HPSEA: Plan Your Sale and Purchase Costs

By Bradley Burns, Founder & Principal Broker · Reviewed 10 September 2026

A posting can leave you coordinating a sale, a purchase and several bills at once. The Home Purchase or Sale Expenses Allowance (HPSEA) may reimburse eligible transaction expenses. A useful plan shows what you must pay, when it is due and which amounts Defence has confirmed.

Start with your posting and previous claims

HPSEA follows a posting-related sale and purchase cycle. Earlier HPAS or HPSEA assistance matters, although you do not have to sell and buy at every posting. An official posting order is required; informal advice about your next location is insufficient. Ask Defence to review the cycle and eligibility rules against your history.

Prepare a short record of the homes you have bought or sold, the relevant postings and the benefits paid. Include a property you kept through an earlier move. This gives the claims team a clearer starting point than a list of your current expenses alone.

Put the contract dates on one timeline

The usual contract windows are two years for a sale and four years for a purchase after the relevant posting order. A purchase contract signed before that order is ineligible. Remaining service and location conditions also apply. Check your dates against the current HPSEA guide before signing.

Record the posting-order date, proposed contract dates, settlement dates and intended move. Ask Defence which deadline applies to each transaction. Construction, returning to a previous location and leaving continuous full-time service have additional provisions; some posting locations also change the usual time limits.

Sort expenses before adding them to a claim

Potentially eligible costs include legal or conveyancing fees, certain duties, sale agent costs and purchase inspections. Full reimbursement is not assured. Staging, cleaning, improvements and routine ownership costs are excluded. HPSEA purchase expenses are unavailable for a home that received HPAS. Use Defence’s cost lists and exclusions to check each item.

Create an expense register with the supplier, quoted amount, due date, amount paid and claim status. Keep uncertain items visible in your total budget until Defence confirms their treatment. A bundled invoice is worth clarifying with the supplier so each charge can be identified.

Plan for the period before reimbursement

Separate the contract deposit, settlement shortfall and later expenses. Your conveyancer can help identify the settlement figures; your broker can discuss the loan amount and lending requirements. If you are also selling, record when the net sale proceeds should become available.

• Cash available now: identify savings you can use while retaining a buffer for the move.
• Money due before settlement: allow for the deposit, inspections and other early invoices.
• Money due at settlement: account for purchase costs, the loan contribution and sale proceeds without counting any amount twice.
• Assistance awaiting payment: record it separately until approval and timing are confirmed.

If the plan depends on reimbursement arriving by a particular day, raise that gap before committing. Do the same if a delayed sale would leave you covering two properties.

Keep a complete claim folder

The application uses form AC970 through Defence’s process. Keep posting orders, signed contracts, settlement records, relevant payout statements and itemised receipts together. Follow the application instructions and confirm the evidence required for your claim.

For the wider scheme picture, read our Defence benefit comparison. If you also use DHOAS, check its loan and occupancy requirements before changing your property arrangements.

Sources reviewed 10 September 2026. Defence decides HPSEA claims; this planning checklist does not establish entitlement or payment timing.