First home buyer grants and duty concessions in Victoria: your options

Victoria supports first home buyers through two main channels: the First Home Owner Grant for new homes, and exemptions or concessions on transfer duty (stamp duty) that apply to both new and established homes. Federal programs such as the Home Guarantee Scheme run alongside these, and can be combined where you meet each scheme's rules. Amounts, thresholds and eligibility settings change with state budgets, so this guide concentrates on how each type of help works rather than reciting figures that may date. The facts here were last reviewed in July 2026 — always confirm the current details with the State Revenue Office Victoria before relying on them.

The First Home Owner Grant in Victoria

The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment for first home buyers purchasing or building a new home — one that has not previously been sold or occupied as a place of residence. That includes newly built houses, off-the-plan apartments and townhouses, and homes built under a construction contract on land you own. Established homes do not qualify.

As at July 2026, the grant is a one-off payment of $10,000 for eligible new homes, subject to a property value cap — check the current amount and cap with the State Revenue Office Victoria. Victoria has at times paid a higher grant for new homes in regional Victoria, tied to specific contract date windows, and those boosted amounts have opened and closed over the years. If you are buying regionally, check what applies to your contract date rather than relying on figures you have seen quoted online.

Most buyers apply for the grant through their lender when they apply for their home loan, which keeps the approval and the payment aligned with settlement or construction milestones.

Transfer duty: the exemption and concession bands

Duty relief is usually the most valuable help a Victorian first home buyer receives. The structure works in bands: eligible first home buyers pay no duty at all on homes below a set dutiable value threshold, and a sliding-scale concession on homes valued between that threshold and an upper cap. Above the cap, normal duty applies with no first home buyer discount — the relief cuts off entirely rather than tapering forever.

As at July 2026, the widely used bands have for some years been a full exemption up to $600,000 of dutiable value and a concession between $600,001 and $750,000 — but these thresholds can change, so confirm the current bands with the State Revenue Office Victoria before you set your price range. Importantly, this relief applies to both new and established homes, unlike the grant.

Because the concession cuts out above the cap, a small difference in dutiable value near the upper band can mean a large difference in duty. Use our stamp duty calculator to see how duty changes across your target price range.

Off-the-plan and regional nuances

Victoria has an off-the-plan duty concession that can work in a first home buyer's favour: for eligible purchases, the dutiable value can be based on the land plus the construction completed at the contract date, rather than the full contract price. Buying early in a development can therefore bring a purchase under the exemption or concession thresholds even when the contract price sits above them. Victoria has also run temporary, expanded off-the-plan concessions in recent years — the settings and end dates change, so check the current position with the State Revenue Office.

In regional Victoria, lower price points mean many purchases fall entirely under the exemption threshold, and the state's history of boosted regional grants reflects a policy lean toward regional new builds. If you are building rather than buying, our guide to construction loans explains how progress payments and lending work alongside the grant.

Federal help alongside Victorian schemes

The federal Home Guarantee Scheme, administered by Housing Australia, lets eligible buyers purchase with a deposit as small as 5 per cent without paying lenders mortgage insurance, because the Commonwealth guarantees part of the loan. Property price caps apply and differ between Melbourne and the rest of the state, and the scheme's settings have been expanded in recent years — check the current rules with Housing Australia.

On the shared equity front, Victoria ran its own scheme (the Victorian Homebuyer Fund) for several years, and the federal Help to Buy shared equity scheme has since entered the picture; availability of both has changed over time, so verify what is currently open before building plans around it. If your deposit is the main constraint, our low deposit home loans guide compares the pathways, including when paying LMI is a reasonable trade-off.

Eligibility: the patterns to expect

The details differ scheme by scheme, but Victorian and federal first home buyer help follows familiar patterns:

• First home test. You — and usually your spouse or partner — must not have owned residential property in Australia before, and must not have received the grant previously. A partner's history counts even if the new home will be in your name only.
• Owner-occupier requirement. The help is for a home you will live in as your principal place of residence, not an investment property.
• Residence period. You generally must move in within a set time (commonly 12 months) and live there continuously for a minimum period — the exact requirement varies by scheme, so confirm it with the State Revenue Office.
• Individuals only. Companies and trusts are generally excluded, applicants usually must be at least 18, and at least one applicant typically needs to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Claiming help you were not entitled to — or failing the residence requirement without notifying the State Revenue Office — can mean repaying the benefit, sometimes with penalties.

Getting the sequence right

Stacking the help correctly is mostly a matter of timing. A Home Guarantee Scheme place is reserved through a participating lender at application; the grant is lodged with your loan application; and the duty exemption or concession is claimed through your conveyancer before settlement. Each piece changes your funds to complete, so lock down what you actually qualify for before you bid at auction — Victorian auctions are unconditional, and there is no cooling-off period to fix a funding gap afterwards. Our first home buyer guide covers the full process, and our borrowing capacity calculator helps you set a realistic ceiling.

Talk it through with a broker

A broker can tell you which lenders participate in the Home Guarantee Scheme, lodge the grant with your application, and make sure your settlement figures reflect the duty relief you genuinely qualify for. Rules shift with each budget, so it pays to check your position early — get in touch and we can work through which Victorian and federal help fits your situation.