NSW First Home Owner Grant guide
By Ali Hasani, Founder and Principal Mortgage Broker at Buyvest, MFAA accredited. Last updated July 2026. Duty figures are 2026-27 rates, verified against Revenue NSW.
There is no income test, which makes it more accessible than the federal schemes. There is also no sliding scale, so a dollar over the cap means nothing at all. This guide covers who qualifies, where the cliff sits, how the grant interacts with your deposit, and what it stacks with.
The short version: $10,000 for a new home valued at $600,000 or less, or $750,000 or less for land plus a building contract combined. New homes only, established properties do not qualify. No income test. You must move in within 12 months and live there for 12 continuous months. The cap is absolute, with no partial grant above it.
What is the First Home Owner Grant?
A one-off $10,000 payment from the NSW Government to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home. It is not a loan, not taxed, and not means tested.
The defining word is new. Revenue NSW treats a home as new when it has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence. That covers newly built houses, apartments and townhouses, off the plan purchases, substantially renovated properties, and homes built to replace demolished premises. An established home does not qualify at any price.
If you are buying established, you have not lost everything. The NSW stamp duty exemption applies to new and existing homes alike up to $800,000, and it is worth considerably more than the grant.
What are the value caps?
$600,000 for a completed new home, or $750,000 for vacant land plus a building contract combined. These are hard limits with no partial grant above them.
For a purchased new home, the cap is the total value of the property. For a house and land package or an owner-builder project, it is the land value plus the building contract or the reasonable cost of construction. Revenue NSW may ask for documentation where the total sits close to the threshold.
There is no sliding scale. A new home at $599,000 receives the full $10,000. A new home at $601,000 receives nothing, not a reduced amount. Unlike stamp duty, which tapers between $800,000 and $1,000,000, the grant is all or nothing. If you are looking at new stock priced near $600,000, that gap is worth a conversation with your conveyancer before you sign.
Who is eligible for the FHOG?
You must be at least 18, buying as an individual, and neither you nor your spouse or partner can have owned residential property in Australia before. At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
There is no income test
This is worth stating plainly because it sets the FHOG apart. Your earnings are irrelevant. The Help to Buy scheme has income limits of $103,000 and $165,000, and plenty of buyers assume every scheme works that way. The FHOG does not. If you meet the ownership, residency and property criteria, you qualify regardless of what you earn.
Ownership history
Neither you, your spouse or partner, nor any co-purchaser can have previously owned residential property in Australia. That includes any interest in a property, whether or not you ever lived in it.
Note this is stricter than the 5% Deposit Scheme, which allows anyone who has not owned property or land in Australia in the last 10 years. You can be eligible for that scheme and ineligible for this grant.
Living in the home
For contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, you must move in within 12 months of completion and live there as your principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months.
If your circumstances change and you cannot meet that, tell Revenue NSW immediately. You may have to repay the grant, and failing to disclose can attract a penalty on top of the repayment.
Does the FHOG count towards your deposit?
Towards your total deposit, usually yes. Towards genuine savings, no. Most lenders will count the $10,000 as part of the funds you bring to settlement, but they will still want to see genuine savings of around 5% of the purchase price held in your own account for at least three months.
This trips people up. The grant is not money you saved, so it does not evidence the savings behaviour lenders are testing for. It reduces what you need to find, but it does not replace the genuine savings requirement.
There is also a timing issue. For a completed new home the grant is credited at settlement. For owner-builders and construction contracts it is paid at the first progress payment. Either way, it is not sitting in your account while you are arranging finance, so your lender needs to know it is coming and you need the deposit funded until it lands. Tell your broker early and it is straightforward. Discover it late and it is not.
Working out whether you qualify?
We check FHOG eligibility, work out what stacks with it, and handle the lender side. 35+ lenders compared at $0 cost to you.
How do you apply?
Usually through your lender as an approved agent, as part of settlement. You can also apply directly to Revenue NSW. Most buyers never lodge anything themselves.
Applying through an approved agent is the common route and generally the faster one, because your lender or conveyancer folds it into the settlement process. You provide proof of identity and age, evidence of citizenship or permanent residency, and the purchase or construction details. Your conveyancer usually assembles the paperwork.
Processing times vary with workload and how complete the application is, so start early in your home buying journey rather than in the fortnight before settlement.
What does the FHOG stack with?
The grant sits alongside the NSW stamp duty exemption and a federal deposit scheme. On a new home under $600,000, the grant and the duty exemption together are worth more than $30,000 before you count anything else.
NSW stamp duty exemption
The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme removes duty entirely on homes up to $800,000, new or established, with a concession to $1,000,000. Every property eligible for the FHOG sits well inside that, so if you qualify for the grant you almost certainly qualify for the exemption too.
A federal deposit scheme
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets you buy with 5% and no LMI, with no income caps. Help to Buy takes an equity share in exchange for a much smaller loan, with income limits. You can use either with the FHOG, but not both, since the two federal schemes are mutually exclusive.
First Home Super Saver
The First Home Super Saver scheme builds the deposit itself inside super, and unlike the grant, a release does count as genuine savings with most lenders.
Worked example, a $580,000 new apartment. The FHOG pays $10,000. Duty on that price would otherwise be around $20,287, and the exemption removes it entirely. That is roughly $30,300 in verifiable benefit. Add the 5% Deposit Scheme and you enter with $29,000 rather than $116,000, and avoid an LMI premium that would typically run into the tens of thousands. The LMI figure varies by lender and borrower, so treat that part as a range rather than a number.
Which property types work for the FHOG?
A completed new build, an off-the-plan purchase, a house and land package, an owner-builder project, or a substantially renovated home. The choice mostly comes down to timing and which cap applies.
A completed new house or townhouse means you can move in immediately and see exactly what you are buying, under the $600,000 cap.
Off the plan locks in a price with a long settlement, giving you time to keep saving, though the valuation at completion is a real risk to plan for.
Vacant land plus a construction contract gives you the higher $750,000 combined cap and full design control, at the cost of a longer timeline and staged finance.
Our guide on how to buy the right property compares them, and the purchase and valuation guide covers how each buying method works.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an income test for the FHOG?
No. The NSW First Home Owner Grant has no income limit. Your earnings are irrelevant provided you meet the ownership, residency and property criteria. This differs from Help to Buy, which applies income limits of $103,000 and $165,000.
What is the maximum property value for the FHOG?
$600,000 for a completed new home, or $750,000 for vacant land plus a building contract combined. There is no sliding scale, so a home at $601,000 receives no grant at all rather than a reduced amount.
Are established homes eligible?
No. The grant covers new homes only, meaning homes not previously occupied or sold as a residence. That includes newly built properties, off the plan purchases, substantially renovated homes and rebuilds on demolished sites. If you are buying established, the stamp duty exemption still applies up to $800,000 and is worth more than the grant.
Does the FHOG count as genuine savings?
No. Most lenders will count the $10,000 towards your total deposit, but they still want genuine savings of around 5% of the purchase price held in your own account for at least three months. The grant reduces what you need to find, but it does not satisfy the savings test.
When is the grant actually paid?
For a completed new home it is credited at settlement. For owner-builders and construction contracts it is paid at the first progress payment. Either way it is not available before then, so your deposit needs to be funded independently and your lender needs to know the grant is coming.
Can I combine the FHOG with a federal deposit scheme?
Yes. The grant works alongside the 5% Deposit Scheme or Help to Buy, and with the NSW stamp duty exemption. You cannot use both federal schemes together, so you pick one and stack the state benefits on top.
How long do I need to live in the property?
For contracts signed on or after 1 July 2023, you must move in within 12 months of completion and live there as your principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months. If your circumstances change, tell Revenue NSW immediately, because failing to disclose can attract a penalty on top of repaying the grant.
Can I get the FHOG if I have owned property before?
No. Neither you nor your spouse or partner can have previously owned residential property in Australia, including any interest in one you never lived in. The 5% Deposit Scheme is more forgiving, requiring only that you have not owned property or land in Australia in the last 10 years, so you may qualify for that even where the grant is out of reach.
How do I apply for the grant?
Usually through your lender as an approved agent, folded into settlement, which is the faster route. You can also apply directly to Revenue NSW. You need proof of identity and age, evidence of citizenship or permanent residency, and the purchase or construction details, which your conveyancer normally assembles.
Next steps
Confirm current criteria with Revenue NSW, then work out which federal scheme to pair the grant with, because that decision affects your deposit and your lender choice.
Model it with our property deposit calculator and mortgage repayment calculator, and read the pre-approval to settlement guide for the process around it.
Learn more about our team, or see our service areas across 220+ Sydney suburbs.
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Email: hello@buyvest.com.au
Related resources
NSW stamp duty | 5% Deposit Scheme guide | Help to Buy | First Home Super Saver | Genuine savings | Deposit options | Construction loans
Service areas: 220+ suburbs across Sydney including Ryde | Parramatta | Baulkham Hills | Gladesville | Penrith | Chatswood | Castle Hill | Epping | Hornsby | Blacktown | Bankstown | Hurstville | Sutherland | Manly | Bondi | Sydney CBD and more
This article is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account. Grant criteria, value caps and duty thresholds change, and duty is indexed each 1 July, so confirm current figures with Revenue NSW and your conveyancer before relying on them. LMI amounts vary by insurer, lender and borrower. For tax questions, speak with your accountant. Ali Hasani is an Authorised Credit Representative (CRN 567392) of Connective Credit Services Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence 389328).
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Important stuff:
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