Family Home Guarantee

Eligibility

To apply for the FHG, home buyers must be:  

• applying as an individual  
• a single parent with at least one dependent child (see Single Parent note below) 
• an Australian citizen at the time they enter the loan  
• at least 18 years of age  
• be earning no more than $125,000 per year  
• intending to be owner-occupier of the purchased property  
• NOT currently own property (see Previous Home Ownership note below). 

Single Parent

To apply for the FHG, home buyers must:  

• be single. A person is considered single if they don’t have a spouse and/or a de facto partner. Note: a person who is separated but not divorced is not considered single 
• have at least one dependent child. To have a dependent child, you must be the natural or adoptive parent of the child and the child must either be 
• a “dependent child” within the meaning of subsections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) of section 5 of the Social Security Act 1991  or   
• at least 16 but under 22 years of age, receive a disability support pension within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991 and live with you.  

For the purposes of the Social Security Act 1991, you must show that you are legally responsible (whether alone or jointly with another person) for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the dependent child and the dependent child is in your care. 

Previous Home Ownership

FHG applicants can be either first home buyers or previous owners who do not currently own a home. To be eligible, you must not currently have:  

• a freehold interest in real property in Australia  
• a lease of land in Australia  
• a company title interest in land in Australia. 

Access the Eligibility Tool – a short questionnaire to help home buyers identify which Guarantee/s they may be eligible for. 

Contact a Participating Lender for more information, including the full list of eligibility criteria. 

Property types and price caps

Under the FHG, home buyers can purchase a residential property, including: 

• an existing house, townhouse or apartment 
• a house and land package 
• land and a separate contract to build a home 
• an off-the-plan apartment or townhouse.

Use the Property Price Cap Tool to look up the property price caps for each location. 

Specific timeframes and criteria apply to the different property types. The contract of sale and (if applicable) eligible building contract may have to be executed by specific dates.   

Contact a Participating Lender for more information, including the full list of property criteria.

How to apply

Applications can only be made with a Participating Lender or their authorised representative (a mortgage broker). NHFIC does not accept applications for the HGS or provide personal financial advice. 

Home buyers (and those advising them) should consider consulting with a Participating Lender, and seeking independent financial and legal advice about whether a particular home loan or property, and the terms of the HGS suit personal circumstances and objectives. 

Before entering into a home loan agreement, home buyers should consider talking with their lender (or broker) about the potential implications of changing interest rates or house prices on individual circumstances.  

Participating Lenders

NHFIC has authorised a panel of 32 Participating Lenders to offer the HGS to home buyers.  

Deposit required

Home buyers applying for the FHG need to have between 2% and 20% of the value of an eligible property saved as a deposit. The minimum deposit required for the FHG is 2%, but Participating Lenders may require a higher percentage deposit based on individual financial circumstances. 

Home buyers should speak with a Participating Lender to find out whether a deposit is made up of genuine savings for the purposes of their lending criteria and the FHG. 

Home buyers should confirm with their Participating Lender whether any cash grants received under other Australian Government, State or Territory schemes or programs can be considered as part of their genuine savings. 

Contact a Participating Lender for more information and to discuss individual circumstances. 

Notice of Assessment (NOA)

The HGS includes an income test, which is assessed by lenders using a Notice of Assessment (NOA). 

Once your tax return has been processed, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) sends a statement called the Notice of Assessment to your myGov Inbox. 

For HGS reservations made from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, the relevant Notice of Assessment is the 2021-2022 financial year. NHFIC advises applicants to speak to their Participating Lender to understand the risk of signing a Contract of Sale prior to obtaining the latest Notice of Assessment. 

Contact the ATO for more information about Tax Time 2022.