First Home Owner Grant by State: 2026 Guide
Build your first home in Darwin and the government hands you $50,000. Build the same home in Sydney or Melbourne and the grant is $10,000. Same buyer, same year — a $40,000 difference, purely on postcode.
The First Home Owner Grant isn't one scheme. It's eight, run separately by each state and territory, with different amounts, caps, and rules — and in 2026 several of them changed materially. Guides written last year will now steer you wrong in Tasmania, WA, Queensland, and the ACT.
We verified every figure below against the official state revenue office pages in August 2026. Here's what first home buyers building new can actually claim, state by state — plus the federal schemes you can stack on top.
TL;DR: In 2026 the First Home Owner Grant for new builds ranges from $10,000 (NSW, VIC, WA) to $50,000 (NT), with QLD at $30,000, TAS at $20,000, and SA at $15,000 with no price cap. The ACT offers a full stamp duty exemption instead. All states restrict the grant to new homes — verified August 2026 from official revenue office sources.
What Is the First Home Owner Grant?
The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a one-off, generally tax-free payment from your state or territory government when you buy or build your first home. It began as a nationally uniform $7,000 scheme in 2000; today every jurisdiction sets its own amount — and every one of them now restricts it to new homes (Queensland Revenue Office, 2026).
The common eligibility skeleton is similar everywhere, with state-level variations:
You're 18 or over, buying as a person (not a company or trust)
At least one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident
Neither you nor your spouse/partner has previously owned and occupied residential property in Australia
The home is new — never previously occupied or sold as a place of residence
You'll live in it as your principal place of residence for a required period after completion
The grant isn't means tested in any state, and it sits alongside — not instead of — stamp duty concessions and the federal deposit schemes. For most first home buyers building new, the grant is actually the smallest of the three benefits. More on that below.
How Much Is the Grant in Each State?
For a new build in August 2026, the grant ranges from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on where you build:
Grant amounts for eligible new builds, verified August 2026. Sources: official state and territory revenue offices (linked below).
The property value caps matter as much as the amounts — and three jurisdictions now have no cap at all:
State | Grant (new build) | Property value cap |
|---|---|---|
NSW | $10,000 | $600,000 (new home) / $750,000 (house-and-land build) |
VIC | $10,000 | $750,000 |
QLD | $30,000 | Under $750,000 |
WA | $10,000 | $800,000 (south of 26th parallel) / $1,000,000 (north) |
SA | $15,000 |
State by State: The 2026 Rules in Detail
NSW First Home Owner Grant: $10,000
NSW pays $10,000 for a new home up to $600,000, or up to $750,000 total for a house-and-land build (Revenue NSW). The bigger prize is duty: the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme gives a full transfer duty exemption up to $800,000 (new or established) and concessions to $1 million, plus vacant land exemptions up to $350,000 (Revenue NSW). Live in the home for 12 continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion.
Victoria First Home Owner Grant: $10,000
Victoria pays $10,000 for a new home valued up to $750,000 (SRO Victoria). First home buyers also pay no duty up to $600,000 and reduced duty from $600,001–$750,000, on new or established homes (SRO Victoria). Building off the plan? A separate temporary off-the-plan duty concession for apartments and townhouses runs for contracts signed on or before 20 April 2027. Residence requirement: 12 continuous months.
Queensland First Home Owner Grant: $30,000
Queensland's grant is $30,000 for eligible contracts — doubled from $15,000 in late 2023 and confirmed as continuing for contracts signed from 1 July 2026 in the 2026–27 State Budget (Queensland Revenue Office). The home-plus-land value must be under $750,000. QLD also gives first home buyers building new a full transfer duty exemption with no value cap for contracts from 1 May 2025 (QRO). Residence: move in within a year, stay 6 months.
WA First Home Owner Grant: $10,000
WA pays $10,000, with caps raised on 7 May 2026 to $800,000 south of the 26th parallel (all of Perth) and $1,000,000 north of it (RevenueWA). The first home owner duty rate — also updated 7 May 2026 — gives a full exemption up to $600,000 and concessions to $800,000, with the old metro/regional split removed (RevenueWA). Residence: 6 continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion.
SA First Home Owner Grant: $15,000, No Cap
SA pays $15,000 with no property value cap for contracts from 6 June 2024 (RevenueSA). Even better: first home buyers building or buying new pay no stamp duty at all, with no cap, on new homes and vacant land to build on (RevenueSA). Established homes get no first home buyer duty relief in SA — the state's support is aimed squarely at new supply.
Tasmania First Home Owner Grant: $20,000
Tasmania's grant is $20,000 for transactions between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027 — down from $30,000 the year before, so check which window your contract falls into (SRO Tasmania). There's no property value cap. Note that Tasmania's duty exemption for first home buyers purchasing established homes ended on 30 June 2026; the boosted grant is now the state's new-build support. Residence: 6 continuous months.
ACT: No Grant — Uncapped Stamp Duty Exemption Instead
The ACT abolished its FHOG in 2019 and replaced it with the Home Buyer Concession Scheme. From 1 July 2026, the HBCS became the most generous duty scheme in the country: a full conveyance duty exemption with no property price cap and no income test — the first Australian jurisdiction to drop both (ACT Revenue Office). You must not have owned property in the past 5 years and must live in the home for 12 months.
NT First Home Owner Grant: $50,000
The NT's HomeGrown Territory Grant is Australia's largest: $50,000 for first home buyers building or buying a new home, with no value cap, for contracts through 30 September 2027 (NT Government). Previous owners building new can claim a separate $30,000 FreshStart grant. Eligible new house-and-land packages from registered builders also get a full stamp duty exemption to 30 June 2027 (NT Government). Residence: 12 months.
What Changed in 2026?
If you researched grants last year, several numbers you remember are now wrong. The 2026 changes worth knowing:
Tasmania dropped its grant from $30,000 to $20,000 on 1 July 2026 — and its established-home duty exemption for first home buyers ended entirely on 30 June 2026
WA lifted its grant caps to $800,000/$1,000,000 and widened its duty exemption to $600,000 (concessions to $800,000) on 7 May 2026
Queensland confirmed the $30,000 grant continues for contracts from 1 July 2026 — despite widespread "ending June 2026" reporting
ACT removed both the income test and price cap from its duty exemption on 1 July 2026
Our finding: Most grant guides ranking in search were written before these changes and still cite Tasmania's $30,000 grant, WA's old $750,000 cap, or the ACT's income thresholds. Grant rules now change mid-year on budget cycles — always confirm against the official revenue office page (linked in each state section above) dated within the current financial year before you sign anything.
Federal Schemes You Can Stack on Top
The state grant is one layer. Two federal schemes stack on top, and since late 2025 they're dramatically more accessible.
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee) removed its income caps and place limits on 1 October 2025 — any eligible first home buyer can now purchase with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance (Housing Australia). Property price caps apply by city:
Source: Housing Australia, October 2025. House-and-land packages are eligible, but land generally must be titled before the guarantee is issued.
The scheme moved the market immediately: first home buyer loans jumped 6.8% to 31,783 in the December quarter of 2025, with the average loan hitting $607,624 (ABS, February 2026). More than 1 in 3 first home buyers nationally used the guarantee scheme in 2024–25 (Housing Australia).
Help to Buy opened for applications on 5 December 2025: the government takes up to a 40% equity stake in a new home (30% existing) alongside your minimum 2% deposit. Unlike the deposit scheme, income caps apply — $100,000 single, $160,000 joint — and places are limited to 10,000 a year, first come first served (Housing Australia).
There's also the First Home Super Saver Scheme: salary-sacrifice up to $15,000 a year into super and withdraw up to $50,000 (plus earnings) per person for a first home deposit (firsthomebuyers.gov.au).
Our finding: Stacked together, the new-build advantage is remarkable in some states. A Queensland first home buyer building a $700,000 house-and-land package can combine the $30,000 grant, a $0 stamp duty bill (uncapped for new builds), and a 5% deposit with no LMI. The equivalent buyer of a $700,000 established home gets the duty concession only — no grant. State policy is now firmly steering first home buyers toward building new.
Don't Trip on the Residence Requirement
Every grant comes with a residence condition, and breaking it means repaying the money. The windows differ by state:
State | Must move in within | Must live there for |
|---|---|---|
NSW | 12 months of completion | 12 continuous months |
VIC | 12 months of settlement | 12 continuous months |
QLD | 12 months | 6 continuous months |
WA | 12 months of completion | 6 continuous months |
TAS | 12 months of completion |
Planning to rent the home out first, or list a room the week you move in? Check your state's rules before you do — revenue offices actively data-match rental bonds and utility records against grant recipients. If your circumstances genuinely change, contact the revenue office early; most have hardship processes, but silence is treated as non-compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get the First Home Owner Grant for an established home?
No — as of 2026, every state and territory restricts the FHOG to new homes: newly built, off the plan, or substantially renovated. The NT's short-lived $10,000 established-home grant closed to new contracts on 30 September 2025. Duty concessions for established homes still exist in NSW, VIC, WA, and the ACT.
Can I combine the FHOG with the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy?
You can stack the FHOG, your state's duty concession, and the 5% Deposit Scheme together — a QLD buyer building new can claim $30,000 plus $0 duty plus a 5% deposit. Help to Buy generally can't be combined with the deposit guarantee, and its income caps ($100,000 single / $160,000 joint) exclude many buyers.
Do I have to pay the grant back?
No — it's a payment, not a loan, provided you meet the conditions. The main risk is the residence requirement: fail to move in within the window, or move out early, and your state revenue office will require full repayment, sometimes with penalties (Revenue NSW).
How do I apply for the First Home Owner Grant?
Most buyers apply through their lender or broker as part of the finance process, which lets the grant be paid at settlement or first construction drawdown. You can also apply directly to your state revenue office, usually within 12 months of completion. Building new? The grant is typically paid at slab stage for construction contracts.
Is the First Home Owner Grant means tested?
No state means-tests the FHOG — eligibility turns on prior property ownership, citizenship or residency, and living in the home, not income. The ACT's duty concession dropped its income test on 1 July 2026. Of the federal schemes, only Help to Buy carries income caps; the 5% Deposit Scheme removed its caps in October 2025.
Conclusion
Where you build now changes your government support by tens of thousands of dollars. A first home buyer building new in 2026 gets $50,000 and no duty in Darwin, $30,000 and no duty in Brisbane — and $10,000 with a capped concession in Sydney or Melbourne.
Key takeaways:
First Home Owner Grants for new builds range from $10,000 (NSW, VIC, WA) to $50,000 (NT); SA, TAS, and NT apply no price cap
The stamp duty concession is often worth more than the grant — QLD, SA, ACT, and the NT's package exemption are all uncapped for new builds
2026 changed the rules in four jurisdictions: TAS cut its grant, WA lifted caps, QLD extended, and the ACT went uncapped
The 5% Deposit Scheme now has no income caps or place limits — over a third of first home buyers already use it
Every scheme requires you to actually live in the home — know your state's window before settlement
All figures verified against official state revenue office sources on 18 August 2026 — but budgets change these numbers mid-year, so confirm against the linked official page for your state before signing. Ready to put the numbers together? Start with our house and land packages guide, estimate your build with the free Build Cost Estimator, and see how long the build will take — then browse home designs that fit under your state's cap.