Me again - more questions sorry.

[sueellen]

Hi all,

Well Ive been busy researching!! There certainly seems to be alot of benefits :thumbsup:

I was wondering if someone could clear up a little puzzlement of mine please.....

I understand that if you rent a private rental that the ADF provides rent allowance and depending on your rank etc I understand it's pretty much half of the rent you pay on the lease....

If you live in a DFA house.. whats the go there??, I assume you still pay them rent ... is it the same set up? Half of what the rent would be (ie what the market rent for the property would be)

My G/F whos husbands been in the army said if you can get a DFA house to go for it, as there is no bond to pay, pets are fine & theres no inpsections from real estate companies....

Any thoughts?
I appreciate Im getting a little ahead of myself, but I like to be informed :p

[EquineMum]

I cant answer on the Defence Housing, but I can say that RA (rent assistance) is no where near half the rent :no: It is a contribution, sure, but definitely not close to half. We have lived in RA for years and can never find anything within the ceiling limit.

[flukeas]

Both dh and I are navy we have a dha place we never did the ra thing
Atm we 'rent' a huge three bedroom townhouse for 150 a week most of our neighbours pay 650 plus it does work out better than ra if u can get it
There are ocassinal inspections but they give you heaps of notice pets are not an issue and they are much more relaxed than rentals
But the house you are entitled to depends on your partners rank the nu and age of your children and weather there are houses avalible they do expect kids to share rooms and you don't get a lot of choices in houses but you can get lucky ( we did!)

[Seacretsquirrel]

I agree get a DHA house if you can the rent depends on your DH's rank but it is WAAAAAY cheaper than renting esp in places like Darwin (WE have a 4 bed with ensuite and double lockup garage and pay $371 (or something close to that) per fortnight and across the road is a duplex 3 bed with carport and they are each being rented for $530 per week.

You have no bond which is great when you move the cleaning expectations are reasonable (spotless oven and bathrooms but the rest just has to be to a weekly clean standard).

We haven't had an inspection as yet in this house (been here 2.5 yrs) but have had realestate come through 3 times as this place was on the market but as a PP said you get heaps of notice.
Oh and the sex of your kids matters too - ie they don't expect kids of diff genders to share after a certain age (not quite sure what that is) or if there is a big age gap.

[ethansmum08]

my partner just went for his elistment date is it hard gettin a dha house we have a 2 yr old and ttc #2 so ill probs be pregnant once he is posted somewhere??

i really need some anwsers is it hard 2 be away for that long????\

help me!!

[PurpleLeaves]

I used to work for defence housing in Vic/Tas.... the properties are def. much below market rate, the rent's deducted from your pay & they're pretty good about sending tradies around when things need fixing. And yes the inspections are no big deal. Each property has a property manager, they give you heaps of time before coming over, they're more there for you to call with issues.
The down side is the newer houses are crap. I mean CRAP! They're built in 3 weeks, seriously, so the foundations haven't settled and windows and doors warp, etc. They're done on the cheap and are depressingly samey. BUT if you can find an older one, bought by Defence rather than built by Defence, you could be on a winner. Good luck :)

[sueellen]

Oh!! what would I do without you all :-)
Thank you so much for your time replying..
I understand more on how it all works now...

:p
Cheers
Sue-Ellen

[LouEllen]

It's a complex system of entitlements, but to explain it as simply as I can:

Married quarter rent (called "member contributions") are based on a "group rank entitlement" or GRE. The serving member's rank determines the GRE, and hence the "member contribution", no matter where you are posted. Simplistically, the rates are below:
Rank (ARA equiv)
GRE
$ per f/n
CPL & below
RB1
$197.84
SGT, SSGT, LT & 2LT
RB1
$197.84
WO1, WO2, CAPT
RB2
$224.58
MAJ, LTCOL
RB3
$250.49
BRIG, COL
RB4
$311.32


The only exception to this is if you choose to occupy a house above your GRE - that is if you are entitled to an RB1 house, but choose to live in an RB2 house, then you will pay RB2 rent.

There is heaps more info on the DHA website:
http://www.dha.gov.au/policies/member-entitlement.html

[Uh-Oh]

Hi all,

Just to add one more thing, should you be entitled to DHA accomodation you may be required live in it.

my DH was in the Navy in Darwin, we were receiving RA (which was a good amount but did no cover the whole amount of rent - in regards to bond monies you can actually receive bond from DHA in advance with the money dedcuted each fortnight from partners wage) - once the lease came up for renewal and a application resubmitted to DHA for an increase in our RA we were advised that as there was so many DHA properties avilable in DH's ranking level whcih were available to us within the posting locality we were not entitled to RA. (and were given the list of houses available to use - literally ober 50!)

We could:
1) move into a DHA property
2) continue to rent privately but rental assistance would cease.

As PP have said the rent paid for a dha property is substainally less, and as if comes out of members pay you need not worry about paying it once his wage hits your bank account :-)

[April77]

I cant answer on the Defence Housing, but I can say that RA (rent assistance) is no where near half the rent :no: It is a contribution, sure, but definitely not close to half. We have lived in RA for years and can never find anything within the ceiling limit.

HI. :wave: I have just ventured out from the safety of the one thread I usually chat in (time more than anything) but thought I would have a look if there were other defence spouses chatting. When I saw this discussion I was amazed as it is exactly something I have been thinking about a lot lately. We are posted to Canberra late this year (RAAF - DH going to ADFA) and are entitled to a 5 bedroom. Some people have told me that there are not many of them and we may have to rent privately. I had a look at how much they were and saw that the difference between the ceiling for a 5 bedroom in the ACT and what they are actually renting is HUGE. How can this be? I thought the rents were worked out on the average cost for the area? According to the information you only get 10% more for each bedroom you are entitled to over the standard 3 bedroom. This certainly does not equate to actual rents, well not in Canberra anyway!

Also, anyone living in married quarters on Duntroon? I am told this may be an option for us.

[LouEllen]

Hi April77,

When you look at housing in Canberra, make sure you also check Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra. You might find something suitable out that way, and it's not too far for DH to go to ADFA.

I haven't lived on Duntroon myself, I lived for 3 years in Campbell, and another 3 in Gungahlin. Whilst we were posted to Canberra I used a family day carer who lived in the married patch on Duntroon. The house was a 3br townhouse, which shared a common driveway with 4 other townhouses. It was quite new and relatively spacious, but the backyard was quite small, and it is certainly a medium-density housing area.

The "pro's" for living on Duntroon would have to be the proximity to base amenities, such as parks, playgrounds, playgroups, community facilities, the pool, canteen, Defcredit, hairdresser, etc. The community centre there is very active and has lots to offer. Duntroon is also very centrally located in Canberra, and if your DH is studying at ADFA, he would be able to pop home when he hasn't got a class on.

As for "con's", it is medium-density housing, and you are a fair way from the nearest supermarket. The Campbell shops are close for a litre of milk and a loaf of bread, but for a supermarket, you would need to go to Civic, Queanbeyan or perhaps Dickson.

Good luck!

[ethansmum08]

just a question whats the pay like when my dp goes 2 kapooka with a child plus i dont work!?? how does it all work

[emma2938]

hi,
check out this link..

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/army/PayAndBenefits/payDetails.aspx

It tells you that while at recruit training at Kapooka he will earn about $30,000 per year. So break that down to fortnightly and you will know how much you get. You get paid fortnightly in the defence (every second thrusday)

However be aware that when my DH joined it took them about 4 weeks to sort out all the 'paperwork' side fo things and for the money to get into his account, so make sure before he leaves you have enough money to get by for a few weeks.

Also, you may not be able to have any contact with him at all for the first few weeks, so make sure you know everything you need to!:)

Hope this helps.

[April77]

Thanks for the advice LouEllen:).

[ethansmum08]

im so scared 2 let him go ive just cried for the last daay/night cant eat bcause i want to throw up

[April77]

im so scared 2 let him go ive just cried for the last daay/night cant eat bcause i want to throw up

I really feel for you as it is a very hard thing to be left on your own with a child or children. Let me tell you, it does get easier. Well rather that you learn what you need to do in order to survive. I think it has to be a very strong partnership to survive being seperate for long stretches and you will need a good support network. Some people cannot do it. My DH is in the RAAF and we haven't done any huge separations (a few weeks quite often and some over a month) but in a few months he will be going to OTS for 4 months and this will be our longest. We've got 4 kids ranging from 6 down to 3 months and I think that they are going to keep me so busy, dealing with every aspect of their lives on my own that the time will fly by (I hope).

I really wish you the best. I'm sure there are others here who deal with long separations more frequently than I do who may be of more help.

[MumtoSeb]

just a question whats the pay like when my dp goes 2 kapooka with a child plus i dont work!?? how does it all work


My husband is going RAAF and goes to Wagga in Sep. I have found out that as we have dependents you are entiltiled to a dependence trainee allowance which is about $8000py. Your hubby will need to get info for this once he gets to recurits. also i was informed that while he is at recurits and if you are renting you will be entiltied to some form of rent assistance from Defence - i am sure it is the same over the different defence forces.

If you get a chance look at some of the defence websites and pacman to find out all your entiltiments as i have been told by a few people that unless YOU fill out the paperwork and find out what you are entilted too you might miss out.

HTH :)

[MumtoSeb]

im so scared 2 let him go ive just cried for the last daay/night cant eat bcause i want to throw up


I am also getting a little overwhelmed by DH going as when he goes our DD will only be 5mths and DS is 2 but such a Daddys boy so i know he will find the seperation hard.

I just tell myself that it is going to be harder on him then us and it is only 10 weeks and we will be with him before we know it!