contributions are deducted fortnightly from your normal pay and DHA will arrange to have these deductions commenced.

Allow up to two pay periods for your contribution to commence deduction from your pay. If you have any questions about when Defence will deduct your MCA contributions, you can contact the Defence Customer Service Centre on 1800 DEFENCE – (1800 333 362).

To learn more about contributions, visit the ADF Pay and Conditions site.

If you are a member who has unaccompanied resident family (URF) and/or recognised other persons you are not required to make a contribution.

A member with no resident family (MBR) and no recognised other persons may not be required to pay rent contributions if deployed, posted to a seagoing ship or submarine, or if living under field conditions for longer than 21 days. Contributions will be automatically adjusted by Defence Pay. Please direct enquiries to Defence Customer Service Centre on 1800 DEFENCE – (1800 333 362).

Contact Toll Transitions on 1800 819 167 to discuss storage entitlement if you are deploying and do not intend to retain your MCA property.