Help to Buy Scheme Eligibility: Broker Evidence Checks

Help to Buy Scheme eligibility requires every applicant to meet the citizenship, income and ownership rules, with a qualifying home and sufficient funds. As at 3 October 2026, applicants must be Australian citizens aged 18 or older. The income limit is $103,000 for an individual or $165,000 for joint applicants and eligible single parents.

For a broker, the useful result is an evidence-backed screen with each condition marked pass, fail or needs confirmation. A client’s income alone cannot establish eligibility.

Give the Eligibility Answer First

A buyer qualifies only when the applicant and property conditions work together. The Australian Government eligibility rules, read on 3 October 2026, cover citizenship, income, ownership, occupancy and incompatible assistance. They also require a deposit and a home within the relevant location’s price cap.

The scheme’s financial capacity test asks whether the buyer could purchase without Help to Buy. Passing your screen gives the client a basis to proceed to assessment. It does not give lender credit approval, reserve a scheme place or establish final approval.

Keep the scheme test separate from loan serviceability, which measures whether the client can afford repayments under the lender’s assessment. The Help to Buy Scheme guide explains the shared-equity arrangement and obligations beyond this screen.

Check Applicant and Residency Conditions

Each applicant must be an Australian citizen aged at least 18, applying as a person. A company or trust cannot apply. As at 3 October 2026, the official scheme page permits an individual application or a joint application with one other person, with both meeting eligibility criteria.

No, permanent residency alone does not qualify a buyer for Help to Buy. Citizenship is required for every applicant, including the second person in a joint application.

The Customer Guide, version 260701, lists photo identity and citizenship evidence. Collect each applicant’s passport or driver’s licence for identity, plus an Australian passport or citizenship certificate for citizenship. A driver’s licence proves neither citizenship nor the second applicant’s status.

For the single-parent category, establish the absence of a spouse or de facto partner and a qualifying dependent child. Schedule 1 of the General Terms, read on 3 October 2026, defines the category and dependent-child test. It includes specified parents, legal guardians and custody arrangements.

Ask the participating lender which relationship and dependency documents it requires. Treat those documents as lender confirmation items. If the client is separated but not divorced, record the circumstances and obtain the lender’s documented classification before using the single-parent limit.

Test Income Against the Current Limit

The Help to Buy income test uses annual taxable income on each applicant’s Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Notice of Assessment (NOA). The 2026–27 threshold update sets these limits for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, using the 2025–26 financial year’s NOA.

Applicant category	Maximum annual taxable income	Amount to test
Individual who is not an eligible single parent	$103,000	Applicant’s taxable income
Eligible single parent	$165,000	Applicant’s taxable income
Two joint applicants	$165,000	Sum of both applicants’ taxable incomes

The limit is inclusive. In a fictional joint application, NOA amounts of $81,000 and $84,000 total $165,000 and pass the income test. If the second amount is $85,000, the $166,000 total fails.

The Customer Guide, version 260701, requires an NOA for every applicant regardless of income type or amount. It applies the threshold at final approval. An application crossing into another financial year needs the newly relevant NOA and threshold.

Payslips, tax returns and other income records help explain differences and support the lender’s credit assessment. They do not replace the required NOA. Ask whether a discrepancy comes from a different financial year, changed employment, investment income or an amended tax assessment.

Record the taxable-income figure and financial year separately from current salary or projected business profit. Where the documents disagree, obtain the correction or explanation before recording an income pass.

Review Property Ownership and Previous Assistance

Previous home ownership does not automatically exclude a buyer returning to home ownership. Current ownership is the screening issue. As at 3 October 2026, the official scheme page excludes property owned or beneficially owned in Australia or overseas, subject to single-parent exceptions.

Ask about vacant land, inherited interests and jointly held property as well as homes. Where ownership is uncertain, request the relevant title, estate or trust records through the client’s solicitor. These are suggested clarification records, with the participating lender deciding the required evidence.

Under the Customer Guide, version 260701, a qualifying single parent can seek to buy out a co-owner or sell an existing property interest. The sale condition requires disposal within four weeks of settling on the Help to Buy home. Hardship or compassionate extensions require Housing Australia’s decision.

Record the proposed exemption and supporting facts. Keep the result as needs confirmation until the lender documents the applicable treatment.

Schedule 1 of the General Terms, read on 3 October 2026, bars concurrent Commonwealth home buyer guarantees, shared-equity assistance and state or territory home-ownership loans or guarantees. First homeowner grants, tax concessions and the First Home Super Saver Scheme are permitted forms of assistance.

For previous assistance, obtain the agreement and evidence showing whether support remains active. Send uncertain combinations to the participating lender for a documented decision on compatibility. Do not treat all previous government assistance as a permanent exclusion.

Confirm Occupancy, Deposit and Property Fit

The client must intend to live in the home as their principal place of residence. As at 3 October 2026, the official scheme page excludes investment properties. Any proposed absence or rental arrangement needs assessment under the scheme’s exemption rules.

The Customer Guide, version 260701, requires the maximum reasonable deposit the client can afford, with at least 2% from savings. Purchase costs are additional. It also requires a financial capacity assessment, so holding 2% does not establish entitlement to government support.

For a fictional $600,000 purchase, the minimum deposit is $12,000 before costs. A client holding exactly $12,000 has not yet demonstrated funds for conveyancing, duty and other purchase expenses.

The scheme supports new and existing homes throughout Australia. The official page includes houses, townhouses, apartments, units and duplexes. Land for construction or demolition and rebuilding requires an eligible building contract and builder.

The purchase must be on an arm’s-length basis, meaning the parties deal independently on commercial terms. General Terms clause 2.1(d)(iii), read on 3 October 2026, requires this condition. Ask who the vendor is and record any relationship or non-market arrangement for the lender to assess.

Keep unclear transactions as needs confirmation. The single-parent co-owner buyout pathway remains available subject to the scheme’s conditions and the lender’s assessment.

Before the client commits, record the property address, type and total price against the official location cap. For a build, include land and construction in the price check.

The applicants must be the only registered owners, with an eligible loan from a participating lender. Keep property acceptance, valuation and insurance checks separate from the initial applicant screen.

When the property changes, recheck its location cap, type, total price and funds required. Passing on one address does not establish eligibility for another.

Build the Eligibility Evidence File

Use one screening record that shows the evidence for each condition and who resolves every open question. The Customer Guide, version 260701, supplies the core document categories. Additional clarification records below are broker suggestions or lender confirmation items, not universal scheme document requirements.

Condition	Evidence or record	Follow-up owner
Age, identity and citizenship for each applicant	Photo identity and Australian passport or citizenship certificate	Client supplies documents; broker matches details
Application category	Applicant details; relationship and dependency evidence required by the lender	Lender confirms borderline classification
Income cap and year	Each applicant’s relevant NOA; joint total and applicable threshold	Broker calculates; client resolves discrepancies
Present ownership and exemptions	Asset declaration; title or legal records where needed; exemption basis	Client’s solicitor clarifies interests; lender records treatment
Other assistance	Current and previous assistance details; agreements where needed	Lender confirms compatibility
Deposit, costs and financial capacity	Savings statements; assets and liabilities; purchase-cost estimate	Lender assesses required contribution and need for assistance
Occupancy	Client’s intended use; details of any requested exemption	Lender refers exemption request for a decision
Property and loan fit	Address, property type, total price and cap record; vendor relationship and transaction terms; later transaction evidence	Lender confirms arm’s-length dealings and property and loan acceptance; unclear arrangements need confirmation
Participation declarations	Responses and evidence the lender requests, including current insolvency status	Lender checks General Terms representations

For every row, add the source title and version, date checked, evidence received and result. Record the precise outstanding question and a named person responsible for answering it.

The rules and thresholds above are checked on 3 October 2026. Refresh them when the application moves forward.

Use pass when the available evidence meets a condition. Use fail when an established fact breaches it. Mark missing documents, proposed exemptions and undecided property checks as needs confirmation.

A complete initial pass supports the next assessment. Record later lender and property decisions separately. Give the client the Help to Buy application procedure with the evidence file and unresolved items identified.