Smart Ways to Approach Buying Your First Home

Your first home purchase works best when you sort out the schemes before you choose a property.

The schemes you can use depend on your income, your deposit and the state where you buy. Some can be combined and some cannot. Picking the right mix early shapes your first home buyer budget and the price range you search in.

Which First Home Buyer Schemes Can You Combine?

State grants and stamp duty concessions can generally be used alongside the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, and the First Home Super Saver scheme sits separately from both. Help to Buy is different. It cannot be combined with other shared equity schemes or government loan backing, which rules out the 5% Deposit Scheme and state shared equity programs.

Help to Buy participants can still receive first home owner grants and stamp duty concessions, and can use the First Home Super Saver scheme to build a deposit. This means you usually choose between the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy, then add grants, concessions and super savings on top.

How Does the 5% Deposit Scheme Work?

The 5% Deposit Scheme lets eligible first home buyers buy with a 5% deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Eligible single parents or legal guardians need only 2%. Housing Australia backs the lender for the part of the loan between your deposit and 20% of the property value.

There are no income caps. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident aged 18 or over, and you must live in the home. You apply through a participating lender, not directly with Housing Australia.

The trade-off is that the backing protects the lender, not you. You still pay all loan costs and repayments, plus stamp duty and legal fees. You must move in within six months of settlement and keep living there while the backing is active, or the lender may require you to pay LMI. The lender also works out the deposit from its own valuation of the home, so you may be asked for more than the minimum if the valuation differs from the price.

Price caps apply, and they vary by state, region and postcode. Check the property's postcode in Housing Australia's search tool before you make an offer.

Help to Buy: Is a Shared Equity Home Right for You?

Help to Buy suits buyers who can save a small deposit but cannot reach a full loan amount on income alone. The Australian Government contributes between 5% and 30% of an existing home's price, or up to 40% for a new home, in exchange for an equity share.

As a Housing Australia example, consider a home in Geelong priced at $750,000. The buyer has a $50,000 deposit and $550,000 of borrowing capacity, which leaves a $150,000 shortfall. The Government covers that gap as a 20% share. The buyer owns the home, makes no repayments or interest payments on that share, and the Government's share rises and falls with the home's value.

There are limits. For the financial year starting 1 July 2026, the income threshold is $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for a single parent or joint applicants. Your deposit must be at least 2% from savings, and you cannot rent out the home or any room in it while the Government holds a share. Your income is reviewed at least every five years. If it stays above the threshold for two consecutive financial years, you may be required to repay part or all of the share, depending on your financial capacity.

Only a small panel of lenders offers Help to Buy, so ask which ones before you commit to a lender.

First Home Super Saver Scheme: How Much Can You Release?

The First Home Super Saver scheme lets you release voluntary super contributions towards a first home deposit. A total of $50,000 in voluntary contributions counts towards release, with $15,000 counted from any one financial year.

As an ATO example, a buyer makes $50,000 of before-tax voluntary contributions over several years. Their maximum release amount works out to $47,690. That is $42,500 (85% of the contributions) plus $5,190 in associated earnings. The buyer requests a determination from the ATO, then requests release, and the money usually arrives in 15 to 20 business days. The ATO withholds tax on the released amount, and the taxable portion goes in the buyer's tax return.

Timing matters. You must request a determination before ownership of any property transfers to you. After release, you generally have 12 months to sign a contract or put the money back into super, and you must tell the ATO within 90 days of signing. If you miss those steps, an extra 20% tax applies to the taxable amount. The money is also locked in super until you release it. Speak to your accountant about how this affects your tax before you contribute.

State First Home Buyer Grants and Stamp Duty Concessions

Each state and territory sets its own first home buyer grants and stamp duty concessions, and many grants apply to new homes only. Check the rules for the state where you plan to buy, because the details change.

As a guide, the grant is $10,000 for new homes in New South Wales (homes up to $600,000), Victoria (up to $750,000) and Western Australia. It is $30,000 for new homes under $750,000 in Queensland, $15,000 in South Australia, $20,000 in Tasmania and $50,000 in the Northern Territory. The ACT has no grant, but eligible buyers pay no conveyance duty on a home from 1 July 2026.

Stamp duty relief also differs. New South Wales exempts homes valued at $800,000 or less, and Victoria exempts first home buyers up to $600,000. Established homes in Queensland attract no duty up to $700,000. Most state schemes need you to move in within a set time, often 12 months. Confirm your eligibility with the state revenue office before you sign a contract.

Get Pre-Approval Before You Bid on Anything

Pre-approval comes first because it sets your price range and, for Help to Buy, it is required before you put down a deposit or bid at auction. Under Help to Buy, Housing Australia also issues a conditional approval that reserves your place for up to 90 days.

Your pre-approval is based on your borrowing capacity, so test it early with our borrowing capacity tool. Then run your numbers through the mortgage repayment calculator to see what repayments feel comfortable. Allow for stamp duty, legal and conveyancing fees, inspections and building insurance, since neither federal scheme covers them. If you already have a loan, a loan health check shows where you stand before a new application.

We are a mortgage broker, so we can compare lenders on your behalf and check which scheme panels they sit on. You can read more about how we work on our about us page. Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you, and we will map out the schemes that fit your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions