First-home support in Australia is a patchwork: a federal guarantee scheme layered over state grants and stamp-duty concessions that change almost every budget. Here is the 2026 lay of the land for buyers of new homes, state by state. Always confirm current settings with your state revenue office before signing — caps and criteria change.
Victoria
The First Home Owner Grant is $10,000 for new homes (including house and land packages) up to $750,000. Stamp duty is waived for first homes up to $600,000 and concessional to $750,000 — new or established. Most Victorian packages in growth suburbs like Clyde North and Wollert sit inside the cap, and building new means duty applies only to the land value even before concessions.
New South Wales
$10,000 First Home Owner Grant for new homes up to $600,000 (or $750,000 combined for house and land contracts). The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme exempts stamp duty up to $800,000 and concessions to $1,000,000 — thresholds lifted in recent budgets. Many NSW south-west packages now exceed the grant cap, so the duty exemption often matters more than the grant in Sydney corridors.
Queensland
Queensland offers the nation's most generous headline grant: $30,000 for new homes (boosted from $15,000, extended through the 2026–27 year) for properties up to $750,000. Stamp-duty concessions for first homes apply to both new and established. South-east Queensland corridors like Ripley and Logan are firmly inside the cap — Brisbane buyers building new are the country's biggest grant winners in 2026.
South Australia
$15,000 First Home Owner Grant for new homes with no value cap — SA removed its cap, making it uniquely friendly to new builds at any price. Stamp duty relief for eligible first-home buyers on new homes also applies. Two Wells and Adelaide's north remain the value plays.
Western Australia
$10,000 grant for new homes, with caps by location ($750,000 south of the 26th parallel, covering Perth and WA corridors like Baldivis and Alkimos). First-home duty concessions apply up to thresholds that cover most growth-corridor packages.
Federal: the 5% deposit schemes
The Home Guarantee Scheme lets eligible first-home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit without lenders mortgage insurance, with place caps expanded in 2025–26. It stacks with state grants — a Queensland first-home buyer combining the $30,000 grant, duty concession and 5% deposit guarantee can enter a $650,000 package with roughly $60,000 saved. Lenders apply their own serviceability tests on top.
Action list before you sign
- Confirm grant eligibility and caps with your state revenue office — rules changed in several 2026 budgets.
- Ask your broker to model the federal guarantee alongside state concessions; they interact.
- Check whether your contract structure (single contract vs land-then-build) changes duty treatment in your state.
- Apply early: grants are paid at settlement or first drawdown, and processing slows in spring.