Every First Home Buyer Grant and Scheme Available in Australia in 2026

It’s Never Been More Complicated (or More Rewarding)

Buying your first home in Australia in 2026 means navigating a maze of grants, schemes, and concessions that vary wildly depending on where you live and what you’re buying. The good news? There’s more help available than ever. The challenge is knowing what you’re entitled to and how to stack these benefits together.

Here’s a breakdown of everything available right now.

Federal Schemes

First Home Guarantee (formerly First Home Loan Deposit Scheme)

This is the big one. The government guarantees up to 15% of your home loan, meaning you can buy with just a 5% deposit and skip Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) entirely. On a $600,000 property, that saves you roughly $15,000-$20,000 in LMI alone.

What changed in 2026:

• Unlimited places (previously capped at 35,000 per year)
• No income caps (previously $125,000 for singles, $200,000 for couples)
• Higher property price limits in most areas

This makes the scheme accessible to far more buyers than before.

Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee

Same deal as above but specifically for regional properties. Buy in a regional area with a 5% deposit, no LMI.

Family Home Guarantee

For single parents with at least one dependent child. Buy with as little as a 2% deposit, with the government guaranteeing up to 18%.

First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS)

Use your super to save for a deposit in a tax-effective way:

• Make voluntary contributions to your super fund (up to $15,000 per financial year)
• Withdraw up to $50,000 for your first home deposit
• Contributions are taxed at 15% going in (instead of your marginal tax rate), so you save on tax while building your deposit

Example: On a $100,000 salary, salary sacrificing $15,000 into super saves roughly $5,100 in tax compared to saving the same amount in a regular bank account. Over three years, that’s over $15,000 in tax savings on top of your $45,000 deposit.

State and Territory Grants

New South Wales

• First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme: Full stamp duty exemption on properties up to $800,000. Concessions for properties between $800,000 and $1,000,000.
• First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for new homes valued up to $750,000.

Victoria

• First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for new homes valued up to $750,000.
• Stamp duty concession: Exemption for properties up to $600,000, concessions up to $750,000.
• Victorian Homebuyer Fund: Shared equity scheme where the government contributes up to 25% of the purchase price (40% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander buyers).

Queensland

• First Home Owner Grant: $30,000 for new homes (contracts signed between 20 November 2023 and 30 June 2026). This is the most generous state grant in the country.
• Stamp duty concession: Concessions for homes up to $700,000, with reduced concessions up to $800,000.

Western Australia

• First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for new homes.
• Stamp duty: First home buyers pay no transfer duty on properties up to $530,000, with concessions up to $400,000 for established homes.

South Australia

• First Home Owner Grant: $15,000 for new homes valued up to $650,000.
• Stamp duty relief: No stamp duty on properties up to $650,000 for eligible first home buyers.

Tasmania

• First Home Owner Grant: $30,000 for new homes (matching Queensland as the joint-highest grant).
• Stamp duty: 50% duty concession on established homes up to $400,000 for first home buyers.

ACT

• Home Buyer Concession Scheme: Full stamp duty exemption for properties up to $1,000,000 (income thresholds apply).
• No separate first home owner grant, but the stamp duty savings on a $700,000 property can be worth over $20,000.

Northern Territory

• First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for new homes.
• HomeBuild Access: Additional $10,000 grant for building a new home.
• Stamp duty: First home buyers pay no stamp duty on established homes up to $650,000.

How to Stack These Benefits

The real value comes from combining federal and state schemes. Here’s an example for a first home buyer in Queensland:

That’s nearly $70,000 in combined grants, concessions, and savings on a $600,000 new home in Queensland.

The Catch

It’s worth being honest about the limitations:

New home bias: Most state grants only apply to new homes or new builds. If you’re buying an established property (which most first home buyers do), you’ll miss out on the grant but may still benefit from stamp duty concessions.

Price caps matter: Many schemes have property price limits. In Sydney, where the median house price is well over $1 million, the caps can exclude large parts of the market.

The guarantee isn’t free money: The First Home Guarantee helps you buy sooner with a smaller deposit, but you’re still borrowing more. If property prices fall, you could end up owing more than your home is worth. Make sure you can comfortably afford the repayments at higher interest rates.

Processing times: The FHSS scheme requires applying through the ATO and your super fund, which can take 15-25 business days. Factor this into your timeline.

What to Do Next

1. Check your eligibility. Each scheme has its own criteria. Start with your state government’s revenue office website.
2. Talk to a mortgage broker. They can model exactly how much you can borrow, which schemes you qualify for, and how to structure everything for the best outcome. This is where a broker earns their keep.
3. Start the FHSS early. If you’re 6-12 months from buying, salary sacrificing into super now maximises your tax benefit.
4. Get pre-approval. Once you know your budget, get pre-approved so you can move quickly when you find the right property.

Find a Mortgage Broker

Navigating first home buyer schemes is exactly what mortgage brokers do. They’ll know which lenders participate in the guarantee scheme and how to structure your application. Find a mortgage broker near you on WealthWorks.