If you’re ready to buy your first home or just doing some research, it’s important to understand what federal or state Government support is available when it comes to grants and incentives and how much you could save.
Plus, from 1 July 2023, some important changes will be occurring to some of that support that could affect your purchase power.
Australia
Before 1 July 2023, first home buyers had access to the following grants and schemes under the Housing Guarantee Scheme:
- The First Home Guarantee (FHBG) – to support eligible first home buyers to buy their first home sooner, with a deposit as little as 5%. 35,000 places are available each financial year
- The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) – to support eligible regional first home buyers to buy a home in a regional area. From 1 October 2022, 10,000 places are available each financial year to 30 June 2025
- The Family Home Guarantee (FHG) – to support eligible single parents with at least one dependent child to buy a home, with a deposit of as little as 2%. 5,000 places are available each financial year to 30 June 2025.
From 1st July 2023, “any two eligible individuals” can apply for the First Home Guarantee Scheme under the newly expanded definition of ‘couple’ from the Federal Budget. The new definition will allow family members or two friends living together to access to scheme. The definition of single parent will also be expanded from 1st July 2023 to include legal guardians, including aunts, uncles and grandparents.
The Federal Government will also open up the eligibility of the First Home Guarantee Scheme to include non-first homeowners who haven’t owned a property in the last 10 years, and will be expanded to include permanent residents, as well as Australian citizens.
Australians can also access the Australian Government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme. This allows you to access up to a total of $50,000 contributions of your voluntary concessional (before-tax) and voluntary non-concessional (after-tax) contributions into your super fund to save for your first home.
NSW
First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme Expanded
From 1 July 2023, the transfer duty (stamp duty) exemption threshold for new and existing home purchases by eligible first-home buyers will increase from $650,000 to $800,000, and the concessional rate will increase from $800,000 to $1 million.
First Home Buyer Choice Changes
The Government is also closing off access to the First Home Buyer Choice (FHBC). The First Home Buyer Choice provides first-home buyers purchasing properties for up to $1.5 million the ability to choose to pay an annual property tax instead of transfer duty. The property tax will only be payable by first-home buyers who choose to opt-in, and will not apply to the subsequent property purchasers.
Purchasers who exchange contracts on or before 30 June 2023 have up until settlement to opt-in to the FHBC. From 1 July 2023, there will be no option to choose between property tax and transfer duty on new purchases.
Those who have opted into FHBC will continue to pay property tax for as long as they own that property and remain exempt from transfer duty on that purchase. First homebuyers purchasing a home for $1 million or more on or after 1 July 2023 are ineligible for transfer duty exemptions or concessions and will be required to pay transfer duty.
First Home Owner’s Grant (New Home)
NSW residents will still be able to access the First Home Owner’s Grant (New Homes) if eligible. If you are buying or building your first home, you may be eligible for a $10,000 grant under the First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) scheme.
Your first new home can be a house, townhouse, apartment, unit or similar that is newly built, purchased off the plan or substantially renovated.
Victoria
Victorian first home buyers currently have access to a number of grants and measures from their state government to ease the cost of purchasing their first home. These include:
Victoria First Home Buyers Stamp Duty Discounts
- First homeowners in Victoria don’t pay stamp duty at all on their first home as long as the property is valued below $600,000.
- You may still be eligible for savings on stamp duty if you pay between $600,000 and $750,000 for your first home.
Victoria First Home Owners Grant
- A $10,000 grant to put towards a newly constructed dwelling with a value less than $750,000.
Queensland
First home buyers in Queensland may have access to the additonal following grants to put towards their purchase:
First Home Owner Grant
- The first home owner grant gives eligible first-time home buyers $15,000 towards buying or building a new home in Queensland.
Regional Home Building Boost Grant
- The regional home building boost grant gives eligible applicants $5,000 after the purchase or construction of a brand-new house, unit or townhouse in regional Queensland.
ACT
Home Buyer Concession Scheme
The ACT Government has a concession scheme to help people buy a home or residential land. The scheme is administered by the ACT Revenue Office. The scheme helps people to buy the home that’s right for them by removing or reducing duty on any property they want to buy.
Western Australia
First Home Owner Grant
The first home owner grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment to encourage and assist first home buyers to buy or build a new residential property for use as their principal place of residence. The grant is $10,000 or the consideration paid to buy or build the house if less than that amount.
Only one grant is payable per eligible transaction, so two people purchasing a house together may only receive one grant.
Home Buyers Assistance Account (HBAA)
The scheme provides a grant of up to $2,000 for the incidental expenses of first-home buyers when they purchase an established or partially built home through a licensed real estate agent.
The maximum purchase price criteria for the Home Buyers Assistance Account is $400,000.
Stamp Duty Concession For First Time Home Buyers
If you’re a first home buyer, a concessional rate of transfer duty (also referred to as stamp duty) will apply if the value of your property is below certain thresholds. This is an incentive from the State Government to encourage first home buyers to get into their own home. This benefit applies to new and established homes.
Tasmania
Tasmania First Home Owner Grant
A first home owner grant is available to eligible applicants who purchase or build a new home in Tasmania from 1 July 2016. A new home is a home that has not previously been occupied or sold as a place of residence and includes kit homes. A $30 000 grant is available for transactions that commence between 1 April 2021 and 30 June 2024.
Northern Territory
First Home Owner Grant
This grant allows you as a first home buyer to receive a $10,000 grant to buy or build a new home in the Northern Territory.
Stamp Duty Exemption
If you’re buying a house and land package in the Northern Territory (NT), you may be eligible for an exemption on stamp duty through the House and Land Package Exemption.
To be eligible, you must:
- buy a house and land package from a building contractor
- sign the contract between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2027.
Under the contract, the building contractor agrees to sell land to the purchaser and do one of the following:
- build or place a detached, new home on the land being conveyed
- complete the building of a partially completed and detached new home on the land being conveyed
- transfer ownership of a completed and detached new home on the land being conveyed.
The building contractor must have bought the land from a developer and paid stamp duty on the dutiable value of the land.
The exemption is not means tested and there is no cap on the value of the property.
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