Conveyancing – Are you eligible for a grant?

NSW Home Buyer Grants 2024

In NSW there are a number of Government grants and assistance schemes available to home buyers. While this is great news for buyers, it can also be quite confusing because the government is constantly changing, updating, and evolving the grants. This is why one of the most frequently asked questions we receive from clients is whether they are eligible for a grant. The following article provides a summary of the most commonly awarded government grants and assistance schemes in NSW, that are available in 2024.

1. First Home Owner (New Home) Grant

The NSW Government has always been supportive of young people looking to purchase their first home. The current scheme offers first home buyers a $10,000 grant when they are buying or building a new home, or substantially renovating a home.

What is classified as a new home?

A new home has never been occupied by anyone (including its builder) or sold as a residence. It includes homes purchased off the plan and vacant blocks of land on which a home will be built. Also, if a home has been substantially renovated or built to replace an existing demolished home, it can be classified as a new home.

Are you eligible for the First Home Owner (New Home) Grant?

To be eligible for this grant:

• You must be over 18.
• You must be an individual, not a company or trust.
• You or your spouse/partner must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• You and your spouse/partner have not previously received a grant prior to 1 July 2000 or if you’ve held a relevant interest in a property on or after 1 July 2000 and you have not resided in that property for a continuous period of at least 6 months, you may still be eligible for the grant.
• You are buying a new home (see above) valued at less than $600,000 or a home and land package the combined value of which is less than $750,000.00.
• You are planning on living in the new home and must move in within 12 months and live in the home for a continuous period of at least 12 months.

Your lender will assist you with the application for this grant while you are arranging your finance to enable you to complete your purchase.

For further information about this scheme, please click here.

2. First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

In addition to the grant described above, the government also provides first home buyers with exemptions from transfer duty for contracts exchange on or after July 1, 2023.  

Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, exemptions from transfer duty apply when:

• You buy a new or existing home with a purchase price of $800,000 or less. There are also concessions which apply to transfer duty with a purchase price between $800,000 and $1,000,000, after which normal transfer duty rates apply; or
• You buy vacant land with a purchase price of $350,000 or less. There are also concessions which apply to transfer duty with a purchase price between $350,000 and $450,000, after which normal transfer duty rates apply.

The same eligibility criteria, as described above, applies.

There is also the possibility of being eligible under this scheme when you are buying your first home with a person who is not your spouse/partner and who is not a first home purchaser. You may be eligible for transfer duty exemptions providing you are buying at least half the home.

Your legal representative will be able to assist you with this application at the time of your purchase.

For further information about this scheme, please click here.

3. Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper

This scheme was brought in by the NSW Government to assist lower income single parents, older singles, first home buyer workers and victim-survivors of domestic and family violence to buy their own home.

The government will contribute up to 40% of the purchase price of a new home and 30% of the purchase price of an existing dwelling and secure their interest with a registered second mortgage.

Are you eligible for the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper Scheme?

To be eligible for this scheme you must be one of the following:

• A single parent with dependent children
• A single person over 50 years of age
• A first home buyer who works as a nurse, midwife, paramedic, teacher, early childhood educator or police officer
• A victim-survivor of domestic and family violence.

Other eligibility criteria include:

• Your gross income must be no more than $90,000 for singles and $120,000 for couples.
• The purchase price must be no more than $950,000 for properties in the Sydney and major regional centres and $600,000 for other regional areas.
• You must be over 18.
• You are an Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent Australian resident.
• You must be able to pay a deposit of at least 2% of the purchase price.
• You must live in the property as your principal place of residence.

Applications for this scheme can only be made through participating lenders. To check your eligibility or learn more about this scheme, please click here.