First home buyer grants in Queensland — all of it, explained

Last reviewed: 18 September 2026

The catch is that each scheme has its own rules, its own property restrictions and its own application, and a couple of them changed recently. Here's the whole picture in plain English.

At a glance

1. The Queensland First Home Owner Grant — up to $30,000

A one-off cash payment from the State Government for eligible first home buyers building or buying a brand-new home.

• Amount: $30,000 for eligible contracts. This was originally set to drop back to $15,000 after 30 June 2026, but the Queensland Government extended the higher amount in the 2026–27 State Budget — so eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026 onwards still get $30,000. A lot of articles online haven't caught up with this.
• Property cap: the new home must be valued under $750,000 including land.
• New homes only. If you're buying an established home from a previous owner, this grant isn't available to you — but the stamp duty concession below probably is.
• You have to live in it as your principal place of residence, within the required timeframe, and stay for a minimum period.

Worth knowing: the grant usually reduces the cash you need rather than functioning as your deposit. Most lenders still want to see genuine savings alongside it, and on a build the money often arrives at a set milestone rather than at the start.

2. Stamp duty — most first home buyers now pay none

This is the change that made the biggest practical difference, and plenty of people still don't know about it.

Buying or building a new home, or buying vacant land to build on? Since 1 May 2025, eligible Queensland first home buyers pay zero transfer duty — and there's no price cap on that exemption. On a new build that alone can be a saving in the tens of thousands.

Buying an established home? The first home concession applies instead: a full concession up to $700,000, then sliding down until it cuts out above $800,000. So an established home at $680,000 typically attracts no duty, while one at $760,000 attracts a partial amount.

One newer condition: for transactions entered into from 1 August 2026, each purchaser claiming a Queensland home concession must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree.

The occupancy rule is where people most often come unstuck — you need to move in and not lease the whole property out during the first year. Renting out a room while you still live there has been allowed for arrangements starting on or after 10 September 2024. If your circumstances change after claiming, you're required to tell the Queensland Revenue Office; the concession is conditional, not locked in at settlement.

3. The First Home Guarantee — 5% deposit, no LMI

A federal scheme, and for most people the one that actually gets them in the door sooner. Housing Australia guarantees a portion of your loan, so the lender doesn't charge lenders mortgage insurance even though you're borrowing 95%.

LMI on a $700,000 purchase with a small deposit can run to roughly $30,000. Avoiding it is usually a far bigger number than the grant.

What changed on 1 October 2025:

• Income caps removed. The old $125,000 single / $200,000 couple limits are gone. Your income still affects how much you can borrow, but it no longer disqualifies you from the scheme.
• No cap on places. The old 35,000-per-year limit that used to run out early is gone, so there's no longer a race.
• Price caps lifted to better reflect what homes actually cost.

Queensland price caps: around $1,000,000 for Brisbane, and importantly the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast use the higher capital-city cap too rather than the regional one — which matters a lot locally. The rest of Queensland sits lower, around $700,000. Don't guess your zone; the difference is substantial.

You still need to be a genuine first home buyer, intend to live in the property, have at least a 5% deposit, and meet the lender's normal serviceability and credit assessment. The guarantee removes the LMI — it doesn't remove the credit check.

4. Boost to Buy — Queensland's shared equity scheme

A newer state scheme where the Queensland Government takes an equity share in your home, reducing what you need to borrow. Buyers can get in with as little as a 2% deposit, with the government contributing a share of the purchase price (a larger share for new homes than for existing ones).

The trade-off is real: you co-own with the State, and you'll need to buy them out or share the proceeds later. There are income caps, property price limits and a limited number of places, so it suits some situations and not others. Worth checking eligibility properly rather than assuming.

5. First Home Super Saver Scheme

A federal scheme letting you make voluntary contributions into super and later withdraw them, plus associated earnings, toward a first home deposit. Because of how super is taxed, it can build a deposit faster than an ordinary savings account for some people.

It needs planning ahead — there are annual contribution limits and a total that can be released — so it's most useful if you're twelve months or more out from buying. See our First Home Super Saver page for detail.

How they stack

This is where it gets good. Take an eligible first home buyer building a new home in South East Queensland under $750,000:

• $30,000 First Home Owner Grant, plus
• $0 transfer duty under the new-home exemption, plus
• The First Home Guarantee removing LMI on a 5% deposit

Stack those and the combined benefit can comfortably run past $60,000–$70,000 depending on the purchase. Buying established instead? You lose the grant but usually keep the duty concession and the guarantee — still a solid outcome.

General information only — it doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Government scheme amounts, thresholds, price caps and eligibility rules change regularly; always confirm current details with the Queensland Revenue Office, Housing Australia or the ATO before acting.