First Home Owners’ Grant

What you’ll learn

• What is the First Home Owners’ Grant?
• Who’s eligible for the First Home Owners’ Grant
• How much you can get with a First Home Owners’ Grant?
• How to apply for a First Home Owners’ Grant
• The other kinds of grants available
   

What is the First Home Owners’ Grant?

The First Home Owners’ Grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment from the government to help people buy or build their first property. Sometimes called the First Home Buyers Grant or First Home Buyers Scheme, this one-off payment contributes to the deposit of the purchase of this first home, when certain criteria are met. Although the scheme is national, it’s funded by the separate state governments and administered under their respective legislations, so varies slightly by state.

 

 

How do I know if I’m eligible for the First Home Owners’ Grant?

If you want to apply for the FHOG, you need to:

• Be over 18 years of age
• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia
• Buy the property as a person, not as a trust or company
• Have not owned a home before 1 July 2000 (applies to all applicants)
• Occupy the home as your principal place of residence within 12 months of its purchase or construction, for a continuous period of at least six months.
   

If you’re younger than 18, you can apply for an age exemption, and there are other requirements that can be waived in certain circumstances, such as if you’re an Australian Defence Force member. It’s best to seek advice on which criteria do and don’t apply to your situation.
 

Your new home needs to meet certain criteria, too. For example, the grant cannot be used to buy an investment property. The property you purchase must be your first home in Australia and its value can be no more than $1 million.
 

Provided you meet the above criteria, the grant can be used to help you buy a residential property that fits one of the following descriptions:

• A newly-built property
• A land and building package
• Vacant land that you will build a new home on
• An established home that’s gone through significant renovations, with most or all of the house having been replaced or refitted, and this being the first time it’s been on the market since the renovations have been completed.
   

There are other criteria that are dependent on the state you’re wanting to buy in, such as limits on the purchase price or the total value of the property or land. The First Home government website links to each state’s grant criteria, so make sure you check what these are and what you’re entitled to.

How much can you get with the First Home Owners’ Grant?

If you are eligible for the grant, the federal and/or state government will be able to give you up to $10,000 to put towards your purchase.

Keep in mind that this amount is not per person or applicant – it’s per transaction, property, or piece of vacant land. So a single person, a couple or a group of friends would receive up to $10,000, no matter how many are involved in the purchase of the property or land.

How to apply for the First Home Owners’ Grant

There are different rules and ways to apply for the FHOG based on the State where you’re wanting to buy. First, you'll need to check that you – and the residential property or vacant land you'd like to buy – fit all of the eligibility requirements. You'll then need to complete an application form. An approved agent can help you do this. In some states, you can ask the bank or financial institution providing your finance to help you complete and lodge the application form on your behalf.
 

Use the First Home government website to find out how to apply for a grant in your state.
 

You can also visit us at your local Westpac branch. Our team have in-depth knowledge of their local market and would be more than happy to walk you through the process.

Get one of our lenders to call you back

Are there other grants available?

Yes, there are other grants that can help you on your journey to home ownership. These vary state-by-state. For instance, New South Wales has the NSW First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme, which entitles eligible people to stamp duty concessions or even exemption from transfer duty.

Other states have similar duty exemptions, schemes and grants, but the names, dependencies, eligibility criteria and amounts vary.
 

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is another government scheme that helps eligible first home buyers get a home loan with just a 5% deposit without needing to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI is usually charged to borrowers with a deposit that's less than 20% of the property value).

 

The best way to find out what eligibility criteria apply to you and your situation is to either check out the First Home government website, speak to a home loan professional, or come see us in your local branch.

To sum up

• If you’re buying or building your first home, you could get up to $10,000 from the First Home Owners’ Grant
• To be eligible for this grant, you need to meet certain criteria
• This grant is only available on certain types of property
• You should check the government website to get exact details of the grant in your state
• There are other grants and schemes available that differ across each state.