First Home Owner Grant by state.
First Home Owner Grant
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A grant that lives or dies on two words: new build
The First Home Owner Grant is one of the most misunderstood benefits in Australian property. People hear there is free money for first buyers and assume it covers any home they fall in love with. In most states it does not. The grant has narrowed over the years until it now generally applies only to a newly built home, an off-the-plan apartment, or a substantially renovated dwelling. Buy an established house and in nearly every state you get nothing from this scheme, even though you are unmistakably a first home buyer. This tool reflects that reality by checking your purchase price against each state's new-build cap.
Because the grant is run by each state and territory rather than the ATO, the rules diverge sharply. The amount on offer, the price ceiling, and even whether a grant exists at all change the moment you cross a border. That is why the calculator asks for your state first.
A $650,000 new build in Queensland
Suppose you are buying a brand-new home in Queensland for $650,000. Queensland currently offers the most generous grant in the country at $30,000, and its new-build price cap sits at $750,000. Your price is comfortably under the cap, so the grant applies in full.
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Nudge that same purchase to $760,000 and the grant disappears entirely, because the cap is a hard cliff rather than a sliding scale. There is no partial grant once you go over. The bars below show how the same $650,000 buyer is treated wildly differently depending on which state issues the cheque.
Don't confuse the grant with the bigger prize
Here is the judgement call that saves first buyers real money. The grant is rarely the most valuable concession available to you. First-home stamp duty relief is usually worth far more, and crucially it often applies to established homes that the grant ignores. In New South Wales, for instance, a full stamp duty exemption on an eligible first home can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, dwarfing the $10,000 grant. If you are choosing between a new apartment that qualifies for the grant and an established house that qualifies for a duty exemption, run both numbers before you let the word free sway you.
The other quiet trap is the ACT, which has scrapped the traditional grant entirely in favour of a broader stamp duty concession scheme tied to income. Select it in the tool and you will see a zero grant, which is correct, not a glitch. It simply means the support has moved to a different lever. Always confirm the live figures with your state revenue office, since caps and amounts get adjusted in most state budgets.
Who gets the most from this tool
This calculator is aimed at first buyers deciding between new and established stock, and at anyone trying to work out whether a particular price point still clears the grant threshold. It is a quick eligibility screen, not a formal assessment. Eligibility also depends on conditions this tool does not check, such as being an Australian citizen or permanent resident, being a genuine first home owner, and moving in within the required period, usually twelve months of settlement. Treat a positive result as worth pursuing, then verify the fine print.
Can I get the grant and a stamp duty concession together?
Often yes. The grant and first-home stamp duty relief are separate schemes with separate rules, and many buyers of an eligible new home qualify for both at once. The catch is that stamp duty concessions frequently extend to established homes while the grant does not, so the combination is most powerful on a brand-new purchase. Check each scheme's price caps independently, as they are not always the same number.
Does buying off the plan count as a new home?
Generally yes. Off-the-plan apartments and house-and-land packages are usually treated as new homes for grant purposes, which is precisely the type of purchase the scheme is designed to encourage. The price that matters is normally the total contract value, including the land, so a house-and-land package is assessed on the combined figure against the cap.
Why is Queensland's grant so much larger?
States set their own grants to steer housing supply and construction activity, and Queensland temporarily lifted its grant to $30,000 to spur new building. These boosted amounts are policy decisions that can be wound back, so a generous figure today is not guaranteed to last. If you are relying on a large grant, confirm it is still in force for your contract date before you commit.