In the scenario above, the government contributed 10% of the initial purchase price ($70,000). This means the government owns 10% of the home's equity. Let's say you repaid the loan on the property and sold the property for $850,000.
10% of $850,000 is $85,000. This is the amount you would have to pay to the government when you sell.
If you're buying an existing home the government can contribute up to 30% of the purchase price. For newly-built homes this increases to 40%.
To take advantage of this scheme, buyers must meet these criteria:
You do not have to be a first home buyer to participate in the scheme. People who have previously owned property but don't own a home currently can also qualify.
There's a price cap in place with this scheme. This means that to be eligible to access the scheme, your property's purchase price needs to be at or below the threshold.
Every city and region has a different price cap, reflecting the differences between various property markets in Australia.
| City/state region | Price cap |
|---|---|
| NSW – capital city and regional centres | $1.3 million |
| NSW – rest of the state | $800,000 |
| VIC – capital city and regional centres | $950,000 |
| VIC – rest of the state | $650,000 |
| QLD – capital city and regional centres | $1 million |
| QLD – rest of the state | $700,000 |
| WA – capital city | $850,000 |
| WA – rest of the state | $600,000 |
| SA – capital city | $900,000 |
| SA – rest of the state | $500,000 |
| TAS – capital city | $700,000 |
| TAS – rest of the state | $550,000 |
| ACT | $1 million |
| Northern Territory | $600,000 |
| Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island | $550,000 |
| Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands | $400,000 |
The scheme allows buyers to enter the market with small deposits. But while most buyers with low deposits get hit with high borrowing costs and lenders mortgage insurance premiums, under the Help to Buy scheme you can avoid both.
The government covers part of your costs so you have to borrow less. And because the government's contribution effectively boosts your deposit size, you avoid LMI – which could be over $30,000 depending on the purchase price and deposit size.
This can save you quite a bit. Here are 2 hypothetical examples using the same figures as above.
The difference here is significant: around $900 a month in repayments, and a saving of over $20k in LMI.
There are many first home buyer support policies from state and federal governments. Most of these policies help Australians enter the market with the following:
Other schemes include the First Home Guarantee Scheme and New Home Guarantee. The Help to Buy Scheme is different in that it is not only available to first home buyers, but to anyone who does not currently own property.
It is also unique in that the government is essentially co-buying the property with you. This is because it is a shared equity scheme. The most similar policy is the Victorian government's Homebuyer Fund. In this state scheme, you can buy with a 5% deposit and the state government contributes up to 25% of the price.
The NSW government has also launched a shared equity scheme with similar criteria.
"Being eligible for a home buying scheme doesn't mean you can automatically get the loan or the home you want. Banks and lenders will still look at whether you can service the loan, and so buying that $1.3 million property in Sydney might still be out of reach for some.
But this can still be a great scheme. While we're waiting for the scheme to begin, work out your borrowing power, research property prices, do all the calculations, and speak to a mortgage broker if you need any support."
You can apply for the Help to Buy scheme through a participating lender from 5 December 2025. The lender will assess your eligibility and then guide you through the application process.
Currently, there are 2 participating lenders: CommBank and Bank Australia.
You will not be able to apply for the scheme with CommBank through a mortgage broker.
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I am a nurse who has previously owned a home and divorced and no longer own of property. Am I eligible for any help to buy schemes with dependents , aged 53 and single with an income of base 120,000 before tax? Have done a lot of overtime this last year so earnt more than this this last year.
Hi,
There may be some schemes you are eligible for, including the Family Home Guarantee, which is available for single parents – https://www.finder.com.au/home-loans/family-home-guarantee
Each state has various schemes and support in place as well, so be sure to check your state government website. Otherwise, you might benefit from talking to a mortgage broker who would better be able to understand your circumstances and offer some solutions.
Thanks,
Rebecca
I brought a investment property in 2007 with my brother and father then sold it around 2010… because of this am I unable for any schemes to help buy a home to live in?
Hi Brad,
That’s correct, government schemes and grants are available to people who have never owned property before. If you have owned property in the past as an investor, you are no longer considered to be a first home buyer.
I’ve previously written to the NHFIC who forwarded my enquiry to the Treasury Department who in turn only provided a one page letter stating that the Scheme would only be implemented in due course however consider this to be rather ambigous in terms of timeframe.
There isn’t any detailed information the NHFIC with regards to the Help to Buy Scheme specifically, they only discuss other current schemes ie. Home Guarantee Scheme, Regional First Home Buyer etc on their website.
I have also been attempting to research the web for any updates in regards to the scheme including the Australian Parliament live minutes to check for any further updates.
Are they or would they be any attempts to pursue this matter directly with the relevant Federal Government Ministers ie. principally and possibly The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Housing Julie Collins MP and/or Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
It is my understanding the Australian Labor Party made this one of the major centrepiece election promises however the content has now been removed although originally contained some information as the Help to Buy Scheme which implies that the current Labor Government does not intend to follow through with their pre-election commitment.
No status updates on any of their social media sites, the only updated information when performing a search on say google resulted in a link titled “Core Albanese housing promise turns into budget farce” by the Daily Telegraph. (Unfortunately to access the article requires a subscription).
It would be greatly appreciated if your organisation is able to provide additional and other information other then the responses to other questions provided by other visitors to the finder website below.
I hope you are able to read the entirety of this question before responding and providing a response reflective of the questions being asked as opposed to a general response based on any current presupposition ie. Scheme may commence in July 2023.
Hi Derek,
We really can’t give you any more information than what’s currently out there. The scheme for now remains a proposal that has not yet been introduced into law as an effective policy.
You could contact the housing minister as you suggested. But for now we’re all just waiting to see when the scheme will be introduced.
Sorry we can’t be more helpful to you.
Kind regards,
Richard
Hi there,
Is there any application to apply for government scheme? Or are there any body to guide me how to apply?
Hi Abs,
At this point the federal government has not introduced the scheme via legislation. So there is no application process yet.
Kind regards,
Richard
Hi Team.
Do we have a start date on this scheme in QLD yet? I’m very keen to get on it.
Hi Nic,
The start date for the Help to Buy Scheme has not been confirmed but it is expected to start in July 2023. You may visit the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) page to keep an eye out for updates. We will also update this page as soon as we get more information.
All the best,
Rebecca