First Home Owner Grant in every state and territory
A one-off payment for building or buying a brand new first home, paid by the state, with an amount and a price ceiling that change at each border.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
The First Home Owner Grant in 2026-27 ranges from $50,000 in the Northern Territory to nothing in the ACT, and in every jurisdiction that still pays it the home must be new. The Territory's HomeGrown Territory Grant pays $50,000 with no price cap for contracts up to 30 September 2027. Queensland pays $30,000 on a new home under $750,000, Tasmania $20,000 for transactions from 1 July 2026 (down from $30,000), and South Australia up to $15,000 with no cap. NSW, Victoria and Western Australia pay $10,000, each with its own ceiling: $600,000 in NSW, $750,000 in Victoria and $800,000 in Perth and the south of WA. The ACT stopped paying the grant on 1 July 2019. A grant is not a duty discount: it is paid to you, and you must then live in the home for six or twelve months depending on the state.
Grant on a new home in your state
First Home Owner Grant
$30,000
| Duty on this new first home | $0 |
| Duty minus grant | -$30,000 |
| Duty rule | First home (new home) concession: full, no value cap |
The eight schemes on one table
Grant rules are short, but the short version hides the part that decides whether you get paid: the price ceiling and the occupation period. This table lists what each office states for contracts or transactions in 2026-27.
| State | Grant | Value cap | Live in it | Notes from the office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $10,000 | $600,000; land plus build $750,000 | 12 continuous months, starting within 12 months | apply within 12 months of settlement |
| VIC | $10,000 | $750,000 | see the office page | amount unchanged since 1 July 2013 |
| QLD | $30,000 | under $750,000 | 6 continuous months in the first year | contracts from 20 November 2023; income not tested |
| WA | $10,000 | $800,000 south, $1,000,000 north of the 26th parallel | see the office page | caps from 7 May 2026 |
| SA | up to $15,000 | none since 6 June 2024 | see the office page | not for land alone |
| TAS | $20,000 | none stated | 6 months within the first 12 | 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; build finished within 24 months |
| ACT | none | not applicable | not applicable | ceased 1 July 2019 |
| NT | $50,000 | none | 12 months | HomeGrown Territory Grant, contracts to 30 September 2027 |
What the cap does at different prices
A grant cap is a cliff, not a slope. One dollar over the ceiling and the full amount is gone. The table below asks the engine for the grant on a new home at five prices, for a first home buyer in each jurisdiction (Western Australia south of the 26th parallel).
| State | $550,000 | $700,000 | $790,000 | $900,000 | $1,200,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $10,000 | none | none | none | none |
| VIC | $10,000 | $10,000 | none | none | none |
| QLD | $30,000 | $30,000 | none | none | none |
| WA | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | none | none |
| SA | $15,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 | $15,000 |
| TAS | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| ACT | none | none | none | none | none |
| NT | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
NSW is the tightest: a new apartment or house above $600,000 does not qualify, though a land and building contract together may reach $750,000. Queensland's limit is "less than" $750,000, so a home at exactly that figure misses out. South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory set no ceiling, which makes their grants the only ones that a buyer of an expensive new home can count on.
The new-home condition
Every surviving scheme pays only on a home that has not been lived in before, whether bought finished, bought off the plan, or built on land you own. The Northern Territory's HomeGrown grant explicitly includes off-the-plan purchases and owner-builders, and excludes land on its own. South Australia also excludes land alone; a block becomes eligible with a building contract. In Tasmania construction has to be completed within 24 months. These conditions are why the grant pairs naturally with the duty concessions for new homes in Queensland and South Australia, covered in the new versus established guide.
Duty and grant together
The grant is paid to you; duty is paid by you. Netting one against the other is the fairest way to compare states for a first home buyer choosing a new home. At $650,000:
| State | Duty | Grant | Duty minus grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $0 | none | $0 |
| VIC | $11,356 | $10,000 | $1,356 |
| QLD | $0 | $30,000 | -$30,000 |
| WA | $8,075 | $10,000 | -$1,925 |
| SA | $0 | $15,000 | -$15,000 |
| TAS | $24,623 | $20,000 | $4,623 |
| ACT | $0 | none | $0 |
| NT | $32,175 | $50,000 | -$17,825 |
The Territory's figure is striking because its HomeGrown grant is larger than the duty at that price, even though the Territory has no first home duty concession on a home bought outside a builder's package. In Queensland and South Australia the grant arrives on top of a zero duty bill.
Applying on time
Missing a deadline costs the whole grant, and the deadlines are not the same everywhere. Revenue NSW wants the application within twelve months of settlement, and the home must be occupied for twelve continuous months starting within the first year. Queensland and Tasmania ask for six months of occupation within the first year, the Territory for twelve. Where the office page we read gives no occupation period, the table says so rather than guessing. A NSW buyer of a $580,000 new apartment who meets every rule ends up with no transfer duty under the first home scheme ($0) and a grant of $10,000, which is the best combination NSW offers.
Tasmania and the Territory: grants with an end date
Two schemes are explicitly temporary. Tasmania's $20,000 covers transactions from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, after a year at $30,000. In the Northern Territory both the HomeGrown and FreshStart grants apply to contracts from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2027; HomeGrown applications close on 30 September 2028 and FreshStart applications on 31 December 2027. The NT HomeGrown page goes into the Territory's schemes.
Northern Territory new home: duty and grant
HomeGrown Territory Grant
$50,000
| Stamp duty | $30,690 |
| Grant minus duty | $19,310 |
| Duty rule | Territory stamp duty formula |
The ACT: concession instead of grant
The ACT Revenue Office closed its grant on 1 July 2019 and puts its help into duty instead. Since 1 July 2026 the Home Buyer Concession Scheme removes conveyance duty entirely for an eligible buyer at any price, new or established. On a $900,000 home that is worth $28,058, more than any grant in the country at that price.