Skip to main content

Government Schemes & Grants

Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme

 

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme a Government initiative to enables a first home buyer to buy a home with as little as 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

Depending in the State, you also may not have to pay any Stamp Duty.

It is administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

For example – If you’re looking at your first home & it’s $600,000 – you only need $30,000 to qualify!… Without the scheme you’d need almost double that & would have to pay LMI… ‘How good is that!’

Normal lending rules apply in terms of applying for the home loan & we always recommend pre-approval in the first instance – at least speak to us here at Smyth Loan Co so we can check your borrowing capacity & deposit position before you do anything!

Banks will still look at how much you are earning -vs- any debts you might have, to determine your borrowing capacity.

There are only certain banks that can assist. Not every bank can help you.
Interest rates can vary quite a bit as well between options – do not go straight to your bank, speak to a broker first before doing anything to check!


New rules from 1 OCT 2025 also now apply:

  • Price caps for properties in every State have increased & are now great! (see here if curious on price caps certain areas!)
  • No income limits i.e. you can be earning as much as you like & still qualify (Income Thresholds have been removed!)
  • No limits on how many people can apply. As long as it’s your first home, you qualify!

 

Speak to Jason today to arrange Pre-approval for your first home – 0419 55 66 88

First Home Owners Grant & Duty Concessions

 

First Home Owners Grants & Stamp Duty Concessions are managed by State Governments & will vary depending on where you live.

Smyth Loan Co will check requirements in your particular State upon your initial enquiry.

For Tasmania information can be found here – https://www.sro.tas.gov.au/first-home-owner

Basically, in Tasmania there is a $20,000 First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) available only if you buy land + build OR purchase a brand new home to live in.

Unfortunately though there are no longer any Stamp Duty Concessions as a first home buyer in Tasmania if you are buying a home that is already established – The State Government ended the concession 30 June 2026.

Note – The FHOG is only applicable for First Home Buyers. If you have owned a home previously & lived in it OR have been in a relationship with someone previously that has owned their owned home with you residing in that property, you may not qualify.


Victoria – https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/first-home-owner

New South Wales – https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/grants-schemes/first-home-buyer

ACT – https://www.revenue.act.gov.au/home-buyer-assistance

Queensland – https://qro.qld.gov.au/property-concessions-grants/

South Australia – https://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/taxpayer-stories/first-home-buyer

Western Australia – https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-finance/fhog

Northern Territory – https://nt.gov.au/property/home-owner-assistance/first-home-owners

Filter

Help to Buy Scheme

 

Australia’s Help to Buy is a Federal Government shared equity scheme allowing eligible buyers to purchase a new or established home with as little as a 2% minimum deposit.

How it works: The federal government contributes up to 30% for existing homes and up to 40% for new builds toward the purchase price.
You do not pay rent on the government’s portion, but you are expected to pay it down over time or upon selling.

Eligibility limits: Individual taxable incomes must be $100,000 or less, and joint applicants/single parents must be $160,000 or less.

Find out more: You can explore your eligibility and participating lenders via the official First Home Buyers Gov Portal or the CommBank Help to Buy Scheme page.

Filter

MyHome Scheme (TAS only)

Formerly called HomeShare, the MyHome Scheme is shared equity program with Homes Tasmania (the State Government) managed by Bank of Us.

The Government will chip in up to $300,000 (or 40%, whichever is the lesser amount) for the purchase of a brand new home OR towards a house + land package,

OR

Up to $150,000 (or 30%, whichever is the lesser amount) for the purchase of any existing property.

You do not have to make repayments on the Government contribution however they will own a portion of the home until you can either afford to refinance to buyout their share, or you sell the property (at which point they will ask for their percentage back).

This is a great scheme if you have a very limited borrowing capacity due to income and cannot quite afford to get what you need from a bank for a normal loan.

Smyth Loan Co can complete applications through Bank of Us for the MyHome Scheme.

It is a requirement that you also hold pre-approval through Bank of Us prior to being able to make any formal offers on a property.

Refer to the attached link for more info https://bankofus.com.au/my-home

Refer to link here for MyHome Scheme – Key Facts Sheet 

Would you like to learn more about our services

Go through our most asked questions

Learn more

Ready to make the move?

Get in Touch