How the government can help

First home buyer support is worth tens of thousands of dollars and you only qualify once. It comes from two places: the federal government, whose schemes are the same wherever you live, and your state or territory, whose grants and duty concessions differ enormously.

The 5% Deposit Scheme, formerly the First Home Guarantee

This is the big one, and it changed substantially on 1 October 2025. The government guarantees the part of your loan between your deposit and 20%, so a lender will write the loan without lenders mortgage insurance. You are not given money; you are given the ability to buy years earlier than you otherwise could, and to skip an LMI premium that often runs to tens of thousands.

What changed on 1 October 2025: the scheme was renamed the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, the income caps were abolished (they had been $125,000 for a single buyer and $200,000 for a couple), the limit on the number of places was removed, and the property price caps were raised.

You apply through a participating lender, not to the government, and not every lender takes part. You must intend to live in the property, generally within a set period of settlement, and keep living there. The guarantee is not a cash payment and does not reduce what you repay.

The First Home Owner Grant

A one-off cash grant from your state or territory. Every jurisdiction now restricts it to new homes: newly built, bought off the plan, or substantially renovated. If you're buying an established house, this one isn't available to you anywhere in the country.

Stamp duty concessions

Usually worth more than the grant, and available on established homes as well as new ones. Stamp duty, or transfer duty, is a state tax on the purchase, and on a median-priced home it runs into tens of thousands. Most states waive it entirely for first home buyers below a threshold and phase it back in above.

The First Home Super Saver scheme

Save your deposit inside superannuation instead of a bank account. Voluntary contributions are taxed at 15% going in rather than at your marginal rate, and are taxed at your marginal rate less a 30% offset when you release them. For most people on an average income that gap is worth several thousand dollars.

• Up to $15,000 of voluntary contributions counted per financial year, and $50,000 in total.
• Only voluntary contributions count. Your employer's compulsory super does not.
• Request a determination from the ATO before you sign a contract, then request the release.
• Once released, you have 12 months to sign a contract, extendable once, or the money goes back to super or is taxed.

Help to Buy, the shared equity scheme

The federal shared equity scheme. The government takes an equity stake alongside you, up to 40% of a new home or 30% of an established one, so you borrow far less and can buy with a 2% deposit. There are income caps and property price caps, places are limited each year, and the government's share is repaid when you sell or buy them out. It suits people whose income won't support a full mortgage but who can manage a smaller one.

How they stack

Most of these combine. A common shape for a first home buyer is: save inside super under the FHSS scheme, buy with a 5% deposit under the 5% Deposit Scheme, and pay no stamp duty because the price is under your state's threshold. That is three schemes on one purchase, and it is worth mapping yours before you set a savings target.