What this hub is, and what it isn't
This is a reference library. It explains how the schemes and costs work so that you can walk into any conversation about your first home already knowing the vocabulary and the thresholds.
It does not tell you what to do. There is no recommendation anywhere in here, no suggestion that one scheme suits you better than another, and nothing about which lender to use. Those questions depend entirely on your own circumstances, and answering them properly is a separate conversation.
Three things worth knowing before you read on
- The thresholds move. Price caps, grant amounts and income limits get changed at budget time and sometimes in between. Every figure on this hub carries the date it was checked and a link to the department that publishes it.
- Eligibility is decided by the department, not by us. Nothing here is a determination that you qualify for anything. The State Revenue Office, Housing Australia and the ATO each make their own assessments.
- Federal and state schemes are separate systems. They have different definitions of "first home buyer", different price caps and different application routes. Meeting the rules of one says nothing about the other.