Financial Assistance for First Home Buyers in NSW [2026 Guide]

First home buyer help in NSW at a glance

These are the programs open to new applicants in September 2026. The figures come from Revenue NSW, Housing Australia and the ATO, and each one links to a detailed guide further down.

Two older NSW programs, First Home Buyer Choice and the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper, are now listed by Revenue NSW as previous schemes. They are closed to new buyers.

The First Home Owner Grant: $10,000 for a new home

The First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant is a one-off $10,000 payment when you buy or build your first new home. A new home is one nobody has lived in: newly built, bought off the plan, or substantially renovated and being sold for the first time. Established homes don’t qualify.

• Buying a new or substantially renovated home: the price must not exceed $600,000.
• Buying land and signing a building contract, or building as an owner builder: the land plus the build (including variations) must not exceed $750,000.

The grant isn’t means tested and you don’t pay tax on it. It’s paid once per purchase, not per person. If you need the money at settlement or for the first progress payment, you apply through the lender providing your loan. Our First Home Owner Grant NSW guide covers every rule.

Transfer duty exemptions and concessions for first home buyers

After the deposit, transfer duty is usually the biggest cost of buying. For contracts exchanged from 1 July 2026, standard duty on an $800,000 home is $30,187. Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS), an eligible first home buyer pays nothing on that purchase.

• New or existing home valued up to $800,000: no transfer duty.
• Above $800,000 and below $1 million: a reduced rate. At $900,000, for example, duty is $19,593.50 instead of $34,687.
• $1 million or more: full duty, with no first home buyer relief.
• Vacant land up to $350,000: no duty. Above $350,000 and below $450,000: a reduced rate.

Unlike the grant, FHBAS covers established homes as well as new ones. You need to move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for at least 12 continuous months. Your conveyancer lodges the application after you exchange. Read the full rules in our first home buyer stamp duty guide, see our vacant land concession blog if you’re buying a block, or estimate your duty with our NSW transfer duty calculator.

The 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee)

The federal First Home Guarantee is now called the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. From 1 October 2025 it has had no income caps, no limit on places and higher price caps. The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee closed to new applicants at the same time.

The government guarantees part of your loan to the lender (up to 15% of the property’s value), so you can borrow up to 95% without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). The guarantee protects the lender, not you: you still repay the whole loan and pay your own buying costs. The main rules:

• A deposit of at least 5% (2% for eligible single parents and legal guardians).
• Aged 18 or over, and every applicant an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• A first home buyer, or no property owned in Australia in the last 10 years.
• You live in the home: move in within six months and stay while the guarantee applies.
• An owner-occupier principal and interest loan of up to 30 years from a participating lender.
• Price caps: $1,500,000 in Sydney and the NSW regional centres (Central Coast, Coffs Harbour–Grafton, Illawarra, Mid North Coast, Richmond–Tweed, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie), and $800,000 in the rest of NSW.

Our First Home Guarantee guide explains how to apply and what happens once you’re in.

Help to Buy: the government shares the cost

Help to Buy opened for applications on 5 December 2025. It’s a shared equity scheme: you put in at least a 2% deposit and take a loan from a participating lender, and the Australian Government contributes up to 30% of the price of an existing home or up to 40% of a new one. You own and live in the home. The government owns a share of its value, which you can buy back over time or repay when you sell.

The rules are tighter than the 5% Deposit Scheme. Every applicant must be an Australian citizen. For 2026–27, taxable income must be $103,000 or less for a single applicant, or $165,000 or less for joint applicants and single parents. You can’t own any property in Australia or overseas. In NSW the price cap is $1,300,000 in Sydney and the regional centres, and $800,000 elsewhere, and there are 10,000 places a year nationally. You can use it with grants, duty concessions and the super saver scheme, but not with another government guarantee.

First Home Super Saver Scheme: save your deposit in super

The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme lets you make voluntary contributions to your super fund and later withdraw them for a home deposit. Up to $15,000 of contributions a year count, to a total of $50,000 per person. When you withdraw, you can release 100% of after-tax (non-concessional) contributions, 85% of before-tax contributions such as salary sacrifice, plus associated earnings.

The saving comes from tax. Before-tax contributions are taxed at 15% in the fund, usually less than your marginal rate, and the released amount is taxed at your marginal rate less a 30% offset. The timing rules matter:

• Ask the ATO for an FHSS determination before settlement, while you don’t yet own property in Australia.
• Allow 15 to 20 business days for the money to reach you after you request a release.
• Sign a contract within 12 months of your release request (the ATO can extend this), and tell the ATO within 90 days of signing.
• Live in the home for at least six of the first 12 months after it’s practical to move in.

Eligibility is assessed person by person, so a couple can each use their own FHSS savings for the same home.

Who counts as a first home buyer? It depends on the program

This is where many buyers get caught. Each program has its own ownership, citizenship and living rules. A past investment property, a partner who has owned before or a visa can rule you out of one program but not another.

Putting it together: examples and the costs that remain

These examples are hypothetical and use the 2026–27 transfer duty rates. They are not quotes.

Costs the programs don’t cover

Grants and exemptions shrink the upfront bill, but they don’t remove it. Budget for these as well as your deposit:

• Conveyancing or legal fees, and the searches your conveyancer orders.
• Building and pest inspections, and a strata report if you’re buying a unit.
• Loan application or settlement fees, and mortgage registration.
• Home insurance, which your lender may require from settlement, plus removalists and connection fees.
• Any transfer duty still payable, such as the reduced amount between $800,000 and $1 million, due within three months of signing the contract or at settlement if that’s sooner.

Then there are the ongoing costs: council rates, strata levies, insurance, maintenance and utilities. Moneysmart suggests testing your repayments at an interest rate 2% higher than today’s, so a rate rise doesn’t leave you stretched. Our home loan repayments calculator makes that quick. For a step-by-step view of the whole purchase, read how to buy a house in Sydney.

How to check what you’re eligible for

1. 1

   Check each program’s rules

   Start with the Revenue NSW first home buyer pages (opens in a new tab) and the Housing Australia eligibility tool (opens in a new tab). Note the price limits for the area you want to buy in.

2. 2

   Get pre-approval with the right scheme in mind

   The 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy only work through participating lenders, so choose the lender before you house hunt. Our borrowing power calculator gives you a starting figure.

3. 3

   Line up your deposit sources

   If you’re using FHSS money, request your determination early. Releases take weeks, not days.

4. 4

   Tell your conveyancer you’re a first home buyer

   They lodge the FHBAS application with your proof of identity after exchange. Your lender can lodge the grant.

5. 5

   Move in and stay

   Meet each program’s living rules. If your plans change, tell Revenue NSW and your lender straight away.

We help first home buyers across Sydney and NSW put these pieces together, from the first budget to settlement. See how we work on our first home buyers page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get the First Home Owner Grant and the stamp duty exemption together?

Yes. Revenue NSW says the $10,000 First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant can be paid in addition to other exemptions or concessions. A new home priced up to $600,000 would usually qualify for both the grant and a full transfer duty exemption, because the duty exemption applies up to $800,000. You still need to meet each program’s rules, including moving in within 12 months and living there for 12 continuous months.

Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy at the same time?

No. Help to Buy participants can’t receive another government guarantee, loan or shared equity for the same purchase, so you choose one or the other. Help to Buy can be used with stamp duty concessions, grants and the First Home Super Saver Scheme. The 5% Deposit Scheme can also be combined with the NSW grant, the duty exemption or concession, and your super savings.

Do I have to be an Australian citizen to get first home buyer help?

It depends on the program. The NSW grant and the duty scheme need at least one buyer to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The 5% Deposit Scheme needs every applicant to be a citizen or permanent resident. Help to Buy is only for Australian citizens. The First Home Super Saver Scheme has no citizenship test. Temporary residents can’t get the NSW grant.

I once owned an investment property. Am I still a first home buyer?

For the NSW duty scheme, no: you and your partner must never have owned residential property in Australia. For the grant, you may still qualify if the property was only ever an investment and you never lived in a home you owned for six continuous months after 1 July 2000. The 5% Deposit Scheme accepts buyers who haven’t owned property in Australia in the last 10 years.

Is there an income limit for first home buyer help in NSW?

The NSW grant is not means tested and the duty scheme has no income test. Since 1 October 2025 the 5% Deposit Scheme has no income caps either. Help to Buy does: for 2026–27, taxable income must be $103,000 or less for a single applicant, or $165,000 or less for joint applicants and single parents, based on the previous year’s notice of assessment.

Sources

1. Revenue NSW: First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant (opens in a new tab)
2. Revenue NSW: First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (opens in a new tab)
3. Housing Australia: Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme for first home buyers (opens in a new tab)
4. Housing Australia: Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme (opens in a new tab)
5. ATO: About the first home super saver scheme (opens in a new tab)
6. Moneysmart: Ways to buy a home sooner (opens in a new tab)