Home buyer schemes: which ones fit, and which work together
There are three federal schemes for first home buyers and a set of state grants and stamp duty concessions. Most buyers can use more than one: state help sits alongside each federal scheme, and the first home super saver scheme releases your own savings. The one pair that can't be combined is the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy, so the first real choice is between those two.
Every scheme, on one screen
| 5% Deposit Scheme | Help to Buy | First home super saver | State grants and duty relief | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Guarantees part of your loan, so there's no lenders mortgage insurance | The government pays part of the price and holds an equity share | Releases extra savings you've put into super | A cash grant, a stamp duty cut, or both |
| Minimum deposit | 5% (2% for single parents) | 2% | Not a loan scheme | Not a loan scheme |
| Income limit | None | $103,000 single; $165,000 joint or single parent | Not stated as a test | Varies by state |
| Price limit | Yes, by area | Yes, by area | Not stated as a test | Yes, by state |
| Citizenship | Citizen or permanent resident | Australian citizens only | Not stated as a test | Varies by state |
| Places | No limit, no waiting list | 10,000 a year | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Full rules | /first-home-guarantee/ | /help-to-buy-scheme/ | /first-home-super-saver/ | /first-home-buyer-grants/ |
Help to Buy's income limits apply from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Price limits are set separately for each scheme and area, and they're on each scheme's own page.
Which one is likely to be yours
You've saved 5% or more, the home is under the cap, and you're a citizen or permanent resident. Start with the 5% Deposit Scheme. It has no income limit and no waiting list.
You've saved as little as 2%, earn under the income limit, and are an Australian citizen. Help to Buy may fit, if you're comfortable with the government holding a share of the home's value.
You're still saving. The first home super saver scheme lets you save part of your deposit through extra super contributions, taxed at 15%, which is usually less than your income tax rate, and release it when you buy.
Whichever you choose, check your state's grant and stamp duty relief as well.
Which schemes can be used together
State grants and stamp duty relief, with any federal scheme. Help to Buy's own page says grants and stamp duty concessions still apply alongside it, and the 5% Deposit Scheme's deposit test counts your savings after costs such as stamp duty, which is where a duty concession helps.
The first home super saver scheme, with either. It releases your own money from super toward the purchase, so it isn't a second form of government help on the loan. Ask your lender how it treats the released amount.
A state grant with a duty concession, where your state offers both and you meet both sets of rules.
Which can't
The 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy. One or the other, never both.
Help to Buy and a state's shared equity scheme, loan or guarantee. Help to Buy's page rules out other help of that kind, including from a state or territory.
A scheme on the wrong home. Each has its own price limit and its own rules on new or established homes. A state grant is usually for a new home only.
"First home buyer" means something different to each scheme
5% Deposit Scheme. No interest in any property in the last 10 years, including land, a commercial property, or one held with a former partner.
First home super saver. Never owned property in Australia, including an investment property or vacant land. The ATO can make an exception for financial hardship, such as divorce or bankruptcy.
State grants and duty relief. Each state sets its own test, and some count a home owned overseas.
If you've owned anything before, even land or a share with a former partner, check each scheme separately. You can fail one and pass another.
Citizenship and residency
Help to Buy is for Australian citizens only. The 5% Deposit Scheme takes citizens and permanent residents. State grants and duty relief usually need at least one buyer to be a citizen or permanent resident. A temporary visa holder buying alone can't use the 5% Deposit Scheme or Help to Buy. The first home super saver scheme's eligibility list has no citizenship test.
Places, and waiting
The 5% Deposit Scheme no longer has a set number of places or a waiting list. Help to Buy does: 10,000 places a year. If a place isn't available when you're ready to buy, the 5% Deposit Scheme, a family guarantee or paying lenders mortgage insurance are the routes to look at, and any of them can be compared on your numbers.
In what order to start
Start the super saver early, if you'll use it. Only voluntary contributions count. You can ask the ATO to release them before you sign a contract, or up to 90 days after you sign. If you ask first, you have 12 months to sign, which the ATO can extend by up to another 12. The money can take 15 to 20 business days to arrive.
Choose between the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy. You can't use both, so settle this before you apply.
Get pre-approved with a lender that offers your scheme. The 5% Deposit Scheme is offered only through participating lenders.
Check your state's grant and duty relief before you sign. The type of home and the price decide whether you qualify.
Sign, then claim. Duty relief is usually applied at settlement, and the grant is usually paid at settlement or the first progress payment on a build.
If no scheme fits
Plenty of buyers miss every scheme: the price is over the cap, they've owned before, or they earn too much for Help to Buy. You can still buy with a small deposit. A family guarantee can avoid lenders mortgage insurance, some lenders waive the insurance for certain professions, and paying the insurance is a straightforward option in its own right.
Home buyer scheme questions
No. They can't be combined, so you choose one.
Not sure which schemes you can use?
Tell me where you're buying, roughly the price, what you've saved, your income, and whether you've owned property before. I'll tell you which schemes you qualify for, which to combine, and the order to start them in.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Sources
- 1
Housing Australia, 5% Deposit Scheme guide dated 1 July 2026. Checked 29 September 2026.
- 2
First Home Buyers (Australian Government), 5% Deposit Scheme: no income caps, no waiting list. Read 26 August 2026.
- 3
First Home Buyers (Australian Government), Help to Buy scheme page and income thresholds 2026–27. Checked 2 October 2026.
- 4
ATO, First home super saver scheme (published 8 July 2026), https://
www.ato.gov.au/ . Read 2 October 2026.individuals-and-families/ super-for-individuals-and-families/ super/ withdrawing-and-using-your-super/ early-access-to-super/ first-home-super-saver-scheme - 5
State revenue offices, on each state's page. Dated there.
Updated 3 October 2026