What grants do first home buyers get in Australia in 2026?

First home buyers in 2026 can access up to five stackable schemes: the state First Home Owner Grant (FHOG, $10K–$50K depending on state, generally new builds only), state stamp duty exemptions, the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly First Home Guarantee — no LMI, no income caps since October 2025, unlimited places), Help to Buy shared equity (launched 4 December 2025), and the First Home Super Saver Scheme. Most buyers use at least three together.

Is the $30,000 QLD first home owner grant still available in 2026?

Yes — but only until 30 June 2026. Queensland's enhanced $30,000 FHOG for new builds under $750,000 reverts to $15,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. The contract signature date is what counts, not the settlement date, so a contract signed on 29 June 2026 qualifies even if settlement is in August.

How does the First Home Guarantee work in 2026?

Since 1 October 2025 the First Home Guarantee (now branded the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme) lets eligible first home buyers purchase with just a 5% deposit and pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The federal government guarantees the gap between the 5% deposit and 20%, so the lender treats it as if you had a 20% deposit. There are no income caps and no place limits — eligibility is based on Australian citizenship or permanent residency, first home buyer status, owner-occupier intent, and the property falling within the location-specific price cap (e.g. $1.5M Sydney, $950K Melbourne and Brisbane).

Can I combine first home buyer grants and schemes?

Most schemes stack. A typical Queensland first home buyer in 2026 might combine the $30,000 FHOG, the QLD stamp duty exemption on new builds (no price cap), the 5% Deposit Scheme (no LMI), and the First Home Super Saver Scheme — saving over $60,000 in combined grants, duty, and LMI on a $700K purchase. The one major exception: Help to Buy generally cannot be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme on the same purchase. You pick one of those two.

What is Help to Buy and when did it launch?

Help to Buy is a federal shared-equity scheme that launched on 4 December 2025. The government takes up to 40% equity on a new build or 30% on an existing home, you contribute as little as a 2% deposit, and you pay no rent on the government's share. Income caps are $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples, with property price caps set by location. There are 10,000 places per year. When you sell or your income rises above the cap for two consecutive years, you buy the government's share back at current market value.

Which state has the most generous first home buyer support in 2026?

On dollar value alone, the Northern Territory leads with its $50,000 HomeGrown Territory grant (until 30 September 2026) plus uncapped HLPE on house-and-land packages. Queensland is second until 30 June 2026 with the $30,000 FHOG, no stamp duty on new builds, and no price cap on the duty concession. South Australia's unlimited stamp duty exemption on new builds (since 15 June 2024) and the ACT's income-tested HBCS with no practical price cap both deserve consideration depending on your purchase price.

Do first home buyer grants apply to established homes?

Generally no — every state's First Home Owner Grant is restricted to new builds or substantially renovated homes. However, the stamp duty exemption applies to both new and established homes in most states, the 5% Deposit Scheme can be used on either, and Help to Buy covers established homes (at 30% government equity instead of 40% for new builds).

First Home Buyer Grant Eligibility 2026 Australia

Every 2026 first home buyer grant, state stamp duty exemption, the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly First Home Guarantee), Help to Buy, FHSSS and Keystart — eligibility by state, with an interactive 6-question wizard that checks every scheme against your situation in 2 minutes.

Last reviewed: 15 May 2026 by Anish Puri, Founder & Editor of NestPath.

We re-check this guide monthly against Housing Australia, Treasury, ATO, and every state revenue office. Caps and rules can shift mid-year — verify your specific case before lodging.

⚡ Free interactive eligibility checker

Skip the reading — find out which 2026 schemes YOU qualify for in 2 minutes

The full guide below covers every grant + stamp duty exemption + the 5% Deposit Scheme + Help to Buy + FHSSS + Keystart — but if you just want the answer for your situation, run the 6-question wizard and skip to your personalised total.

Open the Eligibility Checker →

If you're buying your first home in Australia in 2026, this is the strongest grant year on record. Three things came together in the last twelve months: the federal scheme formerly known as the First Home Guarantee was rebadged as the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and had its income caps and place limits removed on 1 October 2025, Help to Buy launched nationwide on 5 December 2025, and state grants and stamp duty concessions remain stackable on top of both. A well-organised first home buyer can layer four or five of these schemes onto the same purchase.

The catch is that no two states write the rules the same way, the federal schemes carry their own price caps and residency tests, and at least one big grant — Queensland's $30,000 FHOG — is sliding off a cliff on 30 June 2026. This guide pulls every current grant, concession and scheme into one place, with the 2026 dollar amounts that actually apply.

What changed in 2025/26 — read this first

Three policy shifts reshaped the first home buyer landscape and most older guides haven't caught up:

1 October 2025 — First Home Guarantee expansion. The 5% deposit, no-LMI federal scheme is now badged as the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. Income caps were removed entirely, the previous place limit was abolished, and property price caps were lifted (Sydney $1.5M, Melbourne and Brisbane $950K, Perth $850K, Adelaide $900K, Hobart $650K, Canberra $750K — check the live cap for your postcode). If you have a 5% deposit and you're an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you can almost certainly use it.
5 December 2025 — Help to Buy launched. The shared-equity scheme is live with 10,000 places per year over four years. The government takes up to 40% equity on new builds or 30% on established homes, you contribute as little as a 2% deposit, and you pay no rent on the government's share.
30 June 2026 — QLD $30,000 FHOG cliff. Queensland's enhanced $30,000 grant reverts to $15,000 from 1 July 2026. If you're buying a new build in QLD, the contract must be signed before that date.

The other deadline worth circling: the federal negative-gearing and CGT changes flagged for 1 July 2027 are likely to bring a new wave of investor competition forward into late 2026 and early 2027 as grandfathering windows are clarified. First home buyers who can settle before that pulse are in a better spot.

The five schemes you can stack

Most first home buyers who do this right end up combining at least three of these:

State First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) — a one-off cash grant from your state revenue office, generally for new builds only. $10K to $50K depending on the state.
State stamp duty exemption or concession — every mainland state and the ACT and NT now have some form of first home buyer stamp duty relief, with thresholds running from $500K to over $1M.
Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (First Home Guarantee) — buy with a 5% deposit, no LMI, no income cap, unlimited places. The single most leveraged tool on the list.
Help to Buy shared equity scheme — government takes up to 40% equity, you put down 2%. Income-tested ($100K singles, $160K couples) and capped at 10,000 places a year.
First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) — save your deposit inside super at the concessional tax rate. Up to $50,000 total contributions, $15,000 per year. Available in every state.

State FHOGs, stamp duty exemptions, the 5% Deposit Scheme and FHSSS all stack. Help to Buy stacks with FHSSS and most state grants, but you generally can't combine Help to Buy with the 5% Deposit Scheme on the same purchase — pick one. See how the Family Home Guarantee fits in if you're a single parent, and how FHSSS interacts with the rest.

State first home owner grants and stamp duty thresholds — 2026

State	FHOG (new builds)	Stamp duty — full exemption	Stamp duty — partial concession
NSW	$10,000 (cap $600K)	Up to $800,000	$800K–$1,000,000
VIC	$10,000 (cap $750K)	Up to $600,000	$600K–$750,000
QLD	$30,000 until 30 Jun 2026, then $15,000 (cap $750K)	Up to $709,999 (established); no cap on new builds	$710K–$799,999 (established)
WA	$10,000 (cap $750K south of 26th parallel)	Up to $500,000	$500K–$700,000 metro
SA	$15,000 (cap $650K)	Up to $650,000 (established); no cap on new builds since 15 Jun 2024	$650K–$700,000
ACT	No FHOG — replaced by HBCS concession	Means-tested HBCS (Home Buyer Concession Scheme)	Income-tested, up to ~$1.02M
TAS	$10,000 (new builds)	Up to $750,000 (established, until 30 Jun 2026)	—
NT	$50,000 HomeGrown Territory grant (new builds — highest in Australia)	Flat $18,601 concession on established; full exemption on house-and-land packages (HLPE) until 30 Jun 2027	—

A few state notes worth pulling out:

New South Wales

The $10,000 FHOG is restricted to new builds under $600K — a hard cap in most of Sydney, but workable in regional NSW and outer-Sydney house-and-land packages. The stamp duty exemption is the bigger lever: full exemption up to $800K and a sliding concession to $1M saves a Sydney buyer roughly $20K–$31K. Read the full NSW first home buyer grants and concessions guide.

Victoria

$10,000 FHOG for new builds under $750K, plus a full stamp duty exemption to $600K and a sliding concession to $750K. Victoria's regional FHOG was discontinued in 2021 — there is no longer a regional top-up. Full breakdown in our VIC first home buyer grants guide.

Queensland — the $30K grant cliff

The headline. Queensland's FHOG is currently $30,000 for new builds under $750K — but it reverts to $15,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. If you're buying a new build in QLD and you can settle a contract before 30 June 2026, that's $15,000 of free money you're walking away from if you delay. Stamp duty is also generous: no cap on new builds, and full exemption up to $709,999 on established homes. See our QLD first home buyer grants guide for application timing.

Western Australia

The $10,000 FHOG and stamp duty exemption (full to $500K, sliding to $700K metro) are well-known, but the real WA story is Keystart — the state-backed lender that offers home loans with as little as a 2% deposit and no LMI. Income-tested but generous ($155K singles, $228K couples in Perth Metro as of April 2026), with property price caps up to $860,000 metro and $650K in regional WA. Full WA breakdown: WA first home buyer grants and Keystart.

South Australia

$15,000 FHOG and — the underrated one — no stamp duty cap on new builds since 15 June 2024. That's a genuine outlier nationally. SA also operates HomeStart Finance, the state-backed lender offering low-deposit loans (2% Graduate Loan, 5% standard) and shared-equity products for buyers locked out of mainstream finance. See SA first home buyer grants and HomeStart.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT scrapped its FHOG in 2019 and replaced it with the Home Buyer Concession Scheme (HBCS), an income-tested stamp duty exemption with a property cap around $1.02M. If your household income is under the HBCS threshold (~$170K single, ~$227,800 couple), you pay zero stamp duty on a qualifying property. For mid-price Canberra purchases this is the strongest deal in the country. Details: ACT first home buyer concessions.

Tasmania

$10,000 FHOG for new builds plus a full stamp duty exemption on established homes valued up to $750,000 — currently scheduled to expire 30 June 2026 unless extended. The exemption is a hard cliff at $750,000 — there is no taper above.

Northern Territory

The NT's HomeGrown Territory grant pays first home buyers up to $50,000 for new builds — the highest grant amount in Australia, in place until 30 September 2026. Stamp duty is reduced by a flat $18,601 for FHB-eligible purchases, and house-and-land packages are fully exempt under the HLPE until 30 June 2027. Small market, strict residency rules, but the dollar incentive is unmatched.

The federal stack — Guarantees, Help to Buy, and FHSSS

Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (First Home Guarantee)

Since 1 October 2025, this is the headline federal scheme. You buy with a 5% deposit, the federal government guarantees the gap to 20%, and the lender treats the loan as if you had a 20% deposit — so you pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. On a $700K purchase that's around $20,000–$28,000 saved in LMI alone.

What changed in October 2025: no income caps (it used to be $125K singles / $200K couples), no place limit (it used to be 35,000–50,000 per financial year), and higher property price caps. Eligibility now comes down to: Australian citizen or permanent resident, first home buyer, at least 5% genuine savings, owner-occupier, and within the relevant location's price cap. Most major lenders participate — your broker can confirm which ones offer the best rate on a guarantee loan.

Family Home Guarantee

For single parents or single legal guardians of at least one dependent. Same no-LMI mechanism but only a 2% deposit. Full eligibility and the application process in our Family Home Guarantee guide.

Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee

The same 5% deposit, no-LMI mechanism but reserved for buyers who've lived in a regional area for the prior 12 months and are purchasing in that region. 10,000 places a year, separate quota from the main scheme.

Help to Buy — the December 2025 launch

Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme — fundamentally different from the Guarantees. The government doesn't lend you anything; it takes an ownership stake. Mechanics:

You put down as little as a 2% deposit.
The government contributes up to 40% of the purchase price on a new build, or 30% on an existing home.
You take a mortgage for the rest. You pay no rent on the government's share.
When you sell, refinance, or your income exceeds the threshold for two consecutive years, you buy the government out at the then-current market value.
Income caps: $100,000 for singles, $160,000 for couples. Property price caps by location (similar bands to the 5% Deposit Scheme).
10,000 places per year, allocated through participating lenders.

The catch: when the home appreciates, the government's share appreciates with it. You're sharing the upside. That's a worthwhile trade if it's the only way you get into the market, but it changes the long-term wealth math significantly compared to a 5% Deposit Scheme loan you fully own.

First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS)

FHSSS lets you save your deposit inside super at the concessional 15% tax rate instead of your marginal rate (which can be 32.5% or 37%). You can withdraw up to $50,000 total in voluntary contributions ($15,000 per financial year) plus deemed earnings, and use it as a deposit. The tax saving alone is typically $4,000–$10,000 for a $50K saver. Available in every state, stacks with everything else. Mechanics and pitfalls: First Home Super Saver Scheme guide.

The cheapest entry path by state

If your goal is the smallest cash-out-of-pocket on settlement, the optimal combination changes by state. Rough rankings for a buyer with a 5% deposit on a median-priced home:

QLD (new build, before 30 June 2026): $30K FHOG + zero stamp duty on new builds + 5% Deposit Scheme (no LMI) = realistically the cheapest entry in Australia right now.
NT (new build): $50K HomeGrown grant + HLPE (uncapped) + 5% Deposit Scheme. Highest grant in the country, but a thin market.
WA (Perth metro): $10K FHOG + stamp duty exemption + Keystart's 2% deposit typically beats the federal 5% Deposit Scheme on cash needed.
ACT (HBCS-eligible income): Zero stamp duty (up to $1.02M) + 5% Deposit Scheme is hard to beat on mid-price purchases.
SA (new build): $15K FHOG + zero stamp duty on new builds + HomeStart 2% deposit + 5% Deposit Scheme. SA's no-cap new-build stamp duty rule is genuinely underrated.
NSW and VIC: Stamp duty exemption + 5% Deposit Scheme + FHSSS is the standard play. FHOG only helps if you're buying a new build under the (relatively low) caps.

Help to Buy is the right move only if your income or savings won't carry the repayments on a full mortgage even with no LMI. The lower deposit is helpful, but you're trading future equity for entry.

How to actually claim each scheme

State FHOG and stamp duty exemption: applied for through your conveyancer or solicitor at the time of contract. You sign a first home owner declaration. Some states pay the FHOG on settlement; others within 10 business days. Your conveyancer handles the paperwork — but verify they've lodged it before settlement day.
5% Deposit Scheme / Family Home Guarantee / Regional Guarantee: applied for through a participating lender at the time of your home loan application. Housing Australia administers the scheme; your lender confirms eligibility when your loan is approved.
Help to Buy: applied for through participating lenders. Place reservation is competitive — get your application in as early in the financial year as possible.
FHSSS: applied for through the ATO before you sign a contract. Request a determination, then a release authority. The timing matters — get it wrong and you can disqualify yourself.

Most buyers route this through a broker rather than DIY. A broker who runs first-home-buyer loans every week knows which lenders process Guarantee applications fastest and which states' revenue offices reject paperwork over typos. Find a NestPath-vetted first home buyer broker, and run your numbers through the borrowing power calculator before you apply.

The mistakes that disqualify good applicants

Exceeding the income cap for Help to Buy (still capped at $100K / $160K — these did not go away with the October 2025 reforms; only the 5% Deposit Scheme lost its caps).
Buying an established home and expecting the FHOG. Every state's FHOG is restricted to new builds. The stamp duty exemption usually covers both — but the cash grant does not.
Missing the residency requirement. Most states require you to live in the home as your principal residence for 6–12 months within the first year of settlement. Investor purchases don't qualify.
Claiming FHOG when your partner has previously owned property. Almost all schemes treat "first home buyer" as a household status — your partner's ownership history disqualifies the pair.
Withdrawing FHSSS contributions after signing. You must apply for the FHSSS determination before the contract date. After signing, you're locked out.
Missing the QLD 30 June 2026 deadline. Contract signature date is what matters, not settlement. If you can sign before 30 June 2026 you lock in the $30K, even if settlement is later.

For the full pre-purchase compliance walk-through, see our First Home Buyer Loan guide and stamp duty by state breakdown.

One last thing — verify the live figures before you apply

Grant amounts, income caps, and price thresholds change on state government schedules and federal budget cycles. The figures in this guide are accurate as of 14 May 2026, but always confirm with your state revenue office, with Housing Australia (for the federal Guarantees and Help to Buy), and with your lender before you sign a contract. The numbers move; the principles don't.

First Home Buyer Grant Eligibility 2026 Australia — Every State + Eligibility Checker