First Home Buyers Grant NSW: Rules and Evidence

The first home buyers grant in New South Wales (NSW) is a $10,000 payment for eligible buyers buying or building a new home. Revenue NSW’s First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant remains available for new applications as at 3 October 2026. Established homes don’t qualify, apart from homes that meet the scheme’s substantial-renovation rules.

For a broker, eligibility and payment timing are separate questions. A client can meet the grant tests while still needing their own cash for a contract deposit. Record when the grant can reach the transaction before counting it in funds to complete.

Confirm the NSW Programme

Revenue NSW administers the First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant. The $10,000 is per eligible property transaction, so two eligible buyers don’t receive $20,000. The grant isn’t means tested and recipients don’t pay tax on it.

The same grant rules apply in Sydney and elsewhere in NSW. A property’s location within NSW doesn’t increase the grant or its value cap. For a property in another state or territory, use the state and territory grant guides.

Recognise Older Rules

Use the transaction date, not the year someone finds an article, to select the rules. Revenue NSW’s current page separates contracts before 1 July 2023 from contracts on or after that date. Older guidance describing six months of residence doesn’t govern a new 2026 contract.

Its 2017 budget guidance records another change: the purchased-new-home cap fell to $600,000 from 1 July 2017. The separate New Home Grant closed on 30 June 2017. A page labelled 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022 or 2025 can describe a different transaction period or scheme.

Separate Other First Home Buyer Assistance

The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme reduces transfer duty, commonly called stamp duty. As at October 2026, eligible new or existing homes valued up to $800,000 qualify for full exemption. Homes above $800,000 and below $1,000,000 can qualify for a concession.

Duty relief has its own eligibility tests, including a stricter prior-ownership test. An eligible new-home buyer can receive both benefits. An established-home buyer can qualify for duty relief while receiving no grant.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is a separate guarantee programme. Grant eligibility doesn’t establish guarantee eligibility. A shared equity scheme is another distinct arrangement, with its own ownership conditions.

Aboriginal buyers can also consider the Aboriginal Housing Office’s home ownership grants. Its page, updated 13 July 2026, lists these grants as open and provides the application contact, HomeOwnership@aho.nsw.gov.au. Those grants have separate eligibility and funding decisions.

Test the Buyer and Property

Assess every applicant and their spouse or de facto partner against Revenue NSW’s current buyer tests before assessing the home. A spouse’s history matters even when they aren’t buying a share.

Under the current grant rules, each applicant must be an individual aged at least 18. Citizenship or permanent residency must be held by at least one applicant when the eligible transaction starts. Companies and trusts don’t qualify.

For each applicant and their spouse or partner, establish the following history.

• Any First Home Owner Grant previously received anywhere in Australia.
• Australian residential property interests held before 1 July 2000.
• Australian residential property acquired on or after 1 July 2000 and occupied by its owner for at least six continuous months.

These histories generally prevent eligibility. Previous investment ownership acquired from 1 July 2000 can leave a buyer eligible if the occupation test wasn’t met. Record acquisition and occupation dates instead of treating every past investment as an automatic refusal.

At least one applicant must occupy the grant home as their principal place of residence. For transactions commencing on or after 1 July 2023, occupation must start within 12 months of completion and continue for at least 12 months. A property held solely as an investment doesn’t meet this requirement.

Permanent Australian Defence Force members can qualify for a residence exemption when all applicants meet the NSW electoral-roll condition at commencement. Record that exemption’s basis separately from an ordinary intention to move in.

Apply the Property Cap to the Right Transaction

Revenue NSW’s current thresholds distinguish a purchase from a build.

Transaction	Maximum value	What to test
Buy a new or off-the-plan home	$600,000	Total value and whether the home meets the new-home definition
Buy a substantially renovated home	$600,000	Total value, extent of renovations and sale and occupation history
Land plus comprehensive building contract	$750,000	Land value plus building contract and variations
Owner-builder	$750,000	Total land and home value

For a purchase, the lodgement guide tests the greater of the contract price and the property’s unencumbered value when the transaction starts. Unencumbered value disregards a mortgage or an arrangement that reduces the value, such as a discounted sale from parent to child. A below-cap contract price alone doesn’t establish the value test.

A new home can be a house, townhouse, apartment or unit. A substantial renovation must meet the scheme’s replacement and first-sale conditions. A renovated kitchen or a property advertised as new doesn’t establish eligibility.

For a hypothetical build, $310,000 land plus a $425,000 contract and $10,000 in variations totals $745,000. It passes the value test. Another $8,000 variation takes the total to $753,000 and exceeds the cap.

The grant cannot be subtracted first to bring an over-cap transaction below the limit. A lender’s approval also doesn’t establish grant eligibility. The lender separately assesses repayment capacity, security and deposit evidence.

Prepare the NSW Evidence

Build the evidence pack around the transaction type and lodgement channel. The current identity guidance, updated 27 May 2026, distinguishes grant applications from duty-relief applications.

For direct lodgement, each applicant and their spouse or de facto partner provides the required identity documents. These establish primary identity, photo and signature, community activity and current address. Separate Category 4 address evidence is needed only when Category 2 or 3 documents do not show the current address.

Examples include a birth certificate or overseas passport with residency evidence, a driver’s licence and a Medicare card. A utility bill can supply the separate address evidence when required.

For grant applications, ordinary document copies are accepted under that guidance. Duty-relief applications require certified copies. The grant lodgement guide says approved-agent applicants provide Category 1 evidence, with the agent performing the remaining identity checks.

Include name-change and relationship records when applicable. Overseas-born applicants need the required overseas identity evidence or the specified explanation when a foreign passport isn’t available.

For the property, collect the records appropriate to its stage.

• A new-home purchase needs the signed sale contract and evidence of first sale and no previous occupation. Direct lodgement also needs the title search showing the applicants as owners.
• A comprehensive build needs the signed building contract, land-value evidence and builder’s final statement including variations. Direct lodgement needs the title search and occupation or final inspection certificate.
• An owner-builder needs foundation approval or inspection evidence, completion evidence, title and total-value evidence. Include receipts for building costs totalling at least the grant amount and exclude the owner’s own labour.
• Related-party purchases or transactions without a written contract need transfer, payment and valuation evidence. The guide directs these applications to Revenue NSW.

Keep an evidence register in the loan file. For each missing item, record who supplies it, its due date and its effect on grant eligibility or payment. A lodged application with missing records remains an application, not approved funding.

For example, if the vendor’s first-sale statement is missing, show the $10,000 as contingent in the funding notes. Don’t describe it as available at settlement. Keep an alternative funding calculation until the approving channel confirms the grant and payment arrangement.

Coordinate the Application

Choose the application route before relying on the grant for settlement or a construction payment. Service NSW’s application instructions provide two routes.

1. If the client needs the grant at settlement or for a first drawdown or progress payment, lodge through the approved agent providing finance. Check the financier against Revenue NSW’s approved-agent list.
2. For contracts exchanged on or after 1 July 2023, complete the current OFH 002 application and declaration. Send the evidence pack to the approved agent and retain its receipt.
3. For a completed purchase or build, apply directly through the NSW grant customer portal. Owner-builders use Revenue NSW’s route after completion.
4. Direct applicants submit the application, retain the lodgement reference and upload supporting documents. Lodge within 12 months of settlement or construction completion.
5. Retain the decision and payment arrangements in the loan file. Match the approved amount and payment event to the settlement or construction funding schedule.

A conveyancer can help obtain transaction records and handles the separate duty-relief application. Being a conveyancer doesn’t itself make someone the approved financing agent for an early grant payment.

The customer portal asks applicants to allow 15 business days to process a complete application. Its acknowledgement is evidence of lodgement. It isn’t an approval or a promise that funds will arrive before a particular payment falls due.

Match the Grant to the Cash Needed

In a hypothetical $590,000 new-home purchase, the contract requires a 10% deposit of $59,000 at exchange. A grant arranged for settlement won’t pay that earlier deposit. The client’s broker must establish the funds available at each payment date.

If approved funding calculations include the $10,000 once for settlement, don’t add it again as savings. Reconcile the deposit already paid, the loan advance and the remaining cash with the settlement statement.

Recheck Changes Before Completion

A change in applicants, relationship history or intended occupation can alter eligibility. Revised contracts, valuations and building variations can alter the transaction or its cap calculation. A completion delay also changes the dates used for lodgement and residence obligations.

Notify the approved agent or Revenue NSW of changes and provide the revised records. Update the loan file’s grant status and funding schedule after the new decision. If residence conditions can no longer be met after payment, contact Revenue NSW immediately about repayment.

Before the lender file relies on the grant, it must show the decision, the conditions still to satisfy and the payment event. If those records don’t support the required date, arrange the client’s funding without treating the grant as cash already available.