NSW first home buyers
NSW First Home Owner Grant
The NSW First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment of $10,000 from the New South Wales government to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home, an off-the-plan home or a substantially renovated property within the state's value caps.
The scheme is run by Revenue NSW and sits alongside a separate transfer duty scheme that many buyers can claim on the same purchase. This page sets out the amounts, the caps, the eligibility rules, how the two schemes interact around Googong, and how the money actually arrives.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The grant pays exactly $10,000, once per eligible transaction, and only once in each applicant's lifetime. That figure surprises people because older articles, forum threads and some third-party comparison sites still quote $30,000, an amount that has not applied for years and cannot be verified against any current government source. If a website will not link its grant figure to Revenue NSW, treat it as stale. The 2026-27 NSW Budget, handed down on 23 June 2026, made no changes to the grant amount or the value caps, so the scheme you read about on the Revenue NSW site today is the scheme you would apply under. Ten thousand dollars is real money towards a deposit, but the bigger financial lever for most first home buyers sits in the separate duty scheme covered further down this page.
Who Qualifies
The eligibility test is narrower than most buyers assume, and Revenue NSW applies it strictly: you qualify only if every one of the published conditions is met:
Every applicant is a person
At least one applicant holds citizenship or residency
Nobody has owned a home before
The property is genuinely new
The price sits under the cap
You will occupy it
Which Properties It Covers
The fastest way to check whether a property you are eyeing qualifies is to match it against the table below, which mirrors the Revenue NSW eligibility rules:
| Property type | Grant eligible | Value cap |
|---|---|---|
| New home, home and land in one contract | Yes | $600,000 |
| New home, house and land in separate contracts | Yes | $750,000 combined |
| Off-the-plan purchase in a new development | Yes | $600,000 |
| Substantially renovated, never lived in or sold | Yes | $600,000 |
| Established home someone has lived in | No, at any price | Not applicable |
| Company or trust purchase of a new home | No, at any price | Not applicable |
Why The Rule Bites Here
The statewide caps look generous until you match them against what is actually for sale around Googong, and this is where local buyers most often discover the grant does not fit the home they wanted:
The Cap Versus Local Stock
Googong is an overwhelmingly family suburb: 73.2 per cent of dwellings here have four or more bedrooms, and only 0.7 per cent are flats or apartments. That housing mix is exactly the kind of stock that new-build pricing tends to push past a $600,000 all-up cap, so many local buyers find the grant slips out of reach on turnkey homes.
Where Eligible Stock Actually Sits
The suburb is building fast, with 219 dwelling approvals in 2021-22 and 461 across the last five years, so genuinely new stock is not scarce. The eligible pool concentrates in newer release stages, smaller lot products and off-the-plan apartments and townhouses still selling below the threshold, rather than the large detached homes that dominate the established streets.
The Land-Plus-Build Pathway
Because the combined cap for vacant land plus a separate building contract runs to $750,000, buying a block and building is often the realistic route to the grant here. It also pairs naturally with a construction loan, though staged builds bring their own timing and valuation considerations we walk through with clients.
What It Means For Your Search
If the grant is central to your budget, your search in Googong starts with new releases and off-the-plan rather than established listings, because an established home gets no grant at any price. Check the contract price against the cap before you commit, since even a small overshoot voids the whole claim.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant and the transfer duty scheme are separate programs, and the interaction between them matters more than the grant alone for most budgets. The duty scheme, the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, works like this:
Full duty exemption to $800,000
A concession above $800,000
Vacant land has its own thresholds
Both schemes can apply together
Established homes still get duty help
The current thresholds took effect on 1 July 2023, and the 2026-27 Budget left both schemes untouched. We map both against your deposit and target price range before you make an offer, as part of our first home buyer process.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
Applications run either through an approved lender acting as Revenue NSW's agent or directly to Revenue NSW, and payment timing depends entirely on which purchase stage you are in:
- 1
Lodging Through A Lender
Most buyers lodge through an approved bank or lender acting as Revenue NSW's agent, because the paperwork travels with your home loan application and the grant pays alongside settlement without a separate claim process.
- 2
Applying Directly
Where your lender is not an approved agent, you lodge directly with Revenue NSW with identity documents, the contract and citizenship evidence. Build the extra processing time into your planning, since the grant will not land before your documents are complete.
- 3
Payment On A Completed Home
For a home already built and ready to occupy, payment generally arrives at settlement, effectively reducing the cash you need on the day. Off-the-plan buyers also wait for settlement, which can sit years beyond the contract date depending on the developer's completion.
- 4
Payment During A Build
Construction contracts typically trigger payment once the first progress payment is made to the builder, which helps early cash flow. This is worth knowing before you structure deposits with your builder, and our construction finance clients plan around it from the start.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
Revenue NSW declines claims for reasons that are almost all avoidable with a careful contract check before signing, so treat this list as a pre-purchase checklist rather than a post-mortem:
- Wrong property type Assuming any first home purchase qualifies, without checking the new-home test, is the most common error. An established home gets nothing at any price.
- Prior ownership anywhere A partner who briefly owned property interstate years ago disqualifies the application, because the test covers every applicant and their spouse across all of Australia.
- Breach of the occupancy rule Failing to move in within twelve months of settlement or completion, or moving out before twelve months of continuous residence, puts the grant in question.
- A price marginally over the cap A contract at $605,000 does not attract a reduced grant, it disqualifies the whole application, so confirm the exact contract price before you sign.
- Applying as a company or trust A purchase structure set up for tax or asset reasons can void eligibility, so raise the structure with us before you commit if the grant matters to you.
- Incomplete documents at lodgement Missing identity, contract or citizenship evidence stalls the claim, and delays at settlement are expensive when a builder or vendor is waiting.
One related note for buyers stretching the deposit with family help: a guarantor structure is compatible with claiming the grant, but every guarantor should obtain independent legal and financial advice before signing, because the obligations are real and lasting.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the NSW First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant pays $10,000 once per eligible transaction and once per applicant in a lifetime. Older articles quoting $30,000 are outdated and do not match the amount currently published by Revenue NSW.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. A home someone has previously lived in or sold is ineligible at any price. The grant covers new homes, off-the-plan purchases and substantially renovated properties never occupied since the work finished.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
A home and land bought under one contract is capped at $600,000. Vacant land combined with a separate building contract is assessed against a $750,000 combined cap. Going even slightly over disqualifies the claim entirely.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. For contracts from 1 July 2023, at least one applicant must move in within twelve months of settlement or completion and live there continuously as their main residence for twelve months.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes. The grant is a Revenue NSW payment for new homes only. The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme reduces transfer duty, covers established homes as well, and a qualifying purchase can receive both.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
A completed home is generally paid at settlement. Off-the-plan purchases also pay at settlement, which can sit well beyond the contract date. Construction contracts typically pay once the first progress payment reaches the builder.
Mortgage broker for Googong and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build against established stock around Googong, call (02) 9072 0647 for a free strategy call. You will speak directly with Your Mortgage Broker Googong, a credit representative working under an Australian Credit Licence, and every fee and commission is disclosed in writing before you commit to anything.