First Home Owner Grant by state in 2026: what you actually get

The First Home Owner Grant is now a new-build grant in every state and territory. Buy an established three-bedder in any capital city and the FHOG pays you nothing. That single rule change is the biggest misconception first-home buyers carry into 2026, and it is why the grant headlines on a state government press release rarely match what hits a real settlement statement.

The good news: the FHOG is only one lever. Stamp-duty concessions for first-home buyers operate separately, apply to existing homes in most states, and stack neatly on top of the grant when you do buy new. Total benefits on a new build can clear $45,000 in Queensland and Victoria once both levers are pulled.

Here is what each state hands over in 2026, who qualifies, and how the grant fits with the duty concession on the same contract.

The state-by-state grant amounts in 2026

Every figure below assumes a brand-new home that has never been previously sold or occupied as a residence. House-and-land packages, off-the-plan apartments, and new townhouses generally qualify. Established homes do not.

• NSW. $10,000 grant on a new home up to $750,000, or up to $600,000 for a house under a build contract. New-build only.
• VIC. $10,000 grant on a new home up to $750,000. Regional Victoria has historically run higher amounts; the regional uplift has currently lapsed back to parity, so verify on the SRO page if you are signing a country contract.
• QLD. $30,000 grant on a new home up to $750,000, after the late-2023 doubling from $15,000. The most generous grant in the country at the moment.
• WA. $10,000 grant on a new home up to $750,000 south of the 26th parallel. North of the 26th, the $10,000 grant is paired with a remote-area top-up.
• SA. $15,000 grant on a new home up to $650,000.
• TAS. $10,000 grant on a new home, with no property-value cap after recent reforms. Verify the cap status on the SRO Tas page on your contract date.
• NT.Around $50,000 under the long-running BuildBonus and HomeGrown Territory uplift, by some distance the largest grant figure in the country, reflecting NT's policy push to grow the resident base.
• ACT. No FHOG since 2019. The territory replaced the grant with the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, which targets stamp duty rather than the new-build market specifically.

Two patterns sit underneath the table. Most states cap the eligible property value at $750,000, with SA the notable lower outlier at $650,000. And every state has shifted the FHOG towards new supply rather than home ownership generally, which is a deliberate policy lever to nudge construction.

Eligibility basics that catch people out

The headline criteria are similar across states. At least one applicant must be 18 or older, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and not have previously owned a home in Australia. A few states soften the prior-ownership rule if you held an investment property and never lived in it; most do not.

The residency test trips more applications than the price cap. You typically must occupy the home as your principal place of residence for a continuous six to twelve months, beginning within twelve months of settlement. Move in late, rent it out early, or relocate for work mid-period and the revenue office claws the grant back, often with interest. Plan the residency window into your moving timeline before you sign.

A handful of states also restrict the grant to applicants who have not previously claimed a FHOG anywhere in Australia. If you received a grant in 2009 and bought a second home a decade later, check the application form carefully.

Stacking the grant with stamp-duty concessions

FHOG and first-home stamp-duty concessions are different mechanisms run by different parts of state government. They usually stack. A first-home buyer of a new build can typically claim both the cash grant and the duty exemption on the same purchase, and the combined benefit is what makes a new build compelling versus an established home for entry-level buyers.

On an $800,000 NSW new build, a first-home buyer can hit the full duty exemption (under $800,000 the exemption is total) and the $10,000 grant simultaneously, for a combined benefit near $30,000-plus. The numbers are larger again in QLD because the grant is larger. The interaction between price cap, duty cliff and grant cap is where contract negotiation creates real money.

For the duty side of the equation, the stamp duty calculator models every state with current 2026 brackets and first-home rules. Run your target price with and without the FHB toggle to see the duty saving in isolation; then add the grant on top.

Three worked examples on real price points

These are the figures behind the headlines. Round dollars on a clean price; your contract will produce a slightly different number once duty cents and any adjustments are applied.

$700,000 QLD new build, first-home buyer. The QLD first-home concession gives a full duty exemption on a new build at this price, saving around $17,350 of transfer duty that an investor would otherwise pay. Layer on the $30,000 FHOG and the total benefit lands near $47,000. The full QLD first-home rules and bracket math are walked through in the QLD stamp duty calculation breakdown.

$750,000 VIC new build, first-home buyer. The VIC first-home exemption gives a full $0 duty result up to $600,000 and a sliding concession that tapers to nil at $750,000. On a new build at exactly $750,000, the FHB duty result is around $40,000 saved against the standard schedule (the saving is approximate because the taper interacts with the bracket). Add the $10,000 FHOG on top and the combined benefit lands near $50,000.

$500,000 WA new build, first-home buyer south of the 26th parallel. The First Home Owner Rate of Duty gives a full duty exemption on a new home up to $450,000 and a smooth taper to $600,000. At $500,000 the duty saving against the residential scale is around $17,837. Add the $10,000 FHOG and the combined benefit is near $27,837. The duty-side mechanics are walked through in the WA stamp duty calculation article if you want the bracket math.

What counts as a new build

The legal definition is consistent across states even if the wording is not. A new home is one that has never been previously sold as a place of residence and has never been occupied as a residence. Off-the-plan apartments qualify on settlement, because completion is the first sale and you are the first occupant. House-and-land packages qualify provided the build has not been lived in. Substantial renovations of an existing dwelling sometimes qualify under a separate test, but the bar is high and the documentation is heavier than most buyers expect.

Knockdown-rebuilds that you commission yourself qualify as new homes once the certificate of occupancy lands. If you buy a completed spec home from a developer that has briefly been used as a display, the eligibility depends on whether it was held out as a residence; revenue offices have form for contesting display-home claims, so get the developer's eligibility statement in writing before you exchange.

How to run the numbers on your specific contract

The grant is a fixed amount; the duty saving is not. Your actual benefit depends on price, state, buyer type, and whether the property is new or established. Order of operations on a real purchase:

1. Confirm the FHOG amount and price cap for your state on the relevant revenue-office page (the figures in this article are 2026 baselines and shift periodically).
2. Run the contract price through the stamp duty calculator with the first-home buyer toggle on, to see the duty saving in isolation for your state.
3. Add the FHOG amount to the duty saving for the combined benefit. That is the number to compare against the premium you pay for buying new versus established in your suburb of choice.

For the broader cost-of-purchase walkthrough, the first-home buyer guide covers the rest of the line items. Burbfinder carries verified-on dates on every concession rule, because the rules change more often than the press releases admit. The grant in force on the day you exchange is the one that pays out, not the one that was current when you started looking.