First Home Buyers Grant WA: Rules and Evidence

The first home buyers grant in Western Australia (WA) pays up to $10,000 towards an eligible first new home. Its official name is the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), and RevenueWA administers it. Established homes do not qualify for the cash grant, although first-home duty relief can apply.

For a broker, the file needs two separate conclusions: whether the client qualifies and when the grant can enter the funds-to-complete calculation. Approval still carries residence conditions after payment.

Identify the Applicable WA Rules

WA’s First Home Owner Grant remains open as at 3 October 2026, with a payment of up to $10,000 per eligible transaction. Joint buyers share one grant. There is no income or assets test.

The grant has not increased to $40,000. HomeBuilder was a separate temporary programme, with applications closing on 14 April 2021. Do not put a historical grant package into a current purchase budget.

The 2026 change increases the southern property value cap, including Perth, rather than the cash payment. RevenueWA’s current grant rules distinguish transactions by their commencement date.

Transaction commencement	South of the 26th parallel, including Perth	North of the 26th parallel
1 January 2010 to 6 May 2026	$750,000 maximum total value	$1,000,000 maximum total value
On or after 7 May 2026	$800,000 maximum total value	$1,000,000 maximum total value

For a purchase or comprehensive building contract, commencement is the contract date. An owner-builder’s commencement date is when laying the foundations begins. Settlement in 2026 does not move a 2025 contract into the higher cap.

Retain the signed contract and dated rule in the file. For an older transaction, use its applicable historical setting and completion date to assess eligibility and the application deadline. An earlier grant payment still leaves residence and compliance obligations to fulfil.

The grant is separate from Keystart loans and the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. Keystart provides a lending pathway, while the federal scheme provides a loan guarantee. For a property outside WA, use the national first home owner grant guide.

Check Applicant Eligibility

Interview every proposed owner and include each applicant’s spouse or de facto partner in the eligibility history, even when that partner will not own the new home. RevenueWA’s applicant eligibility rules apply across Australia.

1. Identify every person acquiring an ownership interest. Each must be an applicant and own in their personal capacity. A guardian holding property for someone with a legal disability has a specific exception.
2. Establish age and residency status. Applicants must generally be at least 18 when applying, with an exemption process for younger applicants. At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
3. Record previous grants and duty concessions. A prior first home owner grant or first home owner rate of duty in any Australian jurisdiction affects eligibility. Include amounts repaid following an investigation.
4. Record each residential property interest and the dates it was owned and occupied. Ownership before 1 July 2000 disqualifies the applicant, including an investment property never occupied.
5. For property acquired from 1 July 2000, establish whether the client lived there before 1 July 2004. A continuous six-month residence period starting on or after 1 July 2004 also affects eligibility. Either occupation test can disqualify the applicant.
6. Confirm each applicant’s intended move-in date and continuous six-month residence period. All applicants must live in the grant home within 12 months of completion, unless an approved variation applies.

A previous investment property acquired after 1 July 2000 is not an automatic refusal. Ownership and actual occupation dates decide the answer. Obtain title and occupancy records where the client’s history needs clarification.

Collect former names and relationship details before the declarations are signed. Marriage certificates, divorce records or a separation statutory declaration may be needed. Match those records to the applicant evidence checklist.

Keep the move-in date and residence deadline in the follow-up diary. If a client cannot meet the condition, seek a variation promptly. RevenueWA requires written notification within 30 days of the earlier relevant trigger: the end of the take-up period or when non-compliance becomes apparent.

Check the WA Transaction

Classify the property and transaction before calculating its value: purchasing a new home, entering a comprehensive building contract or building as an owner-builder. A new home has not previously been occupied or sold as a residence.

An established house, vacant land alone or minor renovations do not qualify for the grant. A substantially renovated home requires the seller’s evidence that it meets the taxable new-residential-premises test. It must also be unoccupied and unsold as a residence since the renovations.

The grant’s transaction definitions calculate total value differently for each route.

Route	Total value for the cap	Completion checkpoint
Purchase of a new home	Higher of purchase price and unencumbered value at the contract date	Acquisition of the ownership interest, usually settlement
Comprehensive building contract	Building contract including variations, plus land value at the building contract date	Home ready for occupation and applicant registered on title
Owner-builder	Unencumbered home value plus land value at completion	Home ready for occupation and applicant registered on title

Unencumbered value means value without a mortgage or other encumbrance. The client’s loan balance does not reduce the property value used for the grant.

Consider this hypothetical Perth building contract signed on 10 May 2026. Land valued at $300,000 plus a $470,000 build gives a total of $770,000. A $40,000 variation takes the total to $810,000, exceeding the applicable $800,000 cap.

A modular home can fall under either the building-contract or owner-builder route. Use RevenueWA’s modular-home ruling to establish its classification before scheduling payment.

Keep lender assessment separate. Grant eligibility does not establish repayment capacity, genuine savings, an acceptable security or the lender’s valuation. Compare those policy requirements using the client’s actual income, deposit and property details.

Bulma helps brokers compare lender policy across 52+ lenders and retains the policy wording behind each answer. Use that evidence for the lending assessment while retaining RevenueWA’s decision for the grant.

Lodge and Track the Evidence

Lodge through a RevenueWA-approved lender or directly with RevenueWA, and record who owns each outstanding document. The official application page links the online portal and paper form F-FHOG1.

The applicant must submit through the online portal. Third-party submissions there cannot be accepted.

An approved lender can lodge through its authorised channel. Paper applications can go through RevenueWA’s web enquiry channel or by mail.

For direct lodgement, each applicant and spouse or de facto partner supplies separate identity documents from all three required categories. The documents establish citizenship or residency status. Separate evidence links the person to that identity and shows Australian residence.

An approved agent requires category 1 documents and performs the remaining identity checks.

Retain these route-specific records from the transaction evidence checklist.

• For a purchase, obtain the signed sale agreement with special conditions, annexures and variations. Direct applications after settlement need the title search showing the buyers as registered owners.
• For substantially renovated property, add the seller’s statement describing the work and confirming the required tax treatment and occupation history.
• For a build, retain the land purchase agreement, signed building schedule and variations. Add progress invoices and receipts. A building deposit is not evidence of a construction progress payment.
• For an owner-builder, include plans, title evidence and a valuation or valuation request. Add addressed building-cost records and evidence that the home is ready to occupy. The applicant’s own labour does not count towards documented costs.
• For a related-party purchase, include the signed land transfer and a qualified valuation or form F-FHOG4 valuation request.

Apply within 12 months of completion. Purchase and building-contract applications can begin after the parties sign. Owner-builders can apply once foundations are laid, although eligibility cannot be determined until the home is completed.

Payment timing follows the route and evidence supplied.

Transaction	Payment checkpoint
New or off-the-plan purchase through an approved agent	Settlement
New or off-the-plan purchase directly through RevenueWA	After registration-on-title evidence, approximately three to six weeks after settlement
Building contract	First construction progress-payment evidence and registration on title
Owner-builder	Evidence the home is ready to occupy and registration on title

Treat the grant as expected funds until approval and payment timing support its use. Record the amount, status, payment checkpoint and remaining residence conditions. Keep client cash and approved loan proceeds visible separately.

In a hypothetical settlement budget, the client needs $60,000 after loan proceeds and has $50,000 cash. A $10,000 grant payable after settlement leaves a $10,000 settlement shortfall. The same grant can cover that gap only when the approved agent confirms it is available at settlement.

First-home duty relief needs its own settlement treatment. RevenueWA’s duty guidance says general duty is payable if grant approval or duty pre-approval is absent at settlement. A later approval can support reassessment and a refund.

Established-home buyers can qualify for duty relief even though no cash grant is payable.

Before finalising funds to complete, reconcile the grant decision, duty assessment and payment date with the settlement agent. Keep the grant file open after payment until the client’s residence obligation is fulfilled or RevenueWA approves a variation.