Keystart Home Loans: Eligibility and Evidence

Keystart home loans help eligible Western Australians buy an owner-occupied home with a low deposit, through full ownership or shared ownership with the Housing Authority. A broker assesses the client’s chosen pathway against its income and property limits, then builds the funds and evidence file. A small deposit alone doesn’t establish eligibility or affordable repayments.

Identify the Current Keystart Pathway

Choose the Keystart product that addresses the client’s actual constraint: upfront funds, borrowing capacity or access to a suitable home. As at October 2026, Keystart is a Western Australian Government-owned lender and government trading enterprise.

The current statutory entity began operating on 1 July 2025, taking over the former entities’ operations and obligations. The Auditor General records the transfer.

Keystart’s current residential pathways serve different needs. Eligibility and assessment still apply to each one.

Pathway	Client need and product distinction
Low Deposit Home Loan, including Modular Home Loan	Buy an established home or build with a smaller deposit. The client buys the whole property, including an eligible modular-home build.
Urban Connect Shared Equity Home Loan	Borrowing capacity falls short of the price of an eligible new home. The Housing Authority co-owns a share and Keystart lends for the client’s share.
Shared Ownership Home Loan	An eligible client needs a co-owner to help buy or retain a home. Specific routes include SharedStart, GoodStart for public-housing tenants, Sole Parent, Access and Aboriginal shared ownership.
Skilled Start Home Loan	An eligible apprentice, recent graduate or early-career worker qualifies for a discounted variable-rate pathway. Occupation or qualification evidence matters as well as finances.
Urban Connect Home Loan	Buy an eligible medium- or high-density apartment in an urban location near rail transport hubs. This is a full-ownership apartment loan.
Urban Connect Plus	Finance the developer’s deposit for an eligible off-the-plan apartment. Keystart reassesses the client’s finances before the completed purchase proceeds through Urban Connect.

Keystart’s current product determinations identify its product families. Its Urban Connect and Urban Connect Plus pages explain the apartment routes. Urban Connect Plus funds the developer deposit only, so it doesn’t promise finance for the whole completed apartment.

An ordinary full-ownership loan leaves the borrower owning the property and owing the lender. A Keystart shared-equity loan also has a government co-owner, which changes the ownership and exit arrangements. Keystart has a direct application route and a broker route.

Select the product before choosing either channel.

Check the Borrower and Property

Screen the household and the proposed property against the selected Keystart pathway, then test repayment affordability separately. As at October 2026, Keystart’s basic application requirements include applicants over 18, Australian citizenship or permanent residency and residence in Western Australia. The home must be in Western Australia and occupied by the borrower.

Record the client’s current home or land ownership, relationship status and dependants.

The standard application route excludes ownership of another home or land at settlement. Clients living with a partner must apply as a couple under the basic guidance. Specific shared-ownership routes address different circumstances, including retaining a family home after a relationship breakdown.

Keystart is available to eligible subsequent buyers as well as first home buyers. Its Low Deposit Home Loan page allows previous owners to apply if they no longer own or part-own another home or land.

That page also requires stable income or regular employment for at least six months and accepts some Centrelink benefits.

Use the following questions to identify the product and evidence needed.

Screen	What the broker records
Applicant and household	Applicant identities, residency status, partner, dependants and any present property interest.
Income and debts	Income sources, employment history, household expenses, debt repayments and credit limits. Keep income-cap eligibility separate from the amount affordable to borrow.
Property	Location, price, title, land area, dwelling type and whether established, newly built, under construction or off-the-plan.
Product-specific qualification	Skilled Start qualification or occupational evidence, or the circumstances supporting a particular shared-ownership route.
Occupancy	The client’s intention and ability to live in the property throughout the Keystart loan.

Keystart’s current published limits distinguish products and regions. Low Deposit has a $860,000 property cap.

Its income caps are $155,000 for singles and $228,000 for couples or families in metro and regional areas. Kimberley and Pilbara income caps are $225,000 and $285,000 respectively.

Shared Ownership has a $720,000 property cap under the current published limits. Urban Connect Shared Equity has an $800,000 property cap. Both list income caps of $128,000 for singles and $197,000 for couples or families.

The current product page permits eligible new apartments, townhouses, villas and units. Green-title new builds have land limits of 300 square metres in Perth metro and 500 square metres in regional areas.

Survey-strata new builds have no land-size restriction under that published feature. These are Urban Connect Shared Equity settings, not general Keystart property rules.

Skilled Start’s property caps are $700,000 for established homes and $750,000 for new, under-construction or off-the-plan homes. Its qualifying pathways have a five-year timing requirement.

They include apprenticeships, Certificate III or higher qualifications, eligible construction work and specified police or emergency-services training. At least one applicant must satisfy the occupational or qualification criteria. Keystart lists the detailed Skilled Start rules.

Another lender’s deposit requirement, valuation rule or income treatment doesn’t establish a Keystart result. Keep a separate assessment for each provider.

Build the Funds and Repayment Picture

Reconcile the purchase price and upfront costs with evidenced client funds, the proposed loan and any approved assistance. As at October 2026, Keystart’s Low Deposit product states a deposit of the higher of 2% or $2,000. Location and purchase price can change the required contribution.

It charges no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), which protects a lender against certain losses, or monthly account-keeping fee. The product page sets out these features.

Keystart’s low-deposit products aren’t a blanket no-deposit home loan option in Western Australia. Eligible assistance can contribute to the funds position, but every amount needs an accepted source and usable payment date.

A grant that hasn’t been approved cannot be treated as available cash.

For a hypothetical October 2026 established-home purchase of $600,000, a 2% deposit is $12,000. Assume $15,000 of quoted purchase costs and $20,000 of available savings.

The client needs $27,000 before any separate cash reserve, leaving a $7,000 shortfall. These costs and savings are illustrative, and the example assumes Keystart accepts the 2% contribution for that purchase.

List conveyancing, transfer duty, inspections, settlement charges and insurance separately. Add moving costs and a cash reserve to the household budget.

Keep an eligible First Home Owner Grant on its own line with approval and payment timing. The Western Australian grant guide covers that separate assessment. Compare the ordinary lender’s contribution using the minimum home-loan deposit guide.

Keystart’s home loans require principal-and-interest repayments and owner occupation. Its comparison page lists low deposits, absence of LMI and no monthly account-keeping fee across the range.

Compare the selected product’s written rate and comparison rate, total fees, loan term and repayment schedule with the ordinary-lender offer.

Use the same borrowing amount and term so differences in cost remain visible.

With Urban Connect Shared Equity, the Housing Authority contribution is capped at 35% of the purchase price or $250,000, subject to assessment. The client’s share depends on their finances and borrowing capacity.

A smaller loan reduces the debt serviced, while the co-owner retains an interest in the property. Keystart explains this ownership structure.

Identify whether a shared-ownership arrangement is flexible or fixed. Flexible ownership allows further share purchases when affordable.

Fixed ownership prevents buying the remaining shares or refinancing to another lender, and a sale must be back to the Housing Authority at valuation.

Read the co-owners deed before recommending the route. Keystart’s shared-equity guide explains the distinction.

For broader structures, use the shared-equity schemes guide.

Prepare and Escalate the Application

Prepare a Keystart file that proves the selected pathway, funds position and affordable repayments before seeking conditional approval. As at October 2026, Keystart’s broker submission instructions use Loanapp. Its home-lending policy update sets out reduced evidence requirements.

1. Assemble identification and pathway evidence. Include the customer consent form and identifier certificate, which Keystart identifies as mandatory. For Skilled Start, attach dated qualification or occupational evidence supporting the applicable five-year criterion.
2. Match income documents to the income type. The published options include a recent payslip with sufficient year-to-date history, or two recent consecutive payslips plus a year-to-date Income Statement. Payslips must be dated within 30 days of submission. The required history is three or six months according to the income type in the Consumer Lending Policy. Self-employed applicants need the two previous full financial years’ tax returns and Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment, with financial statements where applicable.
3. Prove spending and funds. Keystart’s update requires the latest month’s statements for each applicant’s accounts showing income and expenses. Evidence of purchase funds can be a named, dated balance record. Include additional income or debt records where applicable, using Appendix C of the Consumer Lending Policy in the Broker Portal.
4. Lodge through Loanapp, directly or through an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system. Upload supporting documents and consent. The customer must register their email address and mobile number for the application to enter the assessment queue.
5. Track the conditions to formal approval. Keystart’s conditional approval lasts 120 days. Satisfy the listed conditions, then complete the signed lending pack and settlement evidence, including the final settlement statement and required building insurance.

For shared equity, obtain the assessed ownership split before the client signs a purchase contract. Keystart’s broker guidance tells clients to wait for conditional approval, because an assumed ownership percentage can require contract changes. The public process describes assessment steps, while the accredited Broker Portal supplies the current policy and forms.

If a scenario falls outside published criteria, send the proposed product and the exact departure to Keystart’s scenario team at scenario@keystart.com.au. Include the household finances and relevant property facts. Ask for the permitted pathway, any required exception approval and the evidence needed before recommending it.

Keystart’s shared-equity broker guidance allows consideration of some income or price-cap departures with outside-policy approval.

The Housing Authority contribution still cannot exceed its stated cap.

If Keystart doesn’t accept the scenario, compare another lender’s actual policy and repayments, or change the purchase budget and savings timetable. Bulma’s Policy Advisor can help a broker compare lender deposit requirements and retain the quoted policy in the file. Keep Keystart’s own assessment and the client’s supported funds position as the basis for proceeding with a Keystart application.