Government Grants and Schemes for First Home Buyers in Victoria

If you are buying your first home in Victoria, five main programs can lower the deposit you need, waive Lenders Mortgage Insurance, cut or erase stamp duty, hand you a cash grant, or let the government co-own part of the property. Most buyers qualify for more than one at the same time. This guide sets out what each one is worth right now, who can use it, and where the fine print catches people out.

The short version: the First Home Guarantee lets you buy with as little as a 5% deposit and no LMI; the First Home Owner Grant pays $10,000 but only on brand-new homes; the stamp duty exemption wipes duty entirely up to $600,000 and tapers to $750,000 on any first home; the First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you save a deposit inside super; and the federal Help to Buy scheme (expanded from 1 July 2026) has the government take an equity share so you borrow less. Beyond those five, two more items are worth understanding for context: a temporary off-the-plan stamp duty concession open to all buyers, and the now-closed Victorian Homebuyer Fund. Below, each in detail.

The five schemes at a glance

Each row is explained in full below. The programs stack: the same buyer can use the First Home Guarantee to avoid LMI, claim the stamp duty exemption, and fund the deposit through the First Home Super Saver Scheme in a single purchase.

First Home Guarantee: buy with a 5% deposit and skip LMI

The First Home Guarantee is a federal scheme run by Housing Australia. Instead of paying you money, the government guarantees part of your loan so the lender treats a small deposit as low-risk. Under the settings that took effect on 1 October 2025, you can buy with as little as a 5% deposit — or 2% for eligible single parents and guardians — and pay no Lenders Mortgage Insurance at all.

LMI on a low-deposit loan can run to many thousands of dollars, so avoiding it is often the single largest cash saving on this list. The catch is the price cap: the property must sit under $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong, or $650,000 in regional Victoria.

Two barriers that used to block buyers are now gone. As of the 1 October 2025 changes there is no income cap, and there is no annual place limit — guarantees are unlimited, so you no longer have to race to secure a spot before the yearly allocation runs out.

First Home Owner Grant: $10,000, but new homes only

The First Home Owner Grant is a $10,000 payment from the Victorian State Revenue Office. The word that decides everything here is "new": the grant applies to new or never-previously-occupied homes only (for contracts signed after 1 July 2013) and does not apply to established homes. If you are buying an existing house, this grant is not available to you.

The property must be valued at $750,000 or less. On occupancy, at least one applicant must move in within 12 months of settlement or completion of construction and live there continuously for at least 12 months.

The eligibility rules are strict. Every applicant must be a natural person aged 18 or over, and at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You cannot have received this grant anywhere in Australia before, you cannot have owned residential property in Australia before 1 July 2000, and you cannot have lived in a property you owned for six months or more after that date.

Stamp duty exemption and concession: the broadest saving

For many buyers the stamp duty break is worth more than the grant, and it covers far more property types. Also run by the State Revenue Office, it comes in two parts:

• Full exemption — buy a first home for $600,000 or less and pay no stamp duty at all.
• Concession — buy in the $600,001 to $750,000 band and pay a reduced, sliding-scale amount rather than the full duty.

Crucially, this benefit is broader than the First Home Owner Grant. It applies to new homes, established homes, or vacant land you intend to build your first home on — so unlike the $10,000 grant, established-home buyers are included.

To qualify you must live in the home as your principal place of residence for at least 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement. You are not eligible if you, your spouse or your partner has already owned a home or any other residential property in Australia. These thresholds have been unchanged since 1 July 2017, so as prices have risen the real value of the concession has quietly narrowed — a $600,000 exemption ceiling buys less home than it did in 2017.

A separate off-the-plan concession worth knowing about

Distinct from the first-home rules, a temporary off-the-plan concession applies to contracts signed between 21 October 2024 and 20 October 2026. It is open to all purchasers, not just first home buyers, and carries no property value cap — but it only covers strata-titled properties with common property: apartments, units and townhouses. Standalone house-and-land purchases do not qualify. If you are weighing an apartment against a freestanding house, this concession can materially change the sums.

First Home Super Saver Scheme: save your deposit inside super

The First Home Super Saver Scheme, administered by the Australian Taxation Office, lets you build a deposit inside your superannuation fund, where contributions can be taxed more favourably than money saved in an ordinary bank account, and then withdraw it to buy your first home.

The limits:

• You can withdraw up to $50,000 per person across your lifetime.
• Only $15,000 of contributions per year count toward that total.
• A couple buying together can combine their entitlements for up to $100,000.

Only voluntary contributions count — salary sacrifice or personal after-tax contributions made from 1 July 2017 onwards. Your compulsory employer Super Guarantee contributions do not qualify. When you withdraw, the amount includes a deemed-earnings component the ATO calculates using the 90-day bank bill rate plus 3%, rather than the actual investment return your fund earned.

Because the annual $15,000 cap limits how fast you can build toward the $50,000 ceiling, this scheme rewards buyers who start early — it is a multi-year strategy, not a last-minute one.

Help to Buy: the government co-owns part of your home

Help to Buy is a federal shared-equity scheme run by Housing Australia and expanded from 1 July 2026. The government contributes an equity share toward your purchase so you take out a smaller mortgage, and you can start with a deposit as little as 2%.

The government's share is capped at:

• 40% of the price for new homes, and
• 30% for existing homes.

From 1 July 2026 the income caps are $103,000 for single applicants and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents.

There is one important gap to flag: Help to Buy also carries a state-by-state property price cap and a limited number of places released each year, both set by Housing Australia. The specific Victorian price cap and the current annual place allocation are not captured in this guide — they are set separately from the First Home Guarantee caps above, and places can be exhausted before the year ends. Confirm the current Victorian price cap and remaining place availability directly with Housing Australia before relying on this scheme, because eligibility on income alone does not guarantee a spot or a compliant purchase price.

The mechanics are the appealing part. The government's share is not a loan — no interest is charged, no rent is payable, and no repayments are required. You settle up only when you sell the property, or you can voluntarily buy back the share over time. At the 2026 expansion launch the participating lenders are limited — Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia — with more expected to join through 2026, so confirm the current list before you count on a particular lender.

What happened to the Victorian Homebuyer Fund?

The Victorian Homebuyer Fund — the state's own shared-equity program — is closed to new applications as of late 2025 and has effectively been superseded by the expanded federal Help to Buy scheme. It is not an active option for a new buyer today. For context only, its historical terms let buyers purchase with a 5% deposit while the Victorian Government contributed up to 25% equity (up to 35% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants with a 3.5% deposit) in exchange for an equivalent equity share. If you were previously researching this fund, Help to Buy is now the equivalent path.

How to read this guide

Every figure above is drawn from official program settings verified on 24 July 2026 against Housing Australia, the Victorian State Revenue Office, and the ATO's First Home Super Saver rules. Grant amounts, price caps, income thresholds and eligibility rules change with government policy — sometimes at short notice, and often with a specific effective date attached. Treat the numbers here as a starting map, not a locked quote: re-confirm each figure against the administering body before you rely on it, especially where a date range (like the off-the-plan concession window) or a "from 1 July 2026" caveat applies. The schemes are designed to be combined, but eligibility for one does not guarantee eligibility for another — each has its own definition of who counts as a first home buyer.

Please note: This is general information only and not financial, tax or legal advice. Eligibility depends on your personal circumstances — confirm the details with the administering body (Housing Australia, the Victorian State Revenue Office or the ATO) or a licensed adviser before acting.

Next step: match a scheme to your budget

The caps do most of the work in deciding which scheme fits you, so it pays to shop within them. Start from the ceiling that matches your budget — the $600,000 full stamp-duty exemption, the $650,000 regional guarantee cap, the $750,000 grant and concession ceiling, or the $950,000 Melbourne-and-Geelong guarantee cap — and look at suburbs where realistic asking prices sit under it. Buying within Melbourne or Geelong prices keeps the guarantee in play up to $950,000; a regional move keeps you under the tighter $650,000 line but can also bring the $10,000 grant and full stamp-duty exemption into reach on the same purchase. Starting with the cap that matches your budget keeps every scheme on the table.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use more than one scheme at once?

Yes. The programs are designed to stack. A common combination is using the First Home Guarantee to buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI, claiming the stamp duty exemption or concession, and funding the deposit itself through the First Home Super Saver Scheme. Each scheme has its own eligibility test, so qualifying for one does not automatically qualify you for the others.

Do these schemes work for established homes or only new builds?

It depends on the scheme. The First Home Owner Grant is new homes only. The stamp duty exemption and concession are broader — they cover new homes, established homes, and vacant land for building a first home. The First Home Guarantee and Help to Buy are not restricted to new builds, though Help to Buy allows a larger government equity share (40% versus 30%) on new homes.

What are the property price caps in Victoria?

For the First Home Guarantee the cap is $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong and $650,000 in regional Victoria. The First Home Owner Grant applies to homes valued at $750,000 or less. The stamp duty full exemption applies up to $600,000, with a tapering concession to $750,000. Help to Buy has its own separate Victorian price cap set by Housing Australia — confirm it directly before relying on the scheme.

Is there still an income limit on the First Home Guarantee?

No. As of the 1 October 2025 changes, the First Home Guarantee has no income cap and no annual place limit. Help to Buy, by contrast, does apply income caps — $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents from 1 July 2026 — and also has a limited number of places each year.

How much can a couple withdraw under the First Home Super Saver Scheme?

A couple buying together can withdraw up to $100,000 combined — $50,000 each — built from voluntary contributions capped at $15,000 per person per year. Compulsory employer contributions do not count toward this.

Is the Victorian Homebuyer Fund still open?

No. It closed to new applications in late 2025 and has been effectively replaced by the expanded federal Help to Buy scheme. If you are starting your search now, look to Help to Buy for shared-equity support rather than the Victorian Homebuyer Fund.