First home buyer in Australia: schemes, grants and costs (2026)

The 5% Deposit Scheme

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, formerly known as the Home Guarantee Scheme, is run by Housing Australia¹. It is open to first home buyers with a minimum 5% deposit, and single parents or legal guardians with a minimum 2% deposit¹. Housing Australia says that from 1 October 2025 the Scheme has had no income caps, no waitlists and no lenders mortgage insurance, and that it has helped over 320,000 Australians since it began in 2020¹.

It works through a guarantee, not a payment. Housing Australia guarantees part of the loan, up to 15% of the property value, so you can borrow up to 95% of the property value without LMI². The Information Guide is plain that the guarantee protects the lender, not you, and is not a cash payment or a deposit².

• Who: Australian citizens or permanent residents aged 18 or over, applying alone or as two joint applicants².
• Deposit: at least 5% of the property value but less than 20%².
• Ownership: a first home buyer, or not have owned a property in Australia in the last 10 years².
• The loan: principal and interest repayments, with a term of up to 30 years (plus up to 3 years to build a new home)².
• Living there: an owner-occupier who moves in within 6 months of settlement, and keeps living there; otherwise LMI may become payable¹².
• How to apply: only through a Participating Lender. Once pre-approved, you have 90 days to find a home and sign a contract¹.

5% Deposit Scheme price caps

The home must sit under a price cap for its area. Housing Australia says both the purchase price and the home's value as assessed by the lender must stay at or below the cap³. These are the caps in the Information Guide dated 1 July 2026²³:

Good to know: The regional centres that take the capital city cap are the NSW Central Coast, Coffs Harbour and Grafton, the Illawarra, the Mid North Coast, Richmond and Tweed, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie; Geelong in Victoria; and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland³. Housing Australia's online tool checks the cap for a postcode¹.

The First Home Super Saver scheme

The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme, run by the ATO, lets you make voluntary contributions to your super and later withdraw them, with earnings, to buy your first home⁴. The ATO says you can contribute a maximum of $15,000 in any one financial year, up to $50,000 across all years⁴.

You can withdraw 100% of the voluntary contributions you did not claim a tax deduction for, and 85% of those you did, plus associated earnings⁴. Those earnings are a notional amount worked out at the shortfall interest charge rate, not your fund's actual return⁵. Deducted contributions are taxed at 15% in the fund, and the released amounts get a 30% FHSS tax offset⁴.

• You must be 18 or older when you request an FHSS determination⁶.
• You must never have owned property in Australia, including an investment property or vacant land, unless the ATO decides you have suffered a financial hardship⁶.
• Eligibility is assessed person by person, so couples, siblings or friends can each use their own FHSS savings towards the same property⁶.
• You must request an FHSS determination before ownership of any property transfers to you⁵.
• The ATO says you do not need to be an Australian citizen or an Australian resident for tax purposes to use the scheme⁴.

First home owner grants and stamp duty, state by state

Each state and territory runs its own grant and its own stamp duty concession, and they can usually be claimed together. Most grants are only for a new home. Stamp duty help reaches established homes in some states but not others. The table summarises the rules on each revenue office's page on 4 October 2026; the detail follows.

New South Wales

Grant. Revenue NSW pays a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant for a newly built, off the plan or substantially renovated home. It is not available for established homes⁸. The purchase price must not exceed $600,000, or $750,000 for land plus a building contract⁸. For contracts signed from 1 July 2023 you must move in within 12 months and live there for 12 continuous months⁸.

Stamp duty. Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, from 1 July 2023 there is a full transfer duty exemption for a new or existing home valued up to $800,000, and a concessional rate for homes over $800,000 and under $1,000,000⁷. For vacant land the exemption runs to $350,000, with a concession up to $450,000⁷. At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and you must move in within 12 months and live there for 12 continuous months⁷.

Victoria

Grant. The State Revenue Office pays a $10,000 First Home Owner Grant to buy or build a new home valued up to $750,000⁹.

Stamp duty. For a home valued up to $600,000 you pay no duty, and from $600,001 to $750,000 you pay a reduced amount¹⁰. It applies to new or established homes and to vacant land for building your first home¹⁰. At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and you must live there for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement¹⁰.

Queensland

Grant. The Queensland Revenue Office pays $30,000 for contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023 to buy or build a new home, which must be valued under $750,000 including land¹¹. You must move in within 1 year and live there continuously for 6 months¹¹.

Stamp duty on a new home. For contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later, the first home (new home) concession reduces transfer duty to nil, and there is no value cap on the home¹³.

Stamp duty on an established home. The first home concession applies to homes valued under $800,000 and can save up to $24,525. For agreements from 9 June 2024, a home valued at $700,000 or under pays no duty¹². You must move in within 1 year of settlement¹².

Western Australia

Grant. The WA first home owner grant is a one-off payment of up to $10,000 for buying or building a first new home, with no income or assets test¹⁴. For transactions from 7 May 2026 the total value cap is $800,000 south of the 26th parallel (which includes all of Perth) and $1,000,000 north of it¹⁴. You must live in the home for at least six continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion¹⁴.

Stamp duty. The first home owner rate of duty applies to new and established homes. For agreements on or after 7 May 2026, no duty is payable up to $600,000, and between $600,001 and $800,000 duty is charged at $16.15 for every $100 above $600,000¹⁵. The rate depends on the date the agreement is signed, not the settlement date¹⁵.

South Australia

Grant. RevenueSA pays a one-off grant of up to $15,000 to buy or build a new home, including off the plan apartments and substantially renovated homes¹⁶. For contracts from 6 June 2024 no property value cap applies¹⁷. For contracts from 13 February 2025, you are not eligible if you or your spouse or domestic partner has ever owned Australian residential property¹⁶. You must live there for at least 6 continuous months starting within 12 months¹⁶.

Stamp duty. For contracts from 13 February 2025, full stamp duty relief is available on a new home, an off the plan apartment, or vacant land to build on, regardless of the property value¹⁸. Relief does not cover the foreign ownership surcharge¹⁸. It does not apply to established homes.

Tasmania

Grant. The State Revenue Office of Tasmania lists a first home owner grant of $20,000 for transactions that start between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, for a new home¹⁹. Building completion conditions apply to the higher grant amounts, and you must live in the home for at least six continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion¹⁹.

Stamp duty. The exemption for first home buyers of established homes valued at $750,000 or less covered settlements from 18 February 2024 to 30 June 2026. The SRO says it is not available for transactions settling after 30 June 2026²⁰.

Australian Capital Territory

Grant. First home owner grant payments ceased in the ACT on 1 July 2019²².

Stamp duty. The ACT's help comes through the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. The ACT Revenue Office says that from 1 July 2026, eligible buyers are exempt from conveyance duty, with no income threshold and no property value limit²¹. It is not limited to first home buyers: since 1 July 2024 all buyers and their partners must not have owned any property in the previous 5 years, and you must live in the home for at least one year, moving in within a year of settlement²¹.

Northern Territory

Grant. The HomeGrown Territory Grant pays $50,000 to first home buyers who buy or build a new home, and it replaces the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant²³. There is no cap on the price. The contract must be signed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2027, and you must live in the home for at least 12 months²³.

Stamp duty. The NT Government's home owner assistance pages list no stamp duty concession specific to first home buyers. Its House and Land Package Exemption removes stamp duty on a house and land package bought from a building contractor under a contract signed between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2027, with no means test and no value cap²⁴.

The upfront costs to budget for

Moneysmart sets a savings goal of 20% of the purchase price plus enough to cover buying costs, because a 20% deposit avoids lenders mortgage insurance²⁵. Some lenders accept as little as 5%, but a smaller deposit can mean higher costs such as LMI²⁶. If the loan is more than 80% of the property's value, you may need to pay LMI, a one-off charge that protects the lender, paid at settlement or added to the loan²⁶.

• The deposit. At auction, Moneysmart's example is 10% of the price paid immediately, with no cooling-off period²⁵.
• Stamp duty, unless an exemption applies. Moneysmart says it is typically paid within 30 days of settlement²⁵.
• A solicitor or conveyancer to review the contract and handle settlement²⁵. See what a conveyancer costs.
• Building and pest inspections²⁵.
• Home insurance, which may be a condition of the loan²⁵.
• Government fees to register the transfer and the mortgage on the title¹⁶. The refinancing guide lists each state's mortgage registration fee.
• LMI, if you borrow more than 80% and are not covered by the 5% Deposit Scheme²⁶.

Good to know: No official source publishes typical costs for conveyancing, inspections or lender fees, so FIZO does not quote them. Moneysmart also suggests checking the loan still works if interest rates rise by 2%²⁵.

What a mortgage broker does

A mortgage broker deals with banks and other lenders to arrange a home loan. Moneysmart says mortgage brokers must act in your best interests when suggesting a loan for you²⁷, a duty that has applied since 1 January 2021 under ASIC's best interests obligations²⁸.

Moneysmart says a broker can work out what you can afford to borrow, find loan options, explain each loan and its costs, and help you apply and manage the process through to settlement²⁷. For first home buyers that can include checking which lenders take part in the 5% Deposit Scheme: Housing Australia's Information Guide recognises third-party brokers authorised by a Participating Lender². In SA, the lender lodges the grant application in most cases, and in the NT the grant is paid to the lender¹⁶²³.

Lenders generally pay brokers a commission, so you do not pay them directly, and brokers must tell you about the commissions they may receive. If a broker charges you a fee, you must sign a written quote first²⁷. For more, read how mortgage brokers are paid. Moneysmart suggests checking a broker's licence on ASIC's Professional Registers Search²⁷. FIZO checks the mortgage brokers it lists against ASIC's registers and shows a verified badge on each one that matches.