Support to buy a home

NHFIC administers these three Schemes on behalf of the Australian Government:

• First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (“FHLDS”) supports you to buy your first home sooner, with a deposit of as little as 5%.
• New Home Guarantee (“NHG”) supports you to build or buy a new home, with a deposit of as little as 5% and higher property price caps available in selected areas.
• Family Home Guarantee (“FHG”) aims to support eligible single parents with at least one dependent child in purchasing a family home, with a deposit of as little as 2%.

Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) is a one-off payment that a borrower needs to pay to their lending institution (the bank) when they are borrowing more than 80% of a property’s value. In other words, when the borrower has less than 20% to put down as a home deposit.

This payment does not contribute towards the loan or benefit the borrower – it is only to protect the lender.

Under each Scheme, the  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 (FHLDS or NHG) or eligible single parent (FHG).

The guaranteed amount is the difference between the eligible borrower’s deposit (of at least 5% for FHLDS and NHG, and at least 2% for FHG) and 20% of the value of the eligible property..

By NHFIC providing this guarantee, an eligible borrower no longer has to pay lenders mortgage insurance.

Note that if, based on its credit assessment of your application for a loan, a Participating Lender could request that NHFIC issue a guarantee under the First Home Loan  Deposit Scheme, the New Home Guarantee or the Family Home Guarantee in respect of that loan, the Participating Lender can determine whether it requests a guarantee under the FHG or the NHG (but not FHLDS).

If the Participating Lender cannot request a guarantee under the FHG or the NHG, the Participating Lender can only request a guarantee under FHLDS.

No, the NHFIC guarantee is not a cash payment or a deposit for your home loan.

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 the subject of  the guarantee.

You also need to observe the requirements of the relevant Scheme for as long as you’re covered by the NHFIC guarantee.

10,000 First Home Loan Deposit Scheme places are available to eligible first home buyers from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

The New Home Guarantee has been extended with an additional 10,000 places available from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 for eligible first home buyers purchasing or building a new home. 

10,000 Family Home Guarantees are available over four financial years from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2025.

Scheme places are still available for 2021-22.

If you are unable to get a Scheme place with your preferred Participating Lender, you are encouraged to contact another Participating Lender that may have Scheme places available.

Your eligibility for the relevant Schemes depends on your personal financial circumstances, property eligibility and whether you satisfy the relevant Scheme eligibility criteria.

Provided you satisfy the relevant Scheme’s eligibility criteria and the lending requirements of your Participating Lender, you can reapply for a Scheme place if your initial application is unsuccessful.

NHFIC does not set the number of guarantees.

Any decision to increase the number of guarantees available in any given financial year is determined by the Australian Government.

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.

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 Scheme. 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 Scheme.

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 Scheme and the policies of your lender. If your home loan is no longer guaranteed under the relevant Scheme, 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 Schemes. 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.

If you aren’t sure which Scheme could apply to you, answer a few questions and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Each Scheme has its own eligibility criteria. View a summary of each one:

• First Home Loan Deposit Scheme - How to apply
• New Home Guarantee - How to apply
• Family Home Guarantee - How to apply

Contact a Participating Lender for a full list of criteria, or if you have any questions about your home loan application.

View the relevant property price caps for your location.

NHFIC does not provide personal financial advice and we encourage applicants to seek their own independent financial and legal advice for their own personal circumstances.

For the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and the New Home Guarantee, you can apply as:

1. an individual (single application)
2. as part of a borrower couple (couple application)

The Family Home Guarantee is only open to eligible single parents and you can only apply as a single applicant.

The FHLDS and NHG Schemes identify a couple application as two eligible borrowers who are married or in a de facto relationship with each other.

Home loan arrangements which are not eligible include:

• borrowing together with family or friends
• in the case of FHLDS and NHG, where there are more than two borrowers
• in the case of FHLDS and NHG, where the other borrower is not your spouse or de facto partner

The Schemes are only open to current Australian citizens. 

The Schemes are not open for permanent residents who are not Australian citizens.

If you are applying under the FHLDS or NHG Schemes as part of a couple, then you will both need to be Australian citizens.

You have a de facto partner if you fall within the meaning of de facto partner under the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). Under this Act, you may register your de facto relationship.

If your de facto relationship has not been registered, your lender may require you to provide certain documents or information to evidence that you are in a de facto relationship. The Acts Interpretation Act states that you are in a de facto relationship with another person if you are not legally married to each other, you are not related by family and have a relationship of a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis.

Contact a Participating Lender for a full list of criteria, or seek independent legal advice.

No. A person can only have one Scheme place under either a single or couple application. 

Before asking your Participating Lender to make a reservation application for you under FHLDS or NHG, it is important that you have decided how you want to structure your home loan (as either a single or as part of a couple) as this cannot be changed once the Scheme place reservation is made.

The Family Home Guarantee is only open to eligible single parents and you can only apply as a single applicant.

The three Schemes have different minimum deposits required:

• First Home Loan Deposit Scheme: 5%
• New Home Guarantee: 5%
• Family Home Guarantee: 2%

While these are the minimum deposits required by each of the Schemes, Participating Lenders may require a higher percentage deposit based on your financial circumstances.

Speak with your Participating Lender to find out whether the deposit you have is made up of genuine savings for the purposes of their lending criteria and the relevant Scheme.

There are different property ownership tests for the different Schemes.

If you are unsure of your personal circumstances you should ask a professional adviser, as there are legal consequences for providing a false statutory declaration (which is required as part of the loan application process).

Contact a Participating Lender for a full list of criteria, or if you have any questions about your home loan application.

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

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 FHG if you are an eligible single parent.

All applications need to be made directly with a Participating Lender (or its authorised representatives, i.e. a mortgage broker).

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

For more information on applying to each Scheme, visit:

• First Home Loan Deposit Scheme - How to apply
• New Home Guarantee - How to apply
• Family Home Guarantee - How to apply

When you apply for a 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.

Yes, you can apply with more than one Participating Lender.

Although you may have multiple applications, you will only be offered one place under one of the three Schemes.

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 on your ability to obtain a Scheme-backed Loan from that Participating Lender.

At any one time, you can only have one Scheme reservation across all three Schemes.

If you have an existing place reserved under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme or Family Home Guarantee, you cannot reserve a place under the New Home Guarantee unless:

• you have confirmed to your Participating Lender that you no longer require your existing reservation
• your Participating Lender has withdrawn your existing reservation

If you withdraw an existing reservation, be mindful that there may not be a place available when you reapply to the other Scheme.

Part of the purpose of New Home Guarantee is to provide stimulus for the residential construction market during a challenging economic period.

To enable this stimulation effect, higher property price caps and shorter building timeframes apply for eligible properties purchased under this Scheme.

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 Scheme.

No. The new price caps for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and Family Home Guarantee only apply to Scheme places reserved on and from 1 July 2021.

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

Use the postcode search tool to find out the property price caps for each Scheme at your location.

No. The property price caps for the Schemes are set by the Australian Government.

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

The new price caps will be applicable for reservations made from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. The existing price caps will apply to current scheme places.

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

For a property to be eligible it must be a 'residential property' - this term has a particular meaning under the Schemes. 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

Specific dates and requirements apply for the different property types.

Contact a Participating Lender for the full list of property criteria and the relevant Scheme's requirements, or if you are unsure what type of property you are buying.

View the comparison table for a brief overview of the key differences between the three Schemes.

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.

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

Family Home Guarantee applicants can be either first home buyers or previous home 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

A Family Home Guarantee applicant must not be married or have a de facto partner (i.e. the applicant must be single).  If you are separated but still married, you will not be eligible for the FHG.

 If you are unsure of whether your personal circumstances will impact your eligibility, you should ask a professional adviser.

Yes. Loan applicants may apply for a loan guaranteed under a Scheme through a registered mortgage broker, provided that the broker has a relationship with a Participating Lender.

Contact your Participating Lender to find out whether the deposit you have is made up of genuine savings for the purposes of its lending criteria and the relevant Scheme.

You should also confirm with your Participating Lender whether any cash grants under other Australian Government, State or Territory schemes or programs you receive can be considered as part of your genuine savings.

If you’re applying under a Scheme 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 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 you are not required to submit a tax return as you earn less than the tax-free threshold of $18,200.

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.

If your 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 Scheme place for a guaranteed loan under the relevant Scheme.

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 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 three Schemes, 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.

There is a specific deadline for settlement after a guarantee certificate has been issued by NHFIC.

Contact your Participating Lender to ensure that you meet this timeframe for your Scheme place.

No, only Participating Lenders can offer guaranteed loans under the Schemes.

NHFIC may expand the panel of Participating Lenders in the future.

Check NHFIC’s website for a list of Participating Lenders.

Yes. However, Participating Lenders may apply their own additional criteria for loans offered under the Schemes, such as restrictions on certain properties, suburbs, purchasing property with 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.

All Participating Lenders have committed not to charge eligible borrowers higher interest rates than equivalent borrowers who are ineligible for the Schemes.

General complaints about your Participating Lender should be made to your lender or any relevant complaints authority.

If you think you may have issues meeting the building contract timeframes for your property type, contact your Participating Lender as soon as possible.

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

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

The Schemes allow you to build or buy your home anywhere within Australia, provided that it is within the property price cap for the location.

However, each Participating Lender will have its own lending criteria and this may include restrictions on the areas where it is prepared to lend for property purchases.

Contact your Participating Lender if you have any concerns about the location of your property.

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

Guaranteed home loans under the Scheme are subject to the terms of the lending arrangement with your Participating Lender (i.e. loan agreement and mortgage) and applicable consumer protection laws.

Contact your Participating Lender as soon as possible to discuss any difficulties you might have in meeting your repayments.

Contact your Participating Lender to withdraw or cancel your Scheme place.

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.

Under the New Home Guarantee, a substantial renovation results in a newly constructed dwelling when it:

• results in the removal or replacement of all, or substantially all, of the building (whether or not the renovations involve the removal or replacement of foundations, external walls, interior supporting walls, floors or staircases)
• affects the dwelling as a whole (it cannot just be one part of the building e.g. a kitchen and/or bathroom renovation)
• was undertaken while the property was owned by the vendor prior to it being sold to an eligible first home buyer

First home buyers looking to purchase a property to do their own substantial renovations or knock down rebuilds are not eligible for this Scheme.

Members of the Australian Defence Force are still required to be owner-occupiers under the Schemes. 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.

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.

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 scheme 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).

The Australian Government is issuing 4,651 additional guarantees to support first home buyers who haven't had an opportunity to purchase their first home, including because of COVID disruptions.

These First Home Loan Deposit Scheme places are available from Monday, 31 January 2022 and applications can be made through any participating lender.

Check NHFIC's website for a list of Participating Lenders.