Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee
What is the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee?
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is part of the Home Guarantee Scheme, an Australian Government initiative that helps home buyers to buy a home sooner.
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee supports regional home buyers who have saved a minimum deposit of 5% of the Property Value, and meet other eligibility criteria, to buy a home in a regional area. Housing Australia provides a Guarantee to the Participating Lender to enable you to borrow up to 95% of the Property Value. For the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, this is up to 15% of the Property Value.
Are you eligible?
To qualify for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, you need to meet eligibility criteria relating to your personal circumstances including:
- Living and buying in a regional area - you (or the person you're applying with in a joint application) have lived in the regional area you're buying in, or an adjacent regional area, for the 12 months up to the Home Loan Date*
- Citizenship and permanent residency - be an Australian citizen(s) or permanent resident(s) at the Home Loan Date*
- Income - taxable income must be at or below the income cap - $125,000 for individuals or a combined $200,000 for joint applicants – shown in the Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the previous financial year, issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- Deposit - must have minimum deposit savings of 5% of the Property Value
- Prior property ownership - you must be a first home buyer or have not owned a property in Australia in the last 10 years (applies to both in a joint application) at the Home Loan Date*
- Owner-occupier - you must buy or build a home to live in (investment properties are not eligible)
- Minimum age - must be at least 18 years old.
What is a regional area?
A regional area is defined as the Australian Bureau of Statistics Statistical Area Level 4 (ASGS SA4 2016). These are areas in a state or the Northern Territory that are not a capital city. Also included are Norfolk Island; the Territories of Jervis Bay, Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
The Australian Capital Territory and greater capital city areas of each state and the Northern Territory are exluded. Home buyers in these areas may be eligible for the First Home Guarantee or Family Home Guarantee.
Check your eligibility
To help you work out if you are eligible for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, use the Eligibility Tool for a quick check of the main eligibility criteria. The tool is only a guide and your Participating Lender will confirm your eligibility.
What type of home can you buy?
You can buy a new or existing residential property below the price cap for the location.
Check the property price caps
Use the Postcode Search Tool to check the price cap for the location you want to buy in. The tool is only a guide - confirm the price cap with your Participating Lender for any property you are considering buying.
Note both the purchase price and the Property Value must not exceed the price cap. For new builds with vacant land and a separate contract to build a home, the combined land purchase price and build cost must be equal to or under the price cap.
Check the regional areas
Use the Regional Checker to confirm that the location you want to buy is in a defined regional area that can be supported under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. You can also use the tool to check that the location you live in and are buying in are adjacent to each other.
What type of home loan do you need?
You will need a home loan from a Home Guarantee Scheme Participating Lender, that meets certain requirements including that it is:
- an owner-occupier home loan
- requires regular Principal and Interest repayments (with limited exceptions for interest-only loans)
- has a term of up to 30 years (plus up to three years to build a new home).
How do you apply?
Home buyers can apply through a Participating Lender authorised by Housing Australia to offer the Home Guarantee Scheme. These lenders will assess your eligibility based on their lending criteria, guide you through the application process and explain the documents and information to provide. They will submit an application to Housing Australia and inform you if you are eligible and if a place is available for you.
You can’t apply directly to Housing Australia for a Guarantee - only through a Participating Lender as part of a home loan application.
How to apply
What documents do you need?
Talk to your Participating Lender about what documents and information they need for your application, which will include:
- your full name and date of birth
- your Medicare number (including your position on the card) or PMKey (if relevant)
- your NOA for the previous financial year
- a completed Home Buyer Declaration (the form is available from your Participating Lender or on this website here)
- documents that prove you have been living in a regional area for the required timeframe (e.g. utility notices)
- other details to assist the lender to assess whether you will be eligible to participate in the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee – your Participating Lender will confirm what these are.
Who are the Participating Lenders?
Housing Australia has authorised Participating Lenders to offer the Home Guarantee Scheme. Check out who is on the list here.
Handy Information
Download an Information Guide
Learn more about the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.
Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee FAQs
Read the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee FAQs.
Important Information
Information on this page is general information about the Home Guarantee Scheme only. While Housing Australia has taken reasonable steps to ensure it is accurate, it does not provide any warranty that it is complete or that home buyers can rely on the information. Housing Australia does not accept any loss from reliance on the information. To apply for the Home Guarantee Scheme, home buyers will need to contact a Participating Lender who can assess their particular circumstances to determine whether they are eligible.