First home buyers
First home buyer home loans: the grant, no stamp duty on a new home, and a 5% deposit
Buying your first home in Queensland has rarely had this much help behind it. There is a $30,000 grant for a new home, no transfer duty at all on a new home or a block you build on, a federal scheme that lets you buy with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, and a shared equity scheme for people who are close but not quite there. We search a panel of 75 lenders, work out which of these you can use together, and walk you through it in plain English.
What a Queensland first home buyer can claim in 2026
Queensland runs four separate first home benefits through the Queensland Revenue Office. They have different rules, and the biggest two only apply to new homes, which is why so many first home buyers end up looking at a house and land package or a build.
The First Home Owner Grant: $30,000 for a new home
The Queensland First Home Owner Grant is $30,000 for a contract signed on or after 20 November 2023 to buy or build a new home. A new home is one that has never been occupied or sold as a place of residence, or one that has been substantially renovated. The value of the home and land must be less than $750,000, there is no income test, and you must move in within one year of the completed transaction and live there continuously for six months. You or a co-applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and neither you nor your spouse can have received a grant before or owned residential property in Australia that you lived in (the rule is stricter for property owned before 1 July 2000). There is no grant for an established home.
No transfer duty on a new home: the first home (new home) concession
For contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later, the first home (new home) concession reduces transfer duty on a new or substantially renovated first home to nil, with no value cap on the home and the residential land it sits on. You must buy as an individual, pay market value, never have held an interest in another residence in Australia or overseas, and move in within one year of settlement.
No transfer duty on vacant land you build your first home on
Buying a block to build on? For agreements from 1 May 2025 the first home vacant land concession means you may pay no duty on residential vacant land. You must build one home on it and move in within two years of settlement.
Buying an established home: the first home concession
An established first home under $800,000 can still get the first home concession, which the Queensland Revenue Office says can save up to $24,525 in transfer duty. Over $800,000 the ordinary home concession may still apply. Our stamp duty calculator shows the effect for any state.
One change worth knowing: for transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026, all three Queensland duty concessions require you to be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or a specified foreign retiree.
Sources: Queensland Revenue Office pages linked above, checked by us on 10 September 2026. Thresholds and grant amounts change with state budgets, so confirm the current figures on the QRO site or ask us before you sign.
The federal schemes: 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy and the super saver
The Australian Government runs three programs for first home buyers, and you can use the Queensland grant and duty concessions alongside them. The Queensland Revenue Office says the national schemes do not affect your eligibility for the grant.
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
Formerly called the Home Guarantee Scheme, the 5% Deposit Scheme lets a first home buyer purchase with a minimum 5% deposit, and a single parent or legal guardian with a minimum 2% deposit, without paying lenders mortgage insurance. The government guarantees part of the loan to the lender. From 1 October 2025 there are no income caps and no waitlists, though a property price cap still applies and differs by location. For Queensland the cap is $1,000,000 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 elsewhere in the state, and both the purchase price and the lender's valuation must sit at or below it. Check the cap for your suburb on the scheme's price cap page or ask us.
You cannot apply to Housing Australia directly. The scheme runs through participating lenders as part of the home loan application, and once you are pre-approved you have 90 days to sign a contract of sale. You must live in the home as an owner-occupier to keep the guarantee. Many of the lenders on our panel take part, and we do the paperwork with you.
Help to Buy: the government takes a share
Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme that opened for applications on 5 December 2025. You need a minimum 2% deposit and a loan from a participating lender, and the government contributes up to 30% of the price of an existing home or up to 40% of a new home. That contribution is an equity share, not a loan: the government shares proportionally in any gain or loss when you sell or buy it out, and the buy-out is always priced on the value at the time.
Eligibility is tighter than the 5% Deposit Scheme. All applicants must be Australian citizens, you must have a taxable income at or below $103,000 as an individual or $165,000 for single parents and joint applicants (from your previous financial year notice of assessment, and indexed each year), you cannot currently own property anywhere (with narrow exceptions for single parents), and you must live in the home. There are 10,000 places a year and a price cap for your location. You can still use the Queensland grant and duty concessions with it.
The First Home Super Saver Scheme
Run by the ATO, the First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you make voluntary contributions to super of up to $15,000 a year and withdraw up to $50,000 in total, plus associated earnings, towards your first home. The lower tax on super contributions is what makes the savings grow faster. You must be 18 or over, never have owned property in Australia, and request the ATO's determination before the property transfers to you; the ATO page sets out the timing. Couples, friends and siblings can each release their own amount towards the same property. Whether it suits you is a tax question, so talk to a registered tax agent.
| Scheme | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| QLD First Home Owner Grant | $30,000 towards a new home under $750,000 | New homes only, live in it for six months |
| QLD first home (new home) concession | No transfer duty, no value cap | New or substantially renovated homes, contracts from 1 May 2025 |
| QLD first home concession | Duty reduced on an established home under $800,000 | Reduces as the price rises between $700,000 and $800,000, none from $800,000 |
| 5% Deposit Scheme | 5% deposit, no lenders mortgage insurance | Price cap by location, owner-occupier only |
| Help to Buy | 2% deposit, government contributes up to 30% (existing) or 40% (new) | Income caps, citizens only, the government shares your gains |
| First Home Super Saver | Up to $50,000 saved inside super | $15,000 a year, determination before the contract |
Sources: firsthomebuyers.gov.au and the Queensland Revenue Office, checked by us on 10 September 2026. Scheme rules and caps change; the linked pages carry the current figures.
Why so many first home buyers build
Put the Queensland benefits side by side and the pattern is obvious. The $30,000 grant is for new homes only. The full duty exemption is for new homes and for land you build on. Help to Buy contributes up to 40% on a new home against 30% on an existing one. For a first home buyer, a house and land package or a new build can carry tens of thousands of dollars of government help that an established home does not.
Building is also where the finance needs more care: a construction loan is drawn down in stages as the builder finishes each one, and the grant is paid at a point the Queensland Revenue Office sets, which differs between buying and building. We do a lot of construction lending and explain every stage on our construction and new build loans page, including how progress payments work. If you are looking at the Sunshine Coast, our Sunshine Coast page covers the local picture.
How much deposit do you actually need?
Less than most people think, and more than the headline deposit. Through the 5% Deposit Scheme a first home buyer can borrow with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance. Outside the scheme, lenders usually charge lenders mortgage insurance on loans above 80% of the property value, which is why 20% is the number everyone quotes. Some lenders will lend above 80% with the insurance added to the loan, and a few have their own arrangements for particular professions.
On top of the deposit you need to cover the costs of buying: conveyancing, building and pest inspections, lender and government fees, and any transfer duty that still applies. Lenders also look at how you saved. A deposit built up over months in your own account reads better than a lump sum that appeared last week, though a gift from family can work with the right paperwork.
Two calculators will get you started: the savings calculator for how long the deposit will take, and the LVR calculator for where your deposit lands as a percentage of the price. Then talk to us before you fall in love with a listing, because what a lender will lend you depends on more than the deposit.
How we work with first home buyers
- The conversation. Where you want to live, what you earn, what you have saved and whether a build is on the table. We tell you which of the grants and schemes you are likely to qualify for, and which lenders take part in the ones you want.
- Pre-approval. We put your application to the lender that fits, so you know your ceiling before you make an offer. Under the 5% Deposit Scheme the pre-approval starts a 90-day clock to sign a contract.
- The contract and the claims. We check the contract date and the property against the grant and concession rules before you sign, because a day either side of a threshold can change what you get. The grant application and the duty concession claim are lodged as part of the process.
- Settlement, or the build. For an established home, settlement. For a build, we manage the progress payments with the lender and the builder until the keys are handed over.
- After you move in. The residency rules for the grant and the concessions run for a year or more after settlement, and we stay in touch. A free mortgage health check down the track tells you whether the loan still fits.
On a home loan, our service costs you nothing: the lender pays us when your loan settles. If a fee ever applied to a particular type of finance, we would tell you first and agree it in writing before doing any work. Queensland-based, lending Australia-wide, by phone, video and e-signature.
Serving or ex-ADF? The Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme can sit alongside these benefits. Our DHOAS and veteran home loans page explains how they stack.
Common questions
Questions first home buyers ask us
Can I get the $30,000 First Home Owner Grant on an established home?
No. The Queensland grant is only for a new home, meaning one that has never been occupied or sold as a place of residence, or a substantially renovated home, valued under $750,000. There is no grant for established homes.
Do first home buyers pay stamp duty in Queensland?
Not on a new home or on vacant land you build on, for contracts dated 1 May 2025 or later. On an established home under $800,000 the first home concession reduces the duty, by up to $24,525 according to the Queensland Revenue Office. Over $800,000 the ordinary home concession may apply.
Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme and the First Home Owner Grant together?
Yes. The Queensland Revenue Office says the national schemes administered by Housing Australia do not affect your eligibility for the grant, and the duty concessions are separate again. Help to Buy also allows state grants and concessions alongside it.
Is there an income limit for first home buyer help?
It depends on the scheme. The Queensland grant has no income test, and the 5% Deposit Scheme dropped its income caps from 1 October 2025. Help to Buy does have caps: a taxable income at or below $103,000 for an individual or $165,000 for single parents and joint applicants, indexed each year.
I once owned an investment property. Am I still a first home buyer?
For the Queensland grant, possibly: if you have only ever owned an investment property since 1 July 2000 and never lived in it, you may still qualify, with evidence covering the whole period of ownership. The duty concessions and the super saver scheme are stricter and generally require that you have never held an interest in a residence, or any property, so we check each rule against your history.
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Let's work out what you can claim
Tell us what you earn, what you have saved and where you want to live, and we will map the grants, the schemes and the lenders that fit. No obligation. Queensland-based, lending Australia-wide.