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Launching Help to Buy
The Help to Buy shared equity program will assist 40,000 Australian households to purchase a new or existing home with a contribution from the Australian Government.
This will mean eligible Australians can buy a home with a smaller deposit and mortgage.
Help to Buy is expected to be open for applications later this year. Housing Australia will provide information about how you can apply for the program in due course.
Visit Housing Australia's Help to Buy webpage.
Help to Buy eligibility criteria
Applicants will need to meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria, which include but are not limited to:
- Being an Australian Citizen
- Being aged 18 years or over
- Not exceeding the income caps (annual taxable income):
- Single – $100,000
- Joint applicants/single parents - $160,000 combined
- Purchasing within the property price caps (see below)
- Having a minimum 2 per cent deposit
- Using the purchased home as their principal place of residence
- Not currently owning any other property in Australia
- Being unable to purchase the home without the assistance of the Help to Buy program
- Paying all property purchase fees and taxes (including stamp duty)
- Being able to service a mortgage with a bank participating in the Help to Buy program
Property price caps
| Region | Price cap |
|---|---|
| New South Wales – capital city and regional centre | $1,300,000 |
| New South Wales – other | $800,000 |
| Victoria – capital city and regional centre | $950,000 |
| Victoria – other | $650,000 |
| Queensland – capital city and regional centre | $1,000,000 |
| Queensland – other | $700,000 |
| Western Australia – capital city | $850,000 |
| Western Australia – other | $600,000 |
| South Australia – capital city | $900,000 |
| South Australia – other | $500,000 |
| Tasmania – capital city | $700,000 |
| Tasmania – other | $550,000 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $1,000,000 |
| Northern Territory | $600,000 |
| Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island | $550,000 |
| Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands | $400,000 |
Regional centres under Help to Buy: Newcastle & Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Central Coast, Mid-North Coast, Coffs Harbour-Grafton, Richmond-Tweed, Geelong, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Email updates
To register to receive email updates on the Help to Buy program please enter your email address.
Please note this mailing list is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an application or expression of interest for the Help to Buy program.
Privacy
By completing the above form, you may have provided us with personal information (your email) for the purpose of proving you updates on the Help to Buy program.
Your personal information will not be used or disclosed for another purpose without your consent, except where authorised or required by law.
Personal information may be disclosed to staff and contractors in the Treasury.
For more information about our privacy practices, including how to access or correct your personal information or make a complaint, see Privacy.
Implementing the Home Guarantee Scheme
The Home Guarantee Scheme supports Australians to buy a home sooner.
The scheme consists of 3 streams:
- The First Home Guarantee – to support eligible first home buyers to buy their first home sooner, with a deposit as little 5 per cent.
- The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee – to support eligible regional first home buyers to buy a home in a regional area.
- The Family Home Guarantee – to support eligible single parents with at least one dependent child, to buy a home with a deposit as little 2 per cent.
All 3 streams are available for applications. The Government extended the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee and Family Home Guarantee, which were due to terminate on 30 June 2025.
The Government has committed to expanding the Home Guarantee Scheme so all first home buyers will have the ability to buy with a 5 per cent deposit. Under an expanded scheme, the Government committed to uncapping places, removing the income caps, and increasing the property price caps under all streams.
Visit Housing Australia's Home Guarantee Scheme
Helping first home buyers to save for a deposit
The First Home Super Saver Scheme helps people to boost their savings for a first home by building their deposit inside the concessionally taxed superannuation system.
This allows people to make voluntary contributions to superannuation up to a total cap of $50,000 and release the contributions and associated earnings, when buying their first home.
Visit Australian Taxation Office's First home super saver scheme