First Home Buyer Grants

Federal: Home Guarantee Scheme

Covered in detail in our Home Guarantee Scheme guide. Federally available, lets eligible FHBs buy with 5% deposit (or 2% for single parents) without paying LMI, subject to property price caps by region.

State First Home Owner Grants (FHOG)

FHOG is a one-off cash payment for buyers of new homes (or substantially renovated). Amount and eligibility differ by state. Current values (subject to change, check your state revenue office):

• NSW, $10,000 for new homes ≤$600K (or land + build ≤$750K)
• VIC, $10,000 for new homes ≤$750K
• QLD, $30,000 for new homes (the boost was due to expire 30 June 2026 but has been extended and continues for contracts signed from 1 July 2026 onward)
• WA, $10,000 for new builds ≤$750K (south of 26th parallel)
• SA, $15,000 for new homes ≤$650K
• TAS, $20,000 for new builds (1 Jul 2026 to 30 Jun 2027, no price cap; established-home duty exemption ended 30 Jun 2026)
• ACT, concession-only, no cash grant since 2019
• NT, $10,000 for new builds + free stamp duty for FHBs

Stamp duty concessions (the bigger savings)

Stamp duty concessions for first-home buyers usually save more than the FHOG cash payment. NSW: full exemption ≤$800K (existing), full exemption ≤$1M (new). VIC: full exemption ≤$600K, sliding scale to $750K. QLD: full exemption ≤$700K (rising to $800K from 2026). WA: full exemption ≤$450K, sliding to $600K. Worth confirming current settings on your state revenue office website at the time of purchase.

State government low-deposit lenders

Separately from the FHOG cash payments and the federal Home Guarantee Scheme above, South Australia and Western Australia each run their own state government home lending body outside the mainstream bank panel. HomeStart Finance (SA) offers low-deposit loans from 2% to 5% deposit with no LMI. Keystart (WA) offers a similar low-deposit path, from 2% deposit with no LMI. Both assess eligibility and income differently to a bank, so check their own sites for current criteria.

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