Frequently Asked Questions

The Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) has three Guarantees: 

• First Home Guarantee (FHBG) supports eligible first home buyers to buy their first home sooner, with a deposit as little as 5%. 
• Family Home Guarantee (FHG) supports eligible single parents with at least one dependent child to buy a home, with a deposit as little as 2%. 
• Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) supports eligible regional first home buyers to buy a home in a regional area, with a deposit as little as 5%. 

Note - the New Home Guarantee (NHG) is no longer available. An NHG place reserved on, or before 30 June 2022, will still be able to progress to settlement, subject to meeting eligibility criteria and NHG requirements and timelines.

NHFIC provides a Guarantee to a Participating Lender in respect of an eligible loan provided by that Participating Lender to an eligible first home buyer under the First Home Guarantee (FHBG), eligible regional first home buyer under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG), or eligible single parent home buyer under the Family Home Guarantee (FHG). 

The guaranteed amount is the difference between the eligible borrower’s deposit (of at least 5% for FHBG or RFHBG and at least 2% for FHG) and 20% of the value of the eligible property. This enables an eligible home buyer to buy a home without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

No. While there are no costs or repayments associated with the Guarantee issued by NHFIC, you are responsible for meeting all costs for and payments on the home loan that is the subject of the Guarantee. 

You also need to observe the requirements of the Guarantee for as long as you are covered by the Guarantee. 

Non-arm's length transactions are allowed under the HGS, however the property must have a purchase price and a value under the property price cap for its location.

Yes. However, Participating Lenders may apply their own additional criteria for loans offered under the Guarantees, such as restrictions on certain properties, suburbs, purchasing property with an existing tenancy, or a higher percentage deposit based on your circumstances. 

In addition, not all Participating Lenders will offer the same home loan products. For example, some Participating Lenders may allow you to buy land before entering into a contract with a builder while others may require you to enter into a building contract before you settle on your land. Check with your Participating Lender to see what additional criteria you may need to satisfy. 

NHFIC does not administer stamp duty and cannot grant any waivers of it. Contact your relevant state or territory authority for more information on stamp duty. 

Home buyers must meet certain eligibility criteria for the Scheme which differ slightly for each of the Guarantees. To help you identify which Guarantee/s you may be eligible for, access the Eligibility Tool. You can also contact your Participating Lender for more information and to discuss your personal circumstances. 

For the First Home Guarantee (FHBG) or Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG), you can apply as an individual (single application), or as part of a borrower couple (couple application). The FHBG identifies a couple application as two eligible borrowers who are married or in a de facto relationship with each other. 

The Family Home Guarantee (FHG) is only open to eligible single parents with dependents and you can only apply as a single applicant. 

Home loan arrangements which are not eligible include: 

• borrowing together with family or friends 
• in the case of the First Home Guarantee (FHBG), where there are more than two borrowers 
• in the case of the First Home Guarantee (FHBG) or Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) where the other borrower is not your spouse or de facto partner 

The Guarantees are only open to current Australian citizens. They are not open for permanent residents who are not Australian citizens (including New Zealand citizens who reside in Australia). If you are applying as part of a couple, you will both need to be Australian citizens. 

Yes. If you apply as an individual (single applicant), then only you, individually will need to satisfy the eligibility criteria. Please note, this means only you are named on the Guarantee place reservation and loan application (and your partner would not be included in the servicing of the loan). 

The Family Home Guarantee is only open to eligible single parents and you can only apply as a single applicant (and cannot have a spouse or de facto partner). 

No. The Family Home Guarantee requires applicants to be single and not have a spouse. If a borrower is separated but still legally married, they are not yet eligible.  

It is expected that the single parent demonstrates that they are the natural or adoptive parent of a dependent child within the meaning of s.5 of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). In a general sense, the person must show that they are legally responsible for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the dependent child and the dependent child is in their care. This is not solely determined on the percentage of custody. 

To be eligible for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG), you (or at least one borrower when applying as a couple) must have lived in the regional area or adjacent regional area you are purchasing in for the preceding 12 month period to the date you execute a home loan agreement. 

Australian Defence Force member applicants may be eligible for a partial exemption and should check with their Participating Lender if this applies. Other eligibility and lenders criteria apply to all applicants.  

A regional area has a specific definition under the RFHBG.  

A regional area is defined as: 

• the Statistical Area Level 4 (ASGS SA4 2016) areas in a State or the Northern Territory that are not a capital city of that State or Territory; and 
• Norfolk Island; or the Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands; as defined in the version published by The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in July 2016. 

The greater capital city areas of each state and the Northern Territory; and the entire Australian Capital Territory are excluded from the RFHBG. If you live in these areas, you may be eligible for the First Home Guarantee or Family Home Guarantee. 

No, the Home Guarantee Scheme requires applicants to be an Australian citizen by the date they enter into their home loan agreement with a Participating Lender. Applicants need to finalise the citizenship process, including the ceremony and receipt of the certificate.

Contact your Participating Lender to discuss if they can put you on the bank’s waitlist but make the Scheme reservation after the ceremony is completed.

This will depend on your personal circumstances, the nature of the payment you receive and whether your income exceeds the limits for the Scheme. 

If you have a question about your application or would like to apply, contact a Participating Lender. 

NHFIC does not accept, assess, approve or maintain waitlists for any Home Guarantee Scheme place applications. 

There are different property ownership tests for the different Guarantees.

First Home Guarantee (FHBG) or Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG): You have not ever held: 

• a freehold interest in real property in Australia (this includes owning land only)
• an interest in a lease of land in Australia with a term of 50 years (or more), or
• a company title interest in land in Australia.

 These tests apply for property interests in all States and Territories of Australia, regardless of whether the property was residential or commercial property, for investment or owner-occupied purposes and whether or not it was ever lived in. 

They also apply to you whether or not any of the interests listed above have been held by you on your own or together with someone else – for example, where you held an interest in property with a former spouse or de facto partner. 

Family Home Guarantee (FHG): At the time of Home Loan Date you do not currently hold: 

• a freehold interest in real property in Australia (this includes owning land only),
• an interest in a lease of land in Australia with a term of 50 years (or more), or
• a company title interest in land in Australia.

These tests apply for property interests in all States and Territories of Australia, regardless of whether the property was residential or commercial property, for investment or owner-occupied purposes and whether or not it was ever lived in. 

If you currently own residential property within Australia (e.g., land), then you are not eligible for any of the Guarantees. 

If you have previously owned but do not currently own property within Australia (i.e., freehold land, lease or company title), then you may be eligible for the Family Home Guarantee if you are an eligible single parent. 

Family Home Guarantee (FHG) applicants can be either first home buyers or previous homeowners who do not currently own a home. 

To be eligible, at the time of Home Loan Date 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 

If you’re applying as a couple and one of you earns less than the tax-free threshold and is therefore not required to lodge a tax return, then you will need to provide your Participating Lender with evidence of your income.  

Your Participating Lender needs to be satisfied that your combined income as a couple is equal to or less than the taxable income threshold of $200,000. You will also need to declare via the Home Buyer Declaration (provided to you by your Participating Lender) that all information provided by you to the lender in relation to your taxable income is true.  

In any other circumstances, where you cannot produce a Notice of Assessment (for example, you have been working overseas), please contact your Participating Lender for advice on other documentation it may accept as evidence of your income. 

No. The property price caps for the Home Guarantee Scheme are set by the Australian Government. 

These caps have been set to ensure the Guarantees support people to buy a modest home anywhere across Australia. 

Yes, the same property price caps apply across all three Guarantees in the Scheme. 

The price caps are determined according to the financial year in which you make a reservation for the Scheme.  

Under the First Home Guarantee (FHBG) or Family Home Guarantee (FHG), if your Participating Lender reserves your Scheme place on or after 1 July 2022, the property price caps for the financial year 2022 - 2023 will apply to you. 

If your First Home Guarantee (FHBG) place has been reserved before this date, the property price caps for the financial year 2020-2021 or the financial year 2021-2022 will apply. If your Family Home Guarantee (FHG)place has been reserved before this date, the property price caps for the financial year 2021-2022 price caps will apply. 

For Scheme places reserved under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG) on or after 1 October 2022, the property price caps for the financial year 2022 - 2023 will apply to you. A Contract of Sale of RFHBG cannot be signed before 1 October 2022.

View the relevant property price caps for your location.

Contact a Participating Lender if you have any questions about your home loan application. 

The property price threshold refers to the combined total of the purchase of land and the contract to build. 

If the overall house and land price is over the applicable price cap, you will be ineligible for the relevant Guarantee. 

When you apply for a Home Guarantee Scheme-backed loan with a Participating Lender, your lender will assess your eligibility and then reserve a Scheme place on your behalf. 

This Scheme place will be reserved for you for 14 days, during which time you will need to organise a finance pre-approval with your Participating Lender.

If a Participating Lender reserves a Scheme place on your behalf and you then decide to apply for a Scheme-backed loan with another Participating Lender, you may be able to link that reservation to your existing Scheme place if: 

• your original reservation remains active 
• your preferred Participating Lender has availability to make a reservation on your behalf 

If you decide to apply to more than one Participating Lender, it is important that you: 

• understand the time periods within which you must meet certain requirements – these will commence from the date of your first Scheme place reservation 
• use the same reservation details when speaking with each Participating Lender. If you do not use the same details, there may be issues in making a linked reservation on your behalf, which may impact your ability to obtain a Scheme-backed Loan from that Participating Lender. 

If your Home Guarantee Scheme place reservation expires you will be required to reapply for another Scheme place with a Participating Lender. 

You will only be able to reapply if there is a Scheme place available at the time your Participating Lender submits an application on your behalf.

Your Participating Lender will tell you if you have been successful in reserving a Home Guarantee Scheme place for a guaranteed loan under the relevant Guarantee. 

Processing times vary between different Participating Lenders - generally the time it takes to assess your eligibility for a Guarantee aligns with the Participating Lender’s timeframe for assessing your loan application. 

Your home loan cannot be guaranteed under the Scheme unless you are also approved by your Participating Lender for an eligible loan on an eligible property or build. 

NHFIC is unable to provide advice about the status of your application for a Scheme place or associated loan application. 

After gaining a Home Guarantee Scheme place, you will be required to enter into a contract of sale (and an eligible building contract if constructing) within 90 days of being advised you have been pre-approved under the Scheme. No extensions from the required timeframe can be given. 

There may be other timelines related to your Scheme place that differ between the guarantees, depending on the type of property you intend to purchase. 

Contact your Participating Lender for more information on your Scheme reservation and the relevant timelines. 

When you sign a contract of sale, it is important that you contact your Participating Lender immediately to finalise your financial details for your loan application. Your Participating Lender will notify NHFIC and process your home loan application.

No, owner-builder contracts are not eligible under any of the Guarantees. 

Contact your Participating Lender for more information on eligible building contracts. 

Participating Lenders require your land to be titled prior to any issuance of a NHFIC Guarantee - therefore the land will need to be titled before the end of your 90-day pre-approval period. 

A settlement (whether established dwelling, land and construction or land only) must take place within 100 calendar days of the issuance of a Guarantee Certificate. Please note for Off The Plan (OTP) loans guaranteed under the First Home Guarantee (FHBG), Family Home Guarantee (FHG) and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG), these must settle within 90 days of the issuance of a Guarantee Certificate. New Home Guarantee (NHG) Off The Plan may have used the OTP extension function. 

The Guarantee stays in place until the loan is refinanced, you sell your home, move out or until your loan principal balance reduces to below 80% of the value of your property at the time of purchase. 

You must move into the property within six months of the date your home loan settles or, if you are building, once an occupancy certificate is issued. 

Having an existing tenancy arrangement in the property you are purchasing will not necessarily exclude you from accessing the Scheme providing you meet the 6-month requirement outlined above. There are no extensions to this 6-month timeline. 

Please contact your Participating Lender to discuss your particular situation.

If you move away for an extended period and your home becomes an investment property (i.e. you rent it out to tenants), then your home loan may no longer be guaranteed under the relevant Guarantee. If your move is a temporary one and you do not rent out your house (i.e. it remains your home) then your home loan may continue to be guaranteed under the relevant Guarantee. 

Before moving out (or if you believe you may need to move out), you should discuss this with your Participating Lender so that you are fully aware of your responsibilities under the relevant Guarantee and the policies of your lender. If your home loan is no longer guaranteed under the relevant Guarantee, your Participating Lender may require you to take certain actions (including paying fees and/or charges or taking out lenders mortgage insurance). 

Note that members of the Australian Defence Force are still required to be owner-occupiers under the Guarantees. However, from 6 October 2020, if you are unable to meet the owner-occupier requirement because of your ADF duties, you may still be eligible if, at the time of entering into the relevant loan agreement, you intended to live in the property. 

You can sell your home at any time even if your loan is guaranteed under the Home Guarantee Scheme. The Guarantee will end when the home is sold. 

Members of the Australian Defence Force are still required to be owner-occupiers under the Guarantees. However, if they are unable to meet the owner-occupier requirement because of their duties, they can still be eligible, if they intended to live in the property at the time of entering into their loan agreement with a Participating Lender.