Eligibility Fact Sheet

The Federal Government has officially announced the changes to Home Guarantee Scheme as part of the Budget 2023-24, allowing more homebuyers to qualify for the programs that would allow them to enter the housing market with a low deposit.

Here are the changes to the Home Guarantee Scheme and other policies announced affecting homebuyers and homeowners.

Home Guarantee Scheme

• Joint applications for friends, siblings, and other family members will be allowed starting July 2023.
• Buyers who have previously owned a home may be allowed to apply as long as their last ownership was at least 10 years ago.

Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee

The Regional First home Buyer Guarantee scheme is an expansion to the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme and provides a boost for homebuyers eyeing to buy in regional areas.

From October 2022 to June 2025, 10,000 guarantees each year will be rolled out, which would help first-home buyers purchase a regional home with as little as 5% loan deposit without having to pay for Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Are you eligible for the Regional First home Buyer Guarantee scheme?

To be eligible to the scheme, interested buyers must meet the general requirements set under the First Home Guarantee scheme.

• Applicants should be applying as an individual or a couple.
• Applicants must be Australian citizens and be at least 18 years old.
• Price caps are set at $125,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples.
• The scheme is only open for individuals who have not owned a home before, also known as first-home buyers.

• The target property must be used as a principal place of residence and not an investment property.

Applying for the Regional First home Buyer Guarantee also requires the buyers to have lived in the regional area or adjacent regional area they are purchasing in for the preceding 12-month period to the date they execute their home loan agreement. Australian Defence force members may be eligible for a partial exemption.

FAMILY HOME GUARANTEE

• Eligibility will be extended to include single legal guardians of children such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents.