Buying your first home in Australia can feel like a maze of government support, and most first-home buyers know about only one or two options.
There are a number of schemes such as the First Home Buyer Grant, the 5% Deposit Scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme. Each one works differently, and some can even be combined.
New ABS data shows first home buyer loans jumped 6.8% in the December 2025 quarter, the biggest rise in two years, with the ABS crediting the expansion of the 5% Deposit Scheme and the launch of Help to Buy for the surge.
Knowing which ones apply to you, how much they’re actually worth, and whether you can stack them together isn’t straightforward. Eligibility rules differ by state, income caps change, and price limits vary by location.
This guide breaks down every major benefit available to first home buyers in 2026, what each one gives you, who qualifies, and how they fit together, so you can work out exactly what you’re entitled to before you start house hunting.
What Is the First Home Owner Grant and Who Qualifies?
The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a one-off, tax-free cash payment from the government. It’s designed to help first home buyers get into a new home, not just any home.
In most states, the First Home Owner Grant applies only to brand-new properties, off-the-plan purchases, homes with substantial renovations, or house-and-land packages. Buy an established home that’s already been lived in, and in most states you won’t qualify.
Even though First Home Owner Grants rules aren’t the same in every state, a few eligibility rules are the same:
- You need to be 18 or older.
- If you have a partner, they usually need to qualify as a first home buyer too, and that includes any homes they’ve owned in the past.
- At least one person applying must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
- The home has to meet your state’s definition of an eligible property.
- You’ll need to actually move in and live there for a minimum amount of time, depending on the state
- How much money you get and the price cap for the home vary by state.
How Does the 5% Deposit Scheme Help First Home Buyers?
The 5% Deposit Scheme, formerly called the Home Guarantee Scheme, doesn’t hand you cash. It solves a different problem: the deposit gap.
Normally, if you buy with less than a 20% deposit, your lender makes you pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). That’s a one-off insurance cost that protects the bank, not you, in case you default, and it can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Normally, you need a 20% deposit to avoid extra insurance costs. Under this scheme, the government covers the remaining gap instead. Housing Australia guarantees your lender for the gap between your deposit and the usual 20% mark, so the bank treats you as if you had full equity and you skip the LMI charge entirely.
So on an $800,000 home, a 5% deposit is $40,000, instead of the $160,000 you’d otherwise need to avoid LMI. For eligible single parents, the deposit requirement drops even further, to just 2%.
A few things worth being clear on:
- It’s a guarantee, not a grant. The government doesn’t put money toward your purchase. You still borrow up to 95% of the price and pay full interest on the entire loan.
- You own 100% of the home, unlike shared equity schemes where the government holds a stake.
- Price caps still apply, and they vary by location; for example, Sydney’s cap is $1.3 million, Melbourne’s is $950,000, and Brisbane’s is $1 million.
Housing Australia reported in March 2026 that more than 300,000 Australians have bought or built a home using this scheme since it launched, with that figure climbing past 315,000 by mid-2026.
What Is the Help to Buy Scheme and How Is It Different?
Help to Buy works nothing like the 5% Deposit Scheme. Instead of guaranteeing your loan, the government becomes your co-owner.
It’s a shared equity scheme. The government contributes up to 40% of a new home’s price, or 30% of an existing home’s price. That means a smaller mortgage, smaller repayments, and a deposit of just 2%.
But it’s not free money. When you sell, the government takes back its proportional share of the sale price, so if your home grows in value, their slice grows too. You can also buy back their share gradually over time.
To qualify, you need to be an Australian citizen, own no property anywhere, live in the home yourself, and earn under $103,000 (single) or $165,000 (joint) from July 2026.
Only 10,000 places open each year, and only a couple of lenders currently offer it.
It was launched in December 2025 and had already seen 278 households in place, with approvals for more than 2,300 places by early 2026.
Can You Reduce Stamp Duty or Boost Your Deposit With Super?
Beyond grants and deposit schemes, two more levers can cut your costs; one lowers what you pay upfront, the other grows your deposit faster.
Stamp duty concessions differ state by state, but most first home buyers qualify for some relief:
- NSW: no duty up to $800,000
- Victoria: no duty up to $600,000
- Queensland: no duty up to $700,000 on established homes
- WA: exemption up to $600,000 (Perth)
- South Australia: zero duty on new homes, doesn’t extend to established homes
- Tasmania: established-home exemption expired 30 June 2026
On the deposit side, the First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you grow your savings inside super, taxed at just 15% instead of your usual income tax rate.
That lower tax rate adds up: a $10,000 salary-sacrificed contribution can net around $8,330 toward your deposit, versus $6,800 saved after-tax, roughly $1,530 extra per $10,000.
Just remember, FHSS can only be used once, and only on voluntary contributions.
Can You Combine These Schemes?
Yes, you can combine most of these schemes. Stacking them together is how you get the biggest savings.
The First Home Owner Grant, the 5% Deposit Scheme, your state’s stamp duty concession, and the First Home Super Saver Scheme can generally all be used together. None of them excludes the others.
A typical first home buyer could use FHSS savings as their deposit, apply the 5% Deposit Scheme to skip LMI, claim their state’s FHOG, and pay reduced or zero stamp duty, all on the same purchase.
The one exception is Help to Buy. Because the government takes an equity stake in your home under that scheme, it can’t be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme; you choose one pathway or the other. Help to Buy can still be paired with your state’s first-home buyer grant and first-home buyer stamp duty concession, though.
Eligibility is checked separately for each scheme, so qualifying for one doesn’t guarantee you’ll qualify for another; income caps, property price caps, and residency rules vary across schemes.
A mortgage broker can help you and advise you about which combination is best suited for your situation and property before you commit to an offer.
Conclusion
By now, it’s clear that 2026 offers more government support for first home buyers than ever before.
Each of these schemes can shave thousands off what you need to save or fast-track your buying.
Your eligibility for the schemes depends on your income, your state, the type of property you’re after, and how these schemes interact. Get one detail wrong, and you could miss out on a benefit worth tens of thousands of dollars.
A broker who understands these schemes inside out can map out your specific situation, tell you which combination gives you the biggest advantage, and handle the paperwork so nothing falls through the cracks.
We can walk you through your options, run the numbers on your specific deposit and income, and help you put together a plan that gets you into your first home sooner.
Book a free consultation with Nfinity Financial today and take the first real step toward homeownership.
FAQs
- What is the First Home Super Saver scheme?
It’s an arrangement that allows you to put some of your home deposit into your super fund, where voluntary contributions are taxed at just 15%, which is much lower than normal income tax. You can contribute up to $15,000 a year and $50,000 total, then withdraw it later to help buy your first home.
- Can I use First Home Owner Grant as a deposit?
Yes. FHOG is generally paid at settlement and can be used straight away as a deposit, or paid upfront rather than paid to you separately after the event.
- How to buy a first house without a deposit?
You don’t always need a deposit to buy your first home. If a parent or close family member is happy to be your guarantor, you may be able to borrow the full purchase price without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, subject to the lender’s approval.
- Is there a cap on the 5% deposit scheme?
The October 2025 changes mean there are no longer income caps and no annual place limits. There are still property price caps that apply, and they differ by location.
- Can I use super to buy a house?
Yes, but only via the First Home Super Saver Scheme, and only from your own voluntary contributions, not your employer’s compulsory super. It’s not access to your full super balance.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and should not be taken as personal financial advice. Please speak with a qualified financial expert before making any refinancing or loan decisions.
