In short: Permanent residents are eligible for the First Home Guarantee on the same terms as citizens: a 5% deposit, no lenders mortgage insurance, and since October 2025 no income cap and no limit on places. You must be 18 or over, buy to live in, and not have owned property in Australia in the last 10 years. The price cap is $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong at the time of writing.
Key takeaways
- Eligibility requires Australian citizenship or permanent residency at the time of the application, for every applicant.
- There is no income cap and no cap on places from October 2025, so there is no queue to worry about.
- Genuine savings of 5% held for three months are still a lender requirement for most panel lenders, even though the scheme itself only sets a minimum deposit.
- Price caps vary by state and region. Buying above the cap puts you outside the scheme entirely.
- The guarantee is provided through participating lenders, and their credit policies still apply. Your broker chooses among them.
For a Nepali family that has just received PR, this scheme is often the single biggest lever. Skipping LMI on a 95% loan saves tens of thousands, and a 5% deposit brings the purchase forward by years. The rules are simple, but the timing around your PR grant, your savings history and your partner's visa status is where applications go wrong.
Who is eligible
| Requirement | Detail at the time of writing |
|---|---|
| Residency | Australian citizen or permanent resident; all applicants must qualify |
| Age | 18 or over |
| Deposit | At least 5% of the purchase price |
| Prior ownership | No interest in residential property in Australia in the last 10 years |
| Occupancy | Must be owner-occupier and move in within a set period |
| Income | No cap |
| Places | No cap |
| Applicants | Individuals, couples and, at the time of writing, eligible joint applicants such as siblings or friends |
Check the current criteria on the Housing Australia website, and use our First Home Guarantee eligibility calculator for a quick test. The First Home Guarantee guide explains how the guarantee sits behind the loan.
Price caps by state
| Location | Cap |
|---|---|
| Melbourne, Geelong | $950,000 |
| Rest of Victoria | $650,000 |
| Sydney, Newcastle, Illawarra | $1,500,000 |
| Rest of NSW | $800,000 |
| Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast | $1,000,000 |
| Rest of Queensland | $700,000 |
| Perth | $850,000 |
| Rest of WA | $600,000 |
| Adelaide | $900,000 |
| Rest of SA | $500,000 |
| Hobart | $700,000 |
| Rest of Tasmania | $550,000 |
| ACT | $1,000,000 |
| Northern Territory | $600,000 |
These are the caps we understand to apply at the time of writing. Confirm the current figure for your postcode before you sign, because the boundary between "capital city" and "rest of state" is postcode-based. Our Sydney team handles NSW enquiries by phone and video.
Timing after your PR grant
There is no waiting period in the scheme once PR is granted, but three practical clocks run alongside it.
- Genuine savings clock. Most lenders want 5% held for three months. If your savings have been sitting in one account, this is already done. If you just consolidated or received a gift, the three months starts now. See genuine savings explained.
- Employment clock. Lenders want to see stable income. Permanent employees past probation are simplest; a new job in the same field is usually fine; a brand-new self-employed venture is not.
- Pre-approval clock. A pre-approval is typically valid for around three months. Get it when you are ready to buy, not the week you receive PR. Read home loan pre-approval.
The trap is buying before PR is granted. If you sign a contract as a temporary resident, you are a foreign person for FIRB purposes, cannot buy an established dwelling, and pay foreign purchaser duty. Waiting for the grant letter changes all of that. If your partner is still on a temporary visa, they cannot be a co-applicant under the scheme; a sole application in the PR holder's name may work if the income services, and there are lender rules on non-borrowing spouses.
Worked example: a $700,000 house in Donnybrook
Pramila and Suraj receive PR in July and want a $700,000 house in Donnybrook, well under the $950,000 Melbourne cap.
| Item | With the First Home Guarantee | Without it (95% loan) |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $700,000 | $700,000 |
| Deposit | $35,000 (5%) | $35,000 (5%) |
| Loan | $665,000 | $665,000 plus LMI |
| LMI | Nil | Commonly tens of thousands, use the LMI calculator |
| Stamp duty (VIC, first home buyer, $600,001 to $750,000) | Sliding concession | Sliding concession |
| Monthly repayment on $665,000, for illustration at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years | About $3,987 | Higher, as LMI is usually added to the loan |
Their household income is $165,000, which would have excluded them under the old income cap. Under current rules there is no cap, so the only questions are servicing at the assessment rate and whether the lender's credit policy accepts their file. Our post on what changed when the income cap was removed has the background.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the First Home Guarantee the day I get PR?
Yes, in principle. The scheme has no waiting period after PR is granted, but lenders will still need genuine savings history, stable employment and identification that reflects your new status. In practice, applications lodged within weeks of a PR grant succeed when the savings and income were already in order beforehand.
My spouse is on a bridging visa. Can we apply together?
Not under the scheme, because every applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident at the time of writing. Options include applying in the PR holder's name alone if their income supports the loan, or waiting until the spouse's PR is granted. A lender may also need to consider the non-borrowing spouse's expenses. We can model both paths.
Does owning property in Nepal affect eligibility?
No. The prior-ownership test looks at residential property in Australia within the last 10 years. Property in Nepal or elsewhere overseas does not count. You will still need to declare overseas assets and liabilities on the loan application, and rental income from Nepal is rarely counted towards servicing.
Is the First Home Guarantee better than Help to Buy for a PR holder?
They suit different incomes. The First Home Guarantee has no income cap and you own 100% of the home. Help to Buy has income caps of $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples and the government takes an equity share. Our Help to Buy versus First Home Guarantee post compares them in dollars.
Talk to GNT Finance
GNT Finance arranges First Home Guarantee loans through participating lenders for permanent residents across Melbourne and Australia-wide. We check eligibility, time the application around your PR grant and savings history, and pick the lender whose policy fits. In most cases there is no cost to you for our home-loan service. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703. See our first home buyer loans and Nepali mortgage broker pages, and if your PR is still pending, read home loans for visa holders, the FIRB approval explainer and the new migrants guide. Visa status questions belong with a registered migration agent or the Department of Home Affairs.
This is general information, not migration, legal, tax or credit advice. Migration rules change often — confirm with a registered migration agent (MARA) or the Department of Home Affairs.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.