First Home

The First Home Guarantee (FHBG) is part of the Home Guarantee Scheme, an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first home buyers purchase a home sooner.  

It is administered by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) on behalf of the Australian Government. 

Under the FHBG, part of an eligible first home buyer’s home loan from a Participating Lender is guaranteed by NHFIC. This enables an eligible home buyer to purchase a home with as little as 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.   

Any guarantee of a home loan is for up to a maximum amount of 15% of the value of the property (as assessed by your lender). This guarantee is not a cash payment or a deposit for a home loan.  

Under the FHBG, 35,000 places are available to eligible first home buyers from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.  

View the First Home Guarantee Fact Sheet for more information.  

To apply for the FHBG, applicants must be: 

• applying as an individual or couple (married / de facto) 
• an Australian citizen(s) at the time they enter the loan 
• at least 18 years of age 
• earning up to $125,000 for individuals or $200,000 for couples, 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 who have not previously owned, or had an interest in, a property in Australia 

For more information, including full eligibility criteria, contact a Participating Lender. 

People looking to buy a home (and those advising someone who is) 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. 

Under the FHBG, a property must be a ‘residential property’ to be considered eligible. Eligible residential properties include:   

• 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 postcode search tool to look up the property price caps for each location.   

Specific timeframes and criteria apply to the different property types. Contact a Participating Lender for a full list of property criteria and FHBG requirements.

Depending on the property type purchased, different criteria and timeframes may apply to a Guarantee place.

To be eligible for the FHBG, the contract of sale and (if applicable) eligible building contract may have specific dates when they can be signed by the home buyer. There are no exceptions to these required dates.   

For more information, contact a Participating Lender or visit the Documents Library.  

VIEW OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE HOME GUARANTEE SCHEME.