First Home Buyers Grant QLD: Rules and Evidence

Queensland’s first home buyers grant is $30,000 for eligible new-home contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023. The home and land must be valued at less than $750,000. Established homes don’t qualify.

The Queensland Revenue Office (QRO) administers the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG). Before including it in a client’s purchase funds, separate eligibility from when the money will arrive. A grant paid after completion can’t fund an earlier contract deposit.

Verify the Queensland Offer

The Queensland First Home Owner Grant remains open for eligible applications as at 3 October 2026. The Queensland Government’s current grant page confirms that the $30,000 amount continues for eligible contracts signed from 1 July 2026 onward.

For a purchase or contracted build, QRO’s current amount is $30,000 where the contract is signed on or after 20 November 2023. For an owner-builder, the equivalent date is when foundations are laid. QRO lists $15,000 for earlier contracts or foundation dates.

Older announcements with a 30 June 2025 or 30 June 2026 expiry don’t govern a new contract under the continuing settings. Keep the actual contract or foundation date in the file. An older transaction needs its applicable historical rules, including its application deadline.

The 2026 Queensland Budget announcement confirms the continuation. Don’t substitute a $40,000 or $50,000 figure for this grant. A budget that combines a grant with transfer duty savings must show each benefit separately.

An established-home buyer can have a separate transfer duty concession even though the grant is unavailable. QRO’s grant and concession comparison explains their different eligibility rules. A concession reduces tax payable, so it isn’t another cash grant.

These state rules apply across Queensland, including Brisbane and the Gold Coast. For a client buying interstate, use the other first home owner grant pathways.

Check the People on the Application

Screen every applicant and their spouse before treating the client as grant-eligible. Under QRO’s application rules, everyone who owns or will own the home must be an applicant. A spouse must be recorded even when they won’t own it.

There is one application and one grant per home. Adding a second eligible buyer doesn’t double the payment. Work through the people checks in this order, using QRO’s eligibility tester alongside the evidence.

1. Identify all owners and spouses. QRO includes married and registered partners, plus de facto partners living together on a genuine domestic basis for at least two years.
2. Confirm each applicant is an individual aged at least 18. Exceptional cases need a separate QRO decision.
3. Confirm at least one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A New Zealand citizen relying on a special category visa needs a current New Zealand passport.
4. Ask about previous first home owner grants anywhere in Australia. A previous grant normally prevents eligibility. Record any repayment or previous non-applicant spouse involvement for separate assessment.
5. Obtain each person’s Australian residential ownership history. Ownership before 1 July 2000 disqualifies them, whether they lived there or not. From that date, ask whether any applicant or spouse lived in residential property owned by any of them.
6. Record how every applicant will meet the residence requirement. Each must move in within one year of the completed transaction and live there continuously for six months.

QRO’s eligibility criteria, updated 5 August 2026, impose no income limit. Income still affects the loan assessment.

A residential investment held since 1 July 2000 can leave a client eligible if they never lived in it. Obtain records covering the whole ownership period, such as leases, utility records and tax returns. A verbal statement that it was an investment isn’t enough.

Ask separately about financial help from relatives and their intended use of the home. Family assistance combined with frequent occupation by an ineligible relative can require QRO to assess whether genuine family reasons exist. Don’t assume every parental gift prevents a grant.

Signed declarations must match the evidence. Record spouse status and prior grants even when the person isn’t on the loan. Ask the applicant to resolve inconsistent dates before lodging.

Check the Home and Transaction

The grant requires an eligible new-home transaction valued below $750,000, including land and contract variations. A $750,000 transaction fails the cap. Under QRO’s current eligibility criteria, a new home generally hasn’t previously been occupied or sold as a residence.

A renovated established home qualifies only under QRO’s substantial-renovation rules. The seller must be registered for goods and services tax (GST) and sell it as a taxable supply through their business. The home must remain unoccupied and unsold as a residence after renovation.

Obtain the seller’s required statements and tax invoice. A cosmetic renovation doesn’t make an ordinary existing home grant-eligible.

Classify the transaction from its contracts, using the official eligibility categories.

Transaction	What distinguishes it	What to record
New-home purchase	A purchase of a qualifying new home	Signed sale contract and its property description
Off-the-plan purchase	One contract for a home on a proposed lot under an unregistered subdivision plan	Proposed lot details and later title registration
Contract to build	A comprehensive building contract covers the build through readiness for occupation	Building contract, land interest and variations
Owner-builder	The home is built without a comprehensive home building contract	Foundation commencement evidence and construction costs

A separate land contract and building contract isn’t an off-the-plan purchase for grant purposes. That distinction changes the evidence and payment stage. Have the conveyancer identify the contract route before promising settlement funds.

QRO’s tester describes the value as market worth at commencement. A discounted contract doesn’t automatically establish eligibility. For an owner-builder, retain the land value when foundations are laid and the construction cost.

For a hypothetical build, land valued at $310,000 plus $420,000 of construction gives a $730,000 starting total. A $25,000 variation raises it to $755,000. If the grant was paid early, the client must address the resulting loss of eligibility.

Keep the government decision separate from the lender’s valuation and construction policy. Grant eligibility doesn’t establish acceptable security or borrowing capacity. A broker can use Bulma’s Policy Advisor to check a lender’s deposit rules against the quoted policy wording.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme requires a separate assessment. A shared equity scheme is another funding structure with its own obligations. Neither is another name for the Queensland grant.

Plan Evidence and Timing

Choose the application channel before allocating the grant to a payment date. QRO accepts applications through an approved bank or lending institution, or directly through its grant application process. A mortgage broker isn’t automatically an approved grant agent.

Use QRO’s supporting-document checklist for the client’s route. The evidence pack needs the following records.

• Identity evidence from each of QRO’s four categories, without using one document twice. Include name-change or marital-status records where relevant.
• A signed, dated contract with annexures. For a build, include variations.
• Title registration confirmation or a current title search, plus the applicable completion certificate.
• For a new-home purchase other than off the plan, the seller’s statement confirming no previous occupation or sale as a residence.
• For a contracted build, the required land-value evidence at commencement. An owner-builder also needs commencement certification, the cost summary, receipts equal to the grant amount and a post-completion valuation or appraisal.
• For financial help, each applicant’s statutory declaration describing the help and any written agreement. Include family occupation reasons where the related person will use the home frequently.

Match those records to every applicant’s declarations before completing the application. QRO’s application guidance sets a one-year deadline after possession and title registration for purchases. For a build, that year starts at completion.

Give the signed application and documents to the approved agent, or use the online application linked from QRO’s application page after completion. Direct applications require the completed transaction and supporting documents. An approved agent can process the grant for an earlier payment stage.

QRO’s payment guidance gives these general timings, as at October 2026.

Route	Approved bank or lending institution	Direct QRO application
New-home purchase, including off the plan	Generally at settlement	After completion and evidence of registered ownership
Contract to build	Generally at the first drawdown	After completion and required documents
Owner-builder	Generally on receipt of the final inspection certificate	After completion and required documents

Until the decision and payment arrangements are known, record the application status and missing evidence separately from accessible cash. Name who processes it and which payment it could fund. Keep a funding calculation that excludes the grant.

For example, a hypothetical client has $60,000 available and needs $80,000 for an imminent land settlement. A possible $30,000 building grant at first drawdown leaves a $20,000 gap at that earlier settlement. The client needs another confirmed funding source for the gap.

After lodging, retain the receipt, reference and decision notice. Confirm the payment stage with the approved agent before relying on it for settlement or a construction drawdown. Submission alone doesn’t make the money available.

Continue tracking obligations after payment. QRO requires notice within 14 days when circumstances prevent the residence requirement being met. If an early-paid transaction reaches $750,000 or more, notify QRO within 28 days.

Set reminders for completion evidence and each applicant’s move-in and six-month residence periods. If the client can’t meet a condition, send the details through QRO’s enquiry route promptly. Record the decision and any repayment requirement in the funding file.