Buying your first home as a Queensland police officer: a 2026 checklist

1. Know where you will be for the next three years

Start with your allocation, because it shapes everything else. The Queensland Police Service recruiting site says your letter of offer sets the region and district you are allocated to for your first three years, and that most positions are outside south-east Queensland. After the Academy you complete the First Year Constable Program at a training station, then you are posted within your allocated district. Once that first three-year tenure is done, you can apply for other locations.

That leaves three broad options:

• Buy near your posting and live in it. This is an owner-occupier purchase, and it may qualify for first home help.
• Wait until you know where you will settle, and keep saving.
• Buy where you want to end up and rent it out. This is an investment purchase. It changes the loan, and it usually rules out first home help that requires you to live in the home.

2. Build a deposit that reads as savings

Lenders like a deposit that has built up steadily in your own name. If you are approved to live in at the Academy, the accommodation is free, along with breakfast and dinner on weekdays, so the training months can be a strong time to save. Paying rent on time helps too, because some lenders accept a good rental history as part of your savings record.

A gift from family can help with costs, but lenders treat gifts differently, and the 5% Deposit Scheme asks for a saved deposit of at least 5% of the property value. Budget for the costs on top of the deposit as well: legal fees, building and pest inspections, lender fees and any transfer duty that still applies.

3. Choose your path past lenders mortgage insurance

If you borrow more than 80% of the property's value, you may need to pay lenders mortgage insurance, or LMI. It is a one-off fee that protects the lender, not you, and it is paid at settlement or added to the loan. Police have two main ways around it.

• A police LMI waiver. Some lenders waive LMI for police officers as their own policy. It is tied to your job, not to being a first home buyer. Conditions apply and offers change, so ask us who is offering it right now.
• The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. The government provides a guarantee to a participating lender, so an eligible buyer can buy with a deposit from 5% and no LMI. You need to be a first home buyer, or not have owned property in Australia in the last 10 years, and the home must be at or below the price cap for its location.

For police, the catch with the scheme is the living rule. You must move in within 6 months of settlement (or of the occupancy certificate, for a new build) and keep living there while the guarantee is in place, and you cannot rent the home out. If you stop living there without an exemption, the guarantee may no longer apply and your lender may require you to pay LMI or other costs. A transfer inside that window matters. The waiver comes with its own conditions too, so we compare both against your allocation before you choose.

4. Time your pre-approval around your postings

A pre-approval is a lender's conditional yes to a loan amount. It only lasts a limited time, which varies by lender, and under the 5% Deposit Scheme you have 90 days from pre-approval to find a home and sign a contract. It usually makes sense to apply once you know where you will be living and have some constable payslips behind you, not halfway through the Academy.

New officers are on probation for at least 12 months after appointment, and lenders differ on that. Some count your constable pay from your first day after graduation. Others want probation finished, or a few months of payslips first. Before you apply, and again before settlement, tell us about anything coming up: a transfer, a move off the shift roster or a stretch of leave. A change in income or address after approval can mean the lender reassesses your loan.

5. Check the Queensland grant and duty rules before you sign

Queensland's First Home Owner Grant and transfer duty concessions each have their own rules about what you buy, when you move in and how long you stay. They are different benefits with similar, but not identical, rules. The Queensland Revenue Office notes, for example, that renting the home out before you move in can keep the grant but lose the duty concession. A posting that lands inside those windows can cost you, so check the dates against your allocation before you sign. The current grants, concessions and thresholds are on our first home buyers page.

6. Get your documents ready

• your latest payslips, showing year-to-date pay and each allowance;
• last year's income statement from myGov, if you were working;
• a letter confirming your appointment and start date, if you are newly inducted;
• photo ID;
• recent bank statements showing your savings and your pay going in;
• details of any debts, including credit card limits, car loans and HECS-HELP;
• your rental ledger, if you rent;
• your salary packaging statement, if you package.

For the 5% Deposit Scheme, the participating lender will also ask for a completed Home Buyer Declaration and proof of citizenship or residency.

Where we fit

We compare police LMI waivers with the 5% Deposit Scheme, look for the lender that counts the most of your shift pay, and time the application around your roster and your allocation. Read more about home loans for police officers, or send us your last two payslips and we will tell you where you stand. We are not part of, or endorsed by, any police service.

Sources

• Queensland Police Service Recruiting, Frequently asked questions, checked 23-10-2026.
• Police Service Administration Act 1990 (Qld), section 5.12, checked 23-10-2026.
• Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme for first home buyers and its Information Guide, checked 23-10-2026.
• Moneysmart, Save for a house deposit, checked 23-10-2026.
• Queensland Revenue Office, First home owner grant payment and obligations, checked 23-10-2026.

This article is general information only. It is not credit advice or an offer of credit, and it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Scheme rules change, and the official source is firsthomebuyers.gov.au. Consider your circumstances and talk to us before acting.

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