Do I qualify for a federal government grant?
When people ask about a "federal government grant" for buying a first home, what they usually mean is the Home Guarantee Scheme — the program that began as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme on 1 January 2020 and has since broadened. It is not a cash grant in the way a state First Home Owner Grant is. It is a guarantee: the government guarantees part of your loan so a participating lender will lend to you with a smaller deposit, without you paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
The practical effect is the part that matters. Under the First Home Buyer component you can buy with a deposit as low as 5% rather than saving a full 20%, which lets you get into the market years sooner. Skipping LMI on a typical purchase can also save in the order of $10,000 — an indicative figure that moves with the property price and the lender. Eligibility has historically been keyed to income thresholds, with first home buyers earning up to $125,000 (or $200,000 for couples) in scope, though the income tests and place caps are reviewed and have been adjusted over time. Treat any specific number here as a starting point, not a ruling — the current settings are what we confirm before you commit to a plan.
What property and what deposit qualify
The Scheme works only on an eligible residential property, a term with a precise meaning here. Eligible properties include an existing house, townhouse or apartment; a house-and-land package; land with a separate contract to build; and an off-the-plan apartment or townhouse. Different property types carry different dates and timeframes — when the contract of sale, and any eligible building contract, can be signed against your Scheme place. Those required dates are firm, so the order in which you sign matters as much as what you sign.
Property price caps sit at the centre of whether a purchase fits. The cap depends on the financial year that applies to your Scheme place and on where the property sits — a capital city, a large regional centre, or a regional area. The caps are updated periodically, so rather than work from a static table, we confirm the cap that applies to your location and your place before you start making offers.
On the deposit itself, you need between 5% and 20% of an eligible property's value saved. The Scheme minimum is 5%, but a participating lender may require more depending on your circumstances — the guarantee sets the floor, the lender sets its own policy on top. Lenders also test whether your deposit counts as genuine savings, and that definition varies between them. This is the recurring theme: the Scheme decides eligibility, but the lender decides whether to approve you, and which lender's policy fits your deposit, your income and your conduct is the question worth getting right.
Who qualifies, and where to confirm the detail
The core participant requirements have been consistent. To qualify you generally need to be applying as an individual or a couple (married or de facto), be an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time you enter the loan, be at least 18, and meet the applicable income test. You must intend to be an owner-occupier of the property, and you must be a first home buyer who has not previously owned, or held an interest in, property in Australia. Related guarantees within the broader Scheme — for single parents and for regional buyers — carry their own rules, so the version that fits you depends on your circumstances.
A panel of participating lenders delivers the Scheme, and that panel changes over time, as do the places available in any given period. The official detail lives on the Government's First Home website and with Housing Australia, which administers the program. Because the income tests, price caps, lender panel and available places all move, the value of a conversation is matching the current settings to your actual position — and lining up the right participating lender before places run short.
Book a strategy session and we will confirm where you stand against the current scheme settings and which lender fits.
General information only — not personal financial product or credit advice. Lending is subject to each lender's policy, your full circumstances and responsible-lending assessment, and government scheme eligibility is determined by the relevant authority under its current rules. AeFin is an Australian Credit Representative (CR 464548) of Finsure (ACL 384704).