First Home Owner Grant QLD and Other Home Buyer Assistance

How Queensland supports first home buyers

Queensland assistance for first home buyers comes from several separate programs, each with its own rules. The First Home Owner Grant is a cash payment of $30,000 towards a new home valued at less than $750,000. Transfer duty relief is delivered through the first home concession for established homes and through full concessions for new homes and vacant land. Boost to Buy is a shared equity scheme that reduces the size of the loan, and the Queensland Housing Finance Loan is a low-deposit loan provided directly by the state.

The grant and the duty concessions are both administered by the Queensland Revenue Office (QRO) but are separate benefits with different eligibility tests. A buyer can receive both, but must satisfy each set of conditions independently. The Australian Government schemes, including the 5% Deposit Scheme, Help to Buy and the First Home Super Saver Scheme, are covered on the national government grants page; this guide mentions them only where they interact with Queensland assistance. All figures below were checked against Queensland Government sources as at September 2026.

The Queensland First Home Owner Grant amount and eligible homes

For contracts to buy or build a new home signed on or after 20 November 2023, the Queensland First Home Owner Grant is $30,000. For owner-builders, the $30,000 amount applies where the foundations were laid on or after that date. The higher amount was originally temporary, but the Queensland Government has confirmed that it continues for eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026, and its 2026-27 Budget allocated more than $70 million for the grant over four years. Buyers signing a contract now should therefore expect the $30,000 amount, subject to eligibility.

The grant applies only to new homes. A new home is one that has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, or a substantially renovated home in limited circumstances. Eligible transactions include buying a new home, an off-the-plan purchase, a contract to build, an owner-builder project and a substantial renovation. A house, unit, duplex, townhouse, relocated or modular home, or a detached dwelling built on a relative's land may qualify. An apartment that was bought off the plan by another person and then on-sold is not eligible, even if nobody has lived in it, because it has already been sold as a place of residence.

The total value of the new home, including the land and any contract variations, must be less than $750,000. A home valued at $750,000 or more does not qualify, and variations after the grant is paid can cause the grant to become repayable if they take the value to that figure. A house and land package with separate land and building contracts is treated as a contract to build, and the combined value is tested against the cap.

Queensland First Home Owner Grant eligibility and residence rules

Each applicant must be a natural person aged 18 or over, and at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Neither an applicant nor their spouse can have received a first home owner grant in any Australian state or territory before. They also must not have owned residential property in Australia that they lived in on or after 1 July 2000, or any residential property in Australia before that date. Owning an investment property that was never lived in does not necessarily prevent a later claim, provided the applicant can show they never occupied it. Income is not tested.

Every applicant must move into the home as their principal place of residence within one year of the completed transaction and live there continuously for at least six months. The grant rules are more flexible than the duty concession rules on some points: the QRO notes that renting out rooms during the residence period does not affect the grant, and that renting the home out before moving in does not remove the grant, although either arrangement can affect the first home duty concession depending on timing. The Commissioner has discretion in some exceptional circumstances, such as a delayed move.

The grant can also be refused where an arrangement is entered into mainly to obtain the grant, or where a related person who is not eligible provides financial help and also lives in the home for long periods without genuine family reasons. Borrowing from a bank or other lender is not treated as financial help.

Applying for the Queensland grant and when it is paid

There are two ways to apply. The QRO describes applying through an approved agent, usually the bank or lender providing the home loan, as the fastest option. The agent checks eligibility and manages the application. When applying through a lender, the grant is generally paid at settlement for the purchase of a new home, at the first drawdown of funds for a contract to build, or on receipt of the final inspection certificate for an owner-builder.

The alternative is to apply directly to the QRO online. A direct application cannot be made until the transaction is complete, meaning the title is registered for a purchase or the final inspection certificate has been issued for a build, and the grant is not paid until all supporting documents are supplied. Applications must be made within one year of completion, although this period can be extended in special cases.

Because the timing varies, the QRO advises buyers not to rely on the grant as part of the deposit.

Queensland duty relief alongside the First Home Owner Grant

For contracts signed from 1 May 2025, eligible first home buyers pay no transfer duty on a new home or on vacant land for their first home, and there is no price cap on either concession. The Queensland Government stated in its 2026-27 Budget that this relief has been locked into law. For established homes, the first home concession removes duty on a home valued at $700,000 or less and reduces duty in steps up to $800,000. The duty relief table on this page shows the effect at different prices.

The combined value is greatest for a first home buyer purchasing a new home under $750,000, who can receive the $30,000 grant and pay no duty. A first home buyer purchasing a new home at $900,000 receives no grant, because the price exceeds the cap, but still pays no duty. The same buyer purchasing an established home at $900,000 would pay duty at the home concession rate, about $26,350.

The duty concessions carry stricter conditions than the grant. The buyer must never have held an interest in a residence anywhere in Australia or overseas, must move in within one year of settlement, and must not lease the whole home within the first year. For transactions entered into on or after 1 August 2026, buyers claiming a home concession must also be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees.

Boost to Buy and the Queensland Housing Finance Loan

Boost to Buy is a Queensland Government shared equity scheme. The government contributes up to 30% of the purchase price for a new home or up to 25% for an existing home and takes a matching share of the property, on which no interest is charged. The buyer needs a deposit of at least 2% from demonstrated savings, which cannot include the First Home Owner Grant, and the deposit and government contribution together must be at least 20% of the price. The price limit is $1 million, and income limits for the 2026 income year are $155,000 for a single applicant and $232,000 for two adults or a single applicant with dependants. Off-the-plan homes, vacant land and auction purchases are excluded.

The government share is repaid on sale, on refinancing or through voluntary repayments, based on the market value at that time, and participants must remain in the scheme for at least two years. Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. As at September 2026 Queensland Treasury reports that round 2 is open, that South East Queensland round 2 appointments have all been allocated, and that the only approved lender, Unity Bank, is taking appointments for regional Queensland places.

The Queensland Housing Finance Loan is a home loan provided by the state for buyers who can afford repayments but have a small deposit. It requires at least a 2% deposit plus purchase costs, charges no lenders mortgage insurance, and can be used for an established home or to build. The income limit is $141,000, or $201,000 for buyers living and purchasing in one of 45 eligible regional council areas. Applicants must not own another property.

Combining Queensland assistance with federal schemes

The QRO states that eligibility for a national home guarantee scheme does not affect eligibility for the Queensland First Home Owner Grant. A buyer can therefore use the 5% Deposit Scheme and still receive the grant and the duty concessions if the separate conditions are met. The 5% Deposit Scheme price caps for Queensland, shown on this page, are higher in Brisbane and the regional centres of the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast than in the rest of the state.

Boost to Buy is more restrictive. Its eligibility rules exclude buyers receiving a home buyer guarantee or shared equity scheme provided by a Commonwealth entity, which covers the 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy, and buyers receiving a state or territory government loan or guarantee, which covers the Queensland Housing Finance Loan. A buyer therefore needs to choose between these options rather than stack them. The First Home Super Saver Scheme, which helps buyers save a deposit inside superannuation, is not among the Boost to Buy exclusions.

Practical sequencing for Queensland first home buyers

A sensible order is to confirm eligibility first, then obtain finance approval, and only then sign a contract. The QRO online eligibility testers for the grant and the duty concessions, the Boost to Buy eligibility checker and the Queensland Housing Finance Loan checker each give an early indication. Because the grant, the duty concessions and the new home concession all depend on the contract date and the property type, the choice between a new and an established home should be made with these rules in mind.

Before signing, buyers using Boost to Buy must hold provisional approval and include a finance clause of at least 14 days and a settlement period of at least 30 days. Buyers claiming the duty concession lodge the claim with the transfer documents, usually through their solicitor or conveyancer, within 30 days of signing. Buyers of a new home should ask the seller for the vendor statement confirming the home has not been occupied or sold as a residence, as it supports both the grant and the new home concession.

After settlement, the buyer needs to move in within the required time and keep evidence of occupation. BorrowWise is an education site and can connect readers with an accredited mortgage broker who can explain how these programs apply to a particular situation. This guide is general information only and is not personal financial advice; the QRO and Queensland Treasury remain the authoritative sources.