In short: First home buyers in Melbourne can buy with a 5% deposit and no lenders' mortgage insurance under the First Home Guarantee, pay no stamp duty on homes up to $600,000, and claim a $10,000 grant on a new home up to $750,000. GNT Finance checks which schemes you qualify for, finds a participating lender, and manages the loan from pre-approval to keys.
Government support now covers the two biggest hurdles for first-time buyers: the deposit and the stamp duty. The hard part is stacking the schemes correctly, choosing a lender that actually participates in them, and not losing a property while the paperwork catches up. That is what we do every week for buyers in Wollert, Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Mernda and across the city.
Government support for Victorian first home buyers
These are the four programs that matter, as at September 2026.
| Program | What you get | Key conditions |
|---|---|---|
| First Home Guarantee | Buy with 5% deposit, no LMI | Owner-occupier, citizen or permanent resident, no Australian property owned in the last 10 years. Price cap $950,000 Melbourne and Geelong, $650,000 rest of Victoria. No income caps since October 2025. |
| Help to Buy | Government takes a 30% (existing) or 40% (new) equity share; you need a 2% deposit | Income caps $100,000 single / $160,000 couple; Victorian price cap $950,000 at the time of writing |
| First Home Owner Grant | $10,000 cash | New home never previously occupied, valued up to $750,000; live in it for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement |
| Stamp duty exemption or concession | $0 duty up to $600,000; sliding concession from $600,001 to $750,000 | Principal place of residence for 12 months |
Detailed eligibility is in our guides to the First Home Guarantee, the First Home Owner Grant, Help to Buy and stamp duty for first home buyers, with official terms at Housing Australia and the State Revenue Office.
Who this suits
- Renters in Melbourne with at least 5% of the purchase price saved, plus a few thousand dollars for legal and moving costs.
- Couples or singles buying a new house-and-land package in Melbourne's northern estates, where the grant and the duty exemption can both apply.
- Buyers earning above the old income caps who assumed they were locked out of the 5% deposit scheme. Since October 2025 there are no income limits.
- Recent permanent residents buying their first Australian home. Temporary visa holders are not eligible for the guarantee; see home loans for visa holders.
The process, step by step
- Scheme check. In the first conversation we confirm which of the four programs you qualify for and what price range they support. The First Home Guarantee eligibility calculator gives a quick answer before we talk.
- Borrowing capacity. We calculate what participating lenders will approve. Without an LMI premium added to the loan, you can often borrow a little more.
- Lender selection. Only some lenders offer the guarantee, and their rates and policies vary. We compare the participating panel and recommend the one that fits your income type and the property you want.
- Pre-approval and scheme reservation. Once pre-approved, the lender reserves your place in the scheme. This gives you a fixed window to sign a contract.
- Contract and grant application. When you find a home, we check the contract fits the scheme, lodge the FHOG application through the lender, and apply the duty exemption at settlement.
- Settlement and the 12-month rule. You must move in within 12 months and live there for 12 continuous months to keep the grant and the duty benefit.
Ways to fund the deposit
| Pathway | Minimum deposit | LMI | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Home Guarantee | 5% | None | Most first home buyers under $950,000 in Melbourne |
| Help to Buy | 2% | None | Lower-income households who accept a shared equity stake |
| Standard 90–95% loan | 5–10% | Yes, often $10,000–$25,000 on a $600,000 home | Buyers who exceed scheme caps or have owned property before |
| Family guarantee | Can be 0% | None | Parents with equity in their home; see guarantor home loans |
Genuine savings rules still apply: most lenders want 5% of the price held in your own account for three months, though some accept rent paid on time instead. Our guide to genuine savings explains what counts.
Eligibility and paperwork
Beyond scheme rules, the lender assesses you like any other borrower: stable income, manageable debts, a reasonable credit file and a deposit you can evidence, tested at your rate plus 3 percentage points. You will need:
- Driver licence or passport, plus Medicare card.
- Two recent payslips and your latest income statement from the ATO.
- Three months of statements for every bank account, including the savings account showing your deposit build-up.
- Statements for credit cards, car loans, HECS-HELP balance and any buy-now-pay-later accounts.
- A rental ledger if you want rent history counted as genuine savings.
- Signed statutory declarations for the scheme, which we prepare for you.
The complete list is in our home loan documents checklist.
Two worked examples
Example A: new home in Wollert, $600,000, First Home Guarantee
Priya and Sagar, combined income $148,000, buy a completed new townhouse in Wollert for $600,000.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposit (5%) | $30,000 |
| Loan | $570,000 (95% LVR, no LMI under the guarantee) |
| Land transfer duty | $0 (first home buyer exemption) |
| First Home Owner Grant | +$10,000 (new home) |
| Conveyancing, registration and mortgage fees | about $3,500 |
| Net cash needed at settlement | about $23,500 |
For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years, repayments on $570,000 are about $3,417 a month, roughly $190 a week more than their current rent of $2,600. Without the guarantee, the same 95% loan would carry an LMI premium in the order of $20,000.
Example B: established house in Craigieburn, $700,000, 10% deposit
Daniel, income $118,000, buys a three-bedroom house for $700,000 with $70,000 saved. He earns above the Help to Buy cap but the guarantee still applies under Melbourne's $950,000 cap. His loan is $630,000 and repayments at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years are about $3,777 a month.
Stamp duty is where the price matters. Full duty on $700,000 is $37,070; the first home buyer concession reduces it on a sliding scale to approximately $24,700. At $600,000, duty would have been zero, a difference worth more than half a year of repayments. Check any price with the stamp duty calculator and total costs with the upfront costs calculator.
Fees and costs to budget for
- Conveyancing: $1,000–$2,000. Choose one who has handled the First Home Guarantee before.
- Lender fees: $0–$600, sometimes waived for first home buyers.
- Building and pest inspection: $400–$700 for an established house.
- Transfer and mortgage registration: roughly $1,500–$2,500 combined, depending on price.
- Our service: no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases; the lender pays us and we disclose it.
Mistakes that cost first home buyers
- Signing a contract before the scheme place is reserved. If the reservation lapses or the price exceeds the cap, the loan falls over. Use a subject to finance clause on any private sale.
- Buying a "new" home that has been lived in. A display home the builder used as an office may still qualify; one that was rented out will not. Ask before you rely on the $10,000.
- Choosing a lender outside the guarantee panel, then paying LMI needlessly.
- Overlooking the 12-month occupancy rule. Moving out to rent it early can trigger repayment of the grant and the duty.
Why use a mortgage broker for your first home
Stacking the schemes is paperwork-heavy and unforgiving of small errors. GNT Finance lodges these applications constantly, knows which lenders process them quickly, and prepares the declarations so nothing bounces. Gorakh Timilsina's years as a senior credit officer mean he knows what an assessor will query in a first home buyer file and fixes it before lodgement. We are based in Mickleham, know the estates in Kalkallo, Donnybrook and Wollert well, and can run the whole process in English, Nepali or Hindi. Start with the first home buyer handbook, or read our full first home buyer guide for Victoria.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit do I need as a first home buyer in Melbourne?
With the First Home Guarantee, 5% of the price plus roughly $3,000–$5,000 for legal and government fees. On a $600,000 home that is about $33,000, less the $10,000 grant if the home is new. Help to Buy cuts the deposit to 2% if you meet the income caps. Without either scheme, 5–10% plus LMI is the usual entry point.
Can I use the First Home Guarantee and the First Home Owner Grant together?
Yes. They are separate programs run by different governments. The guarantee is federal and removes LMI; the grant is Victorian and pays $10,000 towards a new home up to $750,000. Add the Victorian stamp duty exemption and a new $600,000 home in Melbourne's north can be bought with about $23,500 in cash, as in the Wollert example above.
Are there income limits for the First Home Guarantee?
No. Since October 2025 the income caps were removed and places are unlimited. Eligibility now turns on citizenship or permanent residency, not having owned property in Australia in the last 10 years, buying as an owner-occupier, and the property price cap: $950,000 in Melbourne and Geelong, $650,000 in the rest of Victoria.
Does the stamp duty exemption apply to house-and-land packages?
Yes, and often more generously. On a house-and-land package, duty is charged on the land only, because the house does not exist at contract date. A $320,000 block in Donnybrook attracts no duty for an eligible first home buyer, and the $10,000 grant applies to the build. See house and land package finance.
I have owned property overseas. Am I still a first home buyer?
For the First Home Guarantee, only property owned in Australia in the last 10 years counts against you. For the Victorian grant and duty exemption, the test is whether you or your spouse have held and occupied residential property in Australia. Overseas ownership generally does not disqualify you, but tell us so we can confirm.
Talk to GNT Finance
Tell us your income, savings and the suburbs you like, and we will show you exactly what you can buy under the schemes and what it will cost each month. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
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.