Buying a home for the first time in Australia can be challenging, but as the recent election has shown, the politicians are going out of their way to assist.
New incentives for first home buyers have been promised by the newly elected Labour Government, so it’s worth keeping yourself up to date with what’s on offer to help get your foot on the housing ladder.
With Australian house prices rising 3.2% over the last 12 months according to the latest data from Core Logic , the biggest challenge for many first home buyers is saving for a deposit.
Given the median house price has just reached a record $825k in April 2025, finding the standard 20% of that figure as a deposit is beyond many looking to purchase their first property.
Fortunately, the Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme has been in place for several years to ease the burden for first-home buyers as well as families and prospective home buyers in regional Australia. Here’s what you need to know about the latest updates:
Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) – 2025 updates
The Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible home buyers to buy a home sooner. The Scheme is administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the Federal Government, and has three types of guarantee:
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First Home Guarantee (FHBG)
2. Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG)
This scheme is effectively the same as the First Home Buyers Guarantee but focused on first-time buyers looking to purchase a property in regional Australia. Up until recently, the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee scheme also had a limit on applications, with 10,000 places from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. As with the First Home Buyers Guarantee, this is set to change given Labor’s election promise, will ALL first home buyers in regional areas becoming eligible (subject to certain conditions). Once again, the timing of this change is still to be confirmed, but it seems likely to be implemented in the coming months. Your mortgage broker will be able to keep you abreast of the latest updates as they become available.3. Family Home Guarantee (FHG)
The Family Home Guarantee aims to support eligible single parents and/or single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home, whether that single parent or single legal guardian is a first home buyer or a previous homeowner. This operates on the same principle as the previous two examples above, but with an even lower deposit of just 2% required for eligible applicants. The government will guarantee the remaining 18% to help you avoid that costly Lenders Mortgage Insurance. In the current financial year there are 5,000 places available for the Family Home Guarantee. This scheme is unlikely to be impacted significantly by the new changes as the Government’s pledge only commits to 5% deposit scenarios, but it’s worth enquiring with your broker or lender for the latest updates. The limit on places on this scheme for non-first time buyers is also likely to remain in place, but numbers for the coming financial year have yet to be released by Housing Australia.
Eligibility & How to Apply
With all this assistance available, knowing how to apply for a first home buyers guarantee (or any part of the home guarantee scheme application) is critical. Here’s what you need to know. The first step is to know which lenders can participate in the Home Guarantee Scheme, as most but not all are eligible. For more information on this, check out the list on the Housing Australia website here, or consult your mortgage broker on your options. Once you’ve established your preferred lender, you need to make sure you meet the criteria to apply. To qualify for the First Home Buyers Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyers Guarantee, you need to be:- an Australian citizen(s) or permanent resident(s) when applying
- at least 18 years of age
- earning up to $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for joint applicants, as shown on the Notice of Assessment (issued by the Australian Taxation Office)
- intending to be owner-occupiers of the purchased property
- First home buyers or previous homeowners who haven’t owned or had an interest in a real property in Australia (this includes owning land only) in the past ten years.
Looking to start your home ownership journey sooner?
Loanscope has helped hundreds of first home buyers get on the property ladder. We are experts at identifying what Government incentives may be available and relevant for your specific circumstances. Contact us for more information via the link here.
