Last updated: 20 January 2026. Rules change fast. I’ve linked the official pages inside the guide so you can double-check anything that matters before you sign your life away.
Disclaimer: This is general information for Australians. It’s not personal financial, tax, or legal advice. Consider getting advice from a licensed financial adviser and a registered tax agent before acting.
The 10-second summary
Australia has 3 big buckets of help for first home buyers:
- Stamp duty help (mostly state-based)
- Cash grants for new builds (mostly FHOG)
- Deposit or equity help (federal Home Guarantee Scheme, federal Help to Buy, and a handful of state shared equity programs)
The trap is simple: people obsess over the “free money”, then ignore the boring part: borrowing capacity, cash flow, and the 10-year plan. If you want your first place to make you wealthier, not just housed, your numbers have to be rock solid.
Compare schemes quickly
This table is your “what exists, where, and the headline thresholds” cheat sheet. I’m keeping it simple on purpose. Details and edge cases are in the sections below.
| State/Territory | Stamp duty relief (first home buyers) | Grant for new homes (FHOG or equivalent) | State shared equity | Official starting point |
| NSW | $0 duty up to $800,000, sliding concession to $1,000,000 (land $350,000 to $450,000) | $10,000 (new homes), $600,000 purchase cap, $750,000 land+build cap | None (state-run) | NSW first home buyer help |
| VIC | $0 duty up to $600,000, concession to $750,000 | $10,000 (new homes) up to $750,000 | None (state-run) | VIC first home buyer duty help |
| QLD | Established homes: $0 duty up to $700,000, concession to $800,000. New builds: full concession from 1 May 2025 | $30,000 (new homes) up to $750,000 (until 30 June 2026) | Boost to Buy (shared equity) | QLD transfer duty concessions |
| SA | New homes / vacant land: full stamp duty relief (no price cap for many contract dates) | $15,000 (new homes) up to $650,000 | HomeStart Shared Equity Option | SA first home buyer hub |
| WA | Home: $0 duty up to $500,000, concessional up to $700,000 (metro/Peel) or $750,000 (outside). Land: $0 up to $350,000, concessional up to $450,000 | $10,000 (new homes), cap $750,000 south of 26th parallel, $1,000,000 north | Keystart Urban Connect (shared equity) | WA first home owner rate |
| TAS | Established homes: $0 duty up to $750,000 (until 30 June 2026) | $30,000 (new builds), capped, time-limited | MyHome shared equity | TAS first home buyers |
| ACT | Home Buyer Concession Scheme (duty concession, thresholds apply) | No ACT FHOG | None (state-run) | ACT home buyer concession |
| NT | Territory grant(s) and stamp duty support vary by date | HomeGrown Territory Grant (new builds) | None (state-run) | NT HomeGrown Territory Grant |
Figures above were checked against official sources on 20 Jan 2026. (NSW Government)
Start with the federal schemes (because they change your deposit math)
1) Home Guarantee Scheme: buy with a smaller deposit (and avoid LMI)
The Home Guarantee Scheme is the big one. It’s run by Housing Australia and delivered through participating lenders.
In plain English: it lets eligible buyers purchase with a smaller deposit because the government guarantees part of the loan, which can reduce or eliminate lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI). That’s not “free money”, but it can save you tens of thousands upfront, and it can pull your timeline forward by years.
Official page: Home Guarantee Scheme (Housing Australia)
The annoying bit (and the bit that matters): property price caps. They’re different by state and location, and they change. Use Housing Australia’s postcode tool, then confirm with your lender before you commit.
A smart move for NSW buyers: work backwards from the cap. If you keep shopping above the cap, you’re basically shopping without the scheme, even if you technically “qualify”.
2) Help to Buy: shared equity, smaller loan, but you share the upside
Help to Buy is a federal shared equity scheme. Instead of just helping with your deposit, the government takes an equity stake (up to 40% for new homes and up to 30% for existing, depending on the scheme rules), which reduces your required loan.
The trade-off is obvious: you don’t get that equity for free. When you sell, or when you buy the government out, you’re effectively handing back a share of the growth.
If you like the idea, treat it like a partnership you actually understand, not a loophole you heard about on TikTok.
Official info: Help to Buy price caps (Australian Government)
3) First Home Super Saver (FHSS): super as a deposit tool, if you do it properly
FHSS lets you save for a deposit inside super and withdraw eligible contributions and earnings later. It can be very effective if you’re paying high marginal tax rates, because super tax rates are often lower than your personal tax rate.
It’s also easy to mess up if you don’t understand contribution limits, timing, and paperwork.
Official rules: First Home Super Saver Scheme (ATO)
If you’re already doing the basics, FHSS often pairs well with “boring but powerful” tax planning moves like extra concessional super contributions and tightening up how you reduce taxable income legally.
State by state: what you can actually use
This is Australia-wide, but I’m going to lean slightly NSW-first because that’s where most readers will be.
NSW: big stamp duty savings, small grant, strict caps
If you’re in NSW, the main lever is stamp duty.
The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme can mean $0 stamp duty on eligible purchases up to $800,000, with a sliding concession up to $1,000,000. Vacant land has its own thresholds ($350,000 for full exemption and $450,000 for a concession). Start here: First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (NSW)
The NSW First Home Owner Grant is $10,000, and it’s only for new builds (or substantially renovated) with a $600,000 purchase cap or a $750,000 land+build cap. Official details: NSW First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant (NSW Government)
NSW takeaway: the duty savings can be massive, but the grant is small, and the caps are the whole game.
VIC: duty help is strong, grant is smaller and for new builds only
Victoria’s duty help is straightforward: pay no duty up to $600,000, and a reduced amount up to $750,000 if you’re eligible. Official rules: VIC first home buyer duty exemption or concession (State Revenue Office)
The Victorian FHOG is $10,000 for new homes, up to $750,000. Official rules: VIC First Home Owner Grant
VIC takeaway: if you’re buying under the thresholds, duty help is real. Don’t expect a giant grant to do the heavy lifting.
QLD: big grant (for now), stamp duty wins for both established and new
Queensland is generous right now.
On established homes, the first home concession applies under $800,000, and it’s $0 duty up to $700,000. On new builds, there’s a full concession from 1 May 2025 that can reduce duty to nil. Start here: QLD transfer duty concessions
On the grant side, QLD has a $30,000 First Home Owner Grant for eligible new homes valued under $750,000, and it’s currently extended until 30 June 2026. Official rules: QLD First Home Owner Grant (aplacetocallhome.initiatives.qld.gov.au)
Shared equity option: Boost to Buy. The Queensland Government contributes equity (headline figures have been 30% for new homes and 25% for existing, with a 2% deposit), but you’ll want to read the current eligibility and rollout details carefully because shared equity programs often have income and price rules. Start here: Boost to Buy scheme update (QLD Government)
QLD takeaway: you can stack meaningful upfront help, but don’t let a grant trick you into buying something your future self will hate paying for.
SA: stamp duty relief is the headline, grant helps new builds, plus shared equity
South Australia’s stamp duty relief for eligible first home buyers is aimed at new homes and vacant land. For contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024, full relief can apply with no property value cap, but the dates matter. Start here: RevenueSA first home buyer hub (revenuesa.sa.gov.au)
The SA First Home Owner Grant is $15,000 for eligible new homes, with a property value cap of $650,000. Official rules: SA First Home Owner Grant
Shared equity option: the HomeStart Shared Equity Option can reduce the size of your loan by combining a smaller deposit with shared ownership, but you’ll still want to treat it like a serious long-term structure, not a hack. Overview: HomeStart Shared Equity Option
SA takeaway: it’s attractive if you’re building or buying new. Established homes are a different story.
WA: upgraded duty thresholds, solid rules, and a Keystart shared equity pathway
WA’s first home owner rate has been boosted. If you’re buying a home, no duty is payable up to $500,000, with concessional duty up to $700,000 (Perth metro and Peel) or $750,000 (outside). Vacant land is $0 duty up to $350,000, with concessions up to $450,000. Official detail: WA first home owner rate thresholds (Western Australian Government)
The WA FHOG is $10,000 for eligible new homes, with a value cap that depends on location ($750,000 south of the 26th parallel and $1,000,000 north). Official detail: WA First Home Owner Grant
Shared equity option: Keystart’s Urban Connect shared equity program is designed to help more buyers get in with a smaller deposit. Start here: Keystart Urban Connect
WA takeaway: thresholds are better than they used to be, but the eligibility detail matters, especially if you’re buying outside metro.
TAS: massive duty relief on existing homes (time-limited), plus grants and shared equity
Tasmania has one of the clearest “buy an established home and save duty” offers right now: eligible first home buyers can pay no duty on established homes with a dutiable value of $750,000 or less, for eligible dates (currently running until 30 June 2026). Official hub: SRO Tasmania first home buyers (Premier of Tasmania)
Tasmania also has a First Home Owner Grant for new builds (time-limited and capped). Start here for the current settings: Tasmania First Home Owner Grant eligibility (sro.tas.gov.au)
Shared equity option: MyHome shared equity sits inside the Tasmanian concessions site. Start here: MyHome shared equity (Tas)
TAS takeaway: the duty relief is the big headline for established homes, but don’t fall in love with dates. Get the timing right.
ACT: it’s mostly stamp duty help through the concession scheme
The ACT doesn’t run a standard FHOG like some states. The main lever is the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, which can reduce or remove duty depending on eligibility and thresholds. Official page: ACT Home Buyer Concession Scheme
ACT takeaway: the scheme can be meaningful, but your eligibility will depend heavily on your household income and the property value thresholds.
NT: big grants exist, but dates and eligibility are everything
The NT has a HomeGrown Territory Grant for eligible buyers building or buying a new home, and the details are date-based. Start here: NT HomeGrown Territory Grant
NT takeaway: don’t rely on hearsay. NT schemes shift, and the “what counts” definitions matter.
The money plan: how to use schemes without becoming house-poor
This is where most first home buyer content gets fluffy. So let’s be blunt.
1) Your deposit is not the point. Your cash flow is.
You can “get in” with 5% (or sometimes less with shared equity), but if your cash flow is tight, you’ll just be house-poor with a better Instagram story.
Before you commit, run a boring, brutal mortgage scenario using our mortgage repayment calculator.
Here’s the stress test: if rates were 2% higher than today, could you still sleep at night without smashing your lifestyle, investing, or emergency buffer?
If the answer is no, that price point is too high. It’s not personal. It’s maths.
2) Know what your “real deposit” is
Most buyers fixate on the deposit and forget the other upfront costs. Even if a scheme saves you stamp duty, you still need liquidity for the stuff that doesn’t care about government programs.
Think conveyancing, inspections, lender fees, moving costs, and an emergency buffer that isn’t fake.
If you want a simple behavioural win, set your savings cadence first, then automate it. Use our investing frequency calculator as a proxy for “what happens if I consistently put $X aside each pay”.
3) Avoiding LMI is nice. Overpaying for the property is not.
The Home Guarantee Scheme can save you LMI. Great.
But don’t let “I saved $18,000 of LMI” justify paying $80,000 more for the property. That’s like skipping dessert and ordering a second dinner.
4) Don’t buy your first home and stop investing
A first home can be a wealth accelerant, but only if you keep investing.
If you’re torn between investing and paying down the mortgage, read Should I invest or pay off my mortgage? and then run the “future you” scenario using our compound interest calculator.
For a simple, low-drama investing philosophy, start with index fund investing in Australia and sanity-check your expectations with long-term investment returns.
5) Debt recycling can be a cheat code, but only if you understand it
If you’ve got the right setup, debt recycling can turn “dead” home loan interest into deductible investment interest.
Start with What is debt recycling? and the deeper guide Debt recycling investment property.
Important: debt recycling is strategy, not a vibe. If you don’t understand the mechanics, don’t do it.
6) Rentvesting is not a failure. It’s a tactic.
If buying where you want to live is brutal (hello, Sydney), rentvesting can be the more intelligent move: rent where you want to live, invest where the numbers work.
The key is having a system so the cash flow doesn’t leak. A simple start is the bank account budgeting system.
7) Use the “first home moment” to fix your whole financial structure
Buying a home forces decisions. Use that pressure for something useful.
If you’re a high-income earner, you can often improve outcomes by getting serious about tax-efficient investing and understanding how different investment structures affect tax.
If you’re thinking “maybe I’ll buy the next property in a trust”, slow down. A trust can be powerful for investing, but your principal place of residence has unique tax rules. Start with the basics first: how to set up a trust in Australia.
Also, most tax “wins” happen from the unsexy stuff. Here’s a clean read: how to save tax in Australia and ATO tax mistakes to avoid.
If you’re receiving equity comp like RSUs, your “first home deposit plan” and your “tax plan” should be talking to each other. Start here: RSU tax in Australia.
And yes, if you’re building wealth, you eventually need to think beyond the first home. That includes estate planning. Here’s a practical starter: estate planning checklist.
8) Use a simple order of operations (so you don’t miss the obvious)
This is the sequence that keeps people out of trouble:
- Pick the scheme you’re trying to use and confirm you’re under the caps.
- Confirm your borrowing capacity, then ignore it and set your own lower limit.
- Model repayments with a rate buffer using the mortgage repayment calculator.
- Lock in your emergency buffer first.
- Decide how you’ll keep investing after settlement (even if it’s small).
- Only then go shopping.
If you reverse that order, you’ll “win” a house and lose your financial freedom.
If you want to sanity-check what “financial freedom” even means for you, use the Smart Money Freedom Number calculator. It’s a great reality check, even if you’re years away.
Eligibility traps that catch smart people (weekly)
Most schemes sound simple until you hit the fine print. These are the common “wait, what?” moments.
Your partner can kill your eligibility. In a lot of schemes, it’s not just you. If your spouse or partner has previously owned property, or previously received a grant, you can lose eligibility even if you’ve never owned a thing.
You usually need to move in and actually live there. Many programs require you to occupy the property as your principal place of residence within a set timeframe, and stay for a minimum period. If you’re buying with a plan to “move in later” or “rent it out first”, assume you’re heading for disappointment unless the rules clearly allow it.
Dates matter. Several concessions hinge on contract date. If you’re building, the relevant date can be the land contract, the building contract, or both. Don’t sign anything until your conveyancer or broker has confirmed how the scheme treats your setup.
New vs established changes everything. Grants are usually for new builds. Stamp duty concessions can apply to either, depending on the state. If you’re choosing between new and established, don’t just chase the grant. A build that blows out by 9 months can chew up your buffer faster than any $10,000 cheque will save you.
How to stack schemes without making it messy
A clean stack is the one where each piece solves a different problem.
If you’re a NSW buyer, the most common stack looks like this:
You use the NSW stamp duty relief to reduce upfront costs, you use the Home Guarantee Scheme to reduce the deposit required and potentially avoid LMI, and you use FHSS to build the deposit tax-effectively.
The dangerous version is when you try to stack schemes to stretch into a property you can’t afford.
If the only way you can buy the place is “5% deposit, max borrowing power, zero buffer, and I’m counting on future pay rises”, that’s not a plan. It’s a prayer.
New build vs established: the real trade-off
A lot of schemes push buyers toward new builds because that’s where the grants sit.
That can be fine. It can also be a problem.
New builds can mean better depreciation and lower maintenance early. They can also mean builder risk, variations, delays, and “why is everything an upgrade?” budget creep.
Established homes can be more predictable, but your ongoing costs can be higher and the renovation rabbit hole is real.
The smart move is to model both options as a 5-year cash flow plan. If you can’t explain why one option wins on cash flow, not just vibes, you’re not ready to choose.
Mortgage structure matters more than most people think
Two common mistakes:
People don’t use an offset account properly, and people smash extra repayments into the wrong loan and accidentally kill future tax flexibility.
If you’re aiming to invest later, or you want the option of debt recycling, your loan structure matters from day 1. It’s worth reading What is debt recycling? even if you don’t use it yet, just so you don’t set yourself up badly.
The Wrap
The schemes are tools. They’re not a financial plan.
Use them to reduce upfront friction, then focus on the real game: sustainable cash flow, a decent buffer, and an investing plan that continues after settlement.
If you want some help with your money, we’ve created a free seven-day challenge you can use to get more out of your money you can join here and permanently level up your money in just seven days. And if you want to learn how financial advice can help you, you can schedule a quick call here.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstances before acting on it, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a finance professional.