Preparing financially
Help to Buy Scheme
A federal shared-equity scheme — a 2% deposit plus a Government equity contribution that is repaid, proportionally, when you sell or choose to buy it out.
- Eligible buyers save a minimum 2% deposit; the Government contributes up to 30% (existing home) or 40% (new home) of the purchase price as an equity share.
- A limited number of places are released each year; income and price caps apply.
- The Government's share is repaid proportionally to its value at repayment, not as a fixed dollar amount — it can be more or less than the amount originally contributed.
- This is a shared-equity arrangement, not a grant or an interest-free loan.
How the shared-equity structure works
Help to Buy is a separate scheme from the 5% Deposit Scheme: eligible buyers save a minimum 2% deposit (Housing Australia / Australian Government, verified 29 Jul 2026) and the Government contributes up to 30% of the purchase price for an existing home, or up to 40% for a new home, in exchange for a proportional equity share in the property. A limited number of places are released each year, and income and property price caps apply.
How the equity share is repaid
The Government's equity share is repaid through voluntary repayments over time or when you sell (or otherwise no longer meet the eligibility rules) — and the Government shares proportionally in any gain or loss in the property's value when its share is repaid, not a fixed dollar amount. This is structurally different from a grant or a loan and is worth understanding carefully before assuming it behaves like either.
Practical checklist
Before assuming Help to Buy suits your situation
- Check current place availability and whether applications are open
- Confirm your income and the property's price against current caps
- Understand how the proportional repayment would work if the property's value rises or falls
- Ask a participating lender how this interacts with your loan serviceability assessment
Relevant Delora tool
Questions for a professional
- Based on current caps, would I be eligible for Help to Buy?
- How would the Government's equity share affect what I owe if I sell in five years?
- How does Help to Buy interact with my borrowing capacity assessment?
Official resources
Sources and methodology
- Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme — Housing Australia / Australian Government (retrieved 29 Jul 2026)
Figures on this page are drawn from Delora's local knowledge graph, refreshed from these primary sources and checked for changes on a regular schedule. If a figure here looks out of date, the official source above is always the authority — please let us know.