First home buyers in Western Australia
Western Australia gives first home buyers two things. The First Home Owner Grant is $10,000 for a new home, valued up to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel (most of the state, including Perth) or $1,000,000 north of it. The first home owner rate of duty means no stamp duty on a home up to $600,000, and reduced duty up to $800,000, on new and established homes alike. Both changed on 7 May 2026, so older pages quoting $500,000 and $700,000 are out of date.
What WA first home buyers can claim
The First Home Owner Grant. $10,000 for a new home, or the price if that's less. The home's value must be up to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel, or $1,000,000 north of it. No income or assets test.
The first home owner rate of duty. No stamp duty on a home up to $600,000. Reduced duty from $600,001 to $800,000. New and established homes both qualify.
The 5% Deposit Scheme. Federal, not state: buy with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, up to $850,000 in Perth and $600,000 in the rest of WA.
Do you have to buy new?
For the grant, yes. It's for a new home, built or bought, or a home that has been substantially renovated. Buy an established home and there's no grant, whatever the price.
For the duty concession, no. The first home owner rate of duty applies to established homes too. That's where most WA first home buyers get their help.
What stamp duty costs a WA first home buyer
WA calls stamp duty "transfer duty". Here's what it is on a home at each price, at the normal rate and at the first home owner rate, for agreements from 7 May 2026.
| Price | Normal duty | First home owner rate | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $17,765 | Nil | $17,765 |
| $600,000 | $22,515 | Nil | $22,515 |
| $650,000 | $24,890 | $8,075 | $16,815 |
| $700,000 | $27,265 | $16,150 | $11,115 |
| $750,000 | $29,740 | $24,225 | $5,515 |
| $800,000 | $32,315 | $32,300 | $15 |
| Over $800,000 | Normal rate | Not available | Nil |
Worked out from the WA government's published rates. Your conveyancer or settlement agent confirms the figure on your contract.
Where the concession runs out
The full saving, $22,515, is at $600,000. Above that, every $100 of price adds $16.15 of duty at the first home rate, much faster than the normal rate rises, so the saving shrinks quickly. By $750,000 it's about $5,500, and at $800,000 it's about $15. Over $800,000 there's no concession at all, but because it has already tapered to almost nothing, there's no sudden jump in the bill at the limit.
So the real question isn't whether you're under $800,000. It's how far over $600,000 you are.
If you're buying land to build on
Vacant land has its own first home rate. There's no duty on land up to $450,000, and reduced duty from $450,001 to $550,000, at $20.14 for every $100 over $450,000. By $550,000 the concession is used up. A new home built on the land can also get the $10,000 grant, if the land and building contract together stay within the grant's value cap.
Who counts as a first home buyer in WA
Be 18 or older when you apply.
At least one buyer is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
Neither you nor your spouse or partner has owned a home in Australia before 1 July 2000, or owned one since and lived in it.
Neither of you has had a first home grant or first home duty concession before, in any state or territory.
For the grant, live in the home for at least 6 months in a row, starting within 12 months of the purchase or build being completed.
The duty concession only asks that you'd qualify for the grant, apart from two things: buying an established home, or a value over the grant's cap. So the same buyer test applies to both.
The federal schemes you can use as well
The 5% Deposit Scheme. A 5% deposit with no lenders mortgage insurance, on a price up to $850,000 in Perth or $600,000 elsewhere in WA. No income limit.
Help to Buy. The government takes a share of up to 30% of an existing home's price, or 40% of a new one, from a 2% deposit. Income limits of $103,000, or $165,000 for couples and single parents, and every buyer must be a citizen.
The First Home Super Saver Scheme. Save part of your deposit through your super, up to $15,000 a year and $50,000 in total.
What you can combine, and what you can't
You can't use the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy together; you choose one. Help to Buy also rules out other state shared equity schemes and state loans or guarantees, but the government says stamp duty concessions and grants still apply. The WA grant and duty concession can sit alongside either federal scheme.
What the whole package is worth
An illustration, not a client file. A first buyer pays $650,000 for a newly built home in Perth. The grant is $10,000. Duty at the first home rate is $8,075 instead of $24,890, a saving of $16,815. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme, a $32,500 deposit is enough, with no lenders mortgage insurance; on one insurer's rate card we hold, that insurance would otherwise be $27,849 on a 95% loan. That's $54,664 of help on a $650,000 home.
Buy an established home for $580,000 instead, and the grant falls away, but there's no duty at all, a saving of $21,565, and the 5% Deposit Scheme still applies.
When to apply, and when the money arrives
Check every condition before you sign. The grant, the duty rate and the federal scheme each have their own test.
Apply for the grant within 12 months of the purchase or build being completed, through an approved agent, usually your lender, or directly with RevenueWA.
Claim the first home rate within 12 months of the transfer being registered, or of moving in, for vacant land. Your settlement agent usually handles it.
Plan your deposit without the grant. It's usually paid at settlement, or at the first progress payment on a build, so it can't pay the deposit when you sign.
Move in on time, and live there for at least 6 months in a row for the grant.
WA first home buyer questions
$10,000 for a new home, or the price if that's less. The home must be valued up to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel or $1,000,000 north of it, for transactions from 7 May 2026. There's no income or assets test.
Buying your first home in WA?
Tell me where you're buying, roughly the price, whether it's new or established, and what you've saved. I'll tell you what the grant, the duty concession and the federal schemes would give you, and what to have in place before you sign.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Sources
- 1
Government of Western Australia, About the first home owner grant (updated 29 July 2026). Read 2 October 2026.
https://
www.wa.gov.au/ government/ publications/ about-the-first-home-owner-grant - 2
Government of Western Australia, Duties Fact Sheet, First Home Owner Rate (updated 27 August 2026). Read 2 October 2026.
https://
www.wa.gov.au/ government/ publications/ duties-fact-sheet-first-home-owner-rate - 3
Government of Western Australia, Department of Treasury and Finance, Transfer duty assessment, general rate (updated 30 July 2026). Read 3 October 2026.
https://
www.wa.gov.au/ organisation/ department-of-treasury-and-finance/ transfer-duty-assessment - 4
Housing Australia, 5% Deposit Scheme Information Guide for First Home Buyers, dated 1 July 2026. Checked 29 September 2026; its line on other government help re-read 3 October 2026.
- 5
firsthomebuyers.gov.au, Help to Buy scheme and 2026-27 thresholds. Checked 2 October 2026.
- 6
Australian Taxation Office, First Home Super Saver Scheme (published 8 July 2026). Read 2 October 2026.
- 7
The duty table and illustration: Money Brain's arithmetic on the rates above.
Updated 3 October 2026