Helping You Succeed in the Australian Property Market

Families Are Taking Advantage Of The First Home Buyers Grant

$10,000 to $20,000 First Home Owner Grant*

$25,000 New Home Builder Scheme*

Up to $34,000 Stamp Duty Assistance Scheme*

First Home Loan Deposit Scheme – 5% Deposit*

1.   Full (or Partial) Exemption on Stamp Duty*

Stamp duty exemptions where the property is valued at less than $600,000. Properties valued between $600,000 and $750,000 also receive a concessional rate.

2.   Increased Government Support*

The new Home Builder Grant provides a further $25,000 towards new homes. In addition, an increase to the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme by 10,000 places allowing First Home Buyers to enter the market with deposits as low as 5% (without the need to pay LMI). by 10,000 places allowing First Home Buyers to enter the market with deposits as low as 5% (without the need to pay LMI).

3.   Lower Interest Rates*

Record low interest rates will stay low for an extended period with the cash rate remaining at the historic low of 0.25%.

*Terms and conditions apply.

$10,000 to $20,000 First Home Owner Grant

Is available when you buy or build your first new home. The FHOG is $20,000 for new homes built in regional Victoria, for contracts signed from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2021. (Read information about FHOG amounts available before 1 July 2013.)

Your first home can be a house, townhouse, apartment, unit or similar. The amount paid for the home, that is the contract price for construction when building the home, must be $750,000 or less. It must also be the first sale of the property as residential premises and the home must be less than five years old.

It cannot be an investment property or a holiday house. ​The FHOG may be paid in addition to other exemptions or concessions for eligible homebuyers, including pensioners.

The timing of your FHOG payment depends on the contract you sign to buy or build your new home, and whether you lodge your application directly with us or via an approved agent.

The First Home Owners Grant (FHOG) is a payment from the Australian Government. Itis a genuine grant that you don’t have to repay; nor do you pay interest on it. Empire Homes Australia will guide you through the entire application process for the First Home Owners Grant.

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$25,000 HomeBuilder Grant

HomeBuilder provides eligible owner occupiers with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home/new home. A new home is one that has not previously been sold or occupied as a place of residence (e.g. a spec build) and where construction commenced on or after 4 June 2020.

About HomeBuilder

On 4 June 2020, the Australian Government announced HomeBuilder to provide eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home/new home.

While the eligible contract must be signed between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 (inclusive), construction need not commence prior to 31 December 2020. However, it must commence within three months of the contract date and construction cannot have commenced before 4 June 2020.

Three month extension for construction commencement in Victoria

In light of the introduction of Stage 4 restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne (effective from 2 August 2020) and Stage 3 restrictions in regional Victoria (effective from 5 August 2020), the Commissioner of State Revenue will exercise discretion under the National Partnership Agreement to provide a blanket extension of 3 months to the construction commencement requirement for the HomeBuilder Grant. This means that all applicants for the HomeBuilder Grant in Victoria have 6 months from the signing of the eligible HomeBuilder contract, to commence construction. The Commissioner does not have discretion to grant any extensions beyond this additional 3 month extension.

The Australian Government’s HomeBuilder Grant is subject to the provisions of the National Partnership Agreement between the Victorian Government and the Australian Government.

The HomeBuilder Grant complements the existing First Home Owner Grant that is available in Victoria when you buy or build your first new home.

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 First Home Buyer Duty Exemption, Concession Or Reduction

You must use our Digital Duties Form for:

• all contracts or agreements for land transfer duty, and
• to apply for the first home buyer duty exemption, concession or reduction.

General information

When you buy your first home and the contract date is on or after 1 July 2017, you may be eligible for a duty exemption or concession. If your contract is dated before 1 July 2017, you may be eligible for a 50% duty reduction.

Both the duty exemption and the 50% duty reduction are available to first home buyers when they purchase a new or established property in Victoria with a dutiable value up to $600,000. The duty concession applies where the dutiable value is more than $600,000 but not more than $750,000.

If you satisfy the eligibility requirements for the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), you are entitled to these first home buyer duty benefits. This is the case even if your circumstances prevent you from actually receiving the FHOG – for example, if your first home purchase is an established/existing home (ineligible for the FHOG) rather than a newly built home (eligible for the FHOG).

Your conveyancer or solicitor will usually apply for the exemption, concession or reduction, if you are eligible, when they complete the Digital Duties Form as part of the electronic conveyancing process.

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First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) 

Supporting First Home Owners Overview

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first home buyers to build or purchase a new home sooner. The Scheme is administered by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).

Usually first home buyers with less than a 20 per cent deposit need to pay lenders mortgage insurance. Under the Scheme, eligible first home buyers can purchase or build a new home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent (lenders criteria apply). This is because NHFIC guarantees to a participating lender up to 15 percent of the value of the property purchased that is financed by an eligible first home buyer’s home loan.

In the 2020-21 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced an additional 10,000 FHLDS places for the 2020-21 financial year, specifically for eligible first home buyers building or purchasing new homes. These additional places are known as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (New Homes) or FHLDS (New Homes).

There are currently 27 participating lenders across Australia offering places under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

To find out more information about the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and the FHLDS (New Homes),

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