First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (New Homes) FACT SHEET

First Home Loan Deposit

Scheme (New Homes)

FACT SHEET

What is the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme?

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) is an

Australian Government initiative to support eligible first

home buyers to build or purchase a new home sooner. The

Scheme is administered by the National Housing Finance and

Investment Corporation (NHFIC). Usually first home buyers

with less than a 20 per cent deposit need to pay lenders

mortgage insurance. Under the Scheme, eligible first home

buyers can purchase or build a new home with a deposit of

as little as 5 per cent (lenders criteria apply). This is because

NHFIC guarantees to a participating lender up to 15 percent

of the value of the property purchased that is financed by an

eligible first home buyer’s home loan.

What is the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (New

Homes)?

In the 2020-21 Federal Budget, the Australian Government

announced an additional 10,000 FHLDS places for the 2020-

21 financial year, specifically for eligible first home buyers

building or purchasing new homes. These additional places

are known as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (New

Homes) or FHLDS (New Homes).

How does FHLDS (New Homes) work?

Eligible first home buyers looking to build or purchase a new

home are able to apply for a loan to purchase an eligible

property through a participating lender during this financial

year (ending 30 June 2021). Eligible borrowers can use the

guarantee in conjunction with other government programs

like the First Home Super Saver Scheme, HomeBuilder grant

or state and territory First Home Owner Grants and stamp

duty concessions. The guarantee is not a cash payment or a

deposit for your home loan.

What types of properties are eligible?

Eligible FHLDS (New Homes) properties include:

• newly-constructed dwellings

• off-the-plan dwellings

• house and land packages

• land and a separate contract to build a new home.

A newly-constructed dwelling can also be one where a

home has been substantially renovated, or knocked down

and rebuilt, by the vendor – thus creating a ‘newly-

constructed dwelling’.

There are particular requirements which apply for each

type of property. Contact a participating lender

for more

details.

What are the timeframes for FHLDS (New Homes)?

If you are purchasing a new home:

• you must enter into a contract of sale to purchase

your new home within 90 days of being pre-

approved

• for an off-the-plan property, the contract of sale

must be dated on or after 7 October 2020.

Generally, the building of your off-the-plan

property must start within 6 months and finish

within 24 months.

• for a newly constructed dwelling, the dwelling

must have been completed on or after 1 January

2020.

If you are building a new home (either under a house and

land package or as a land and separate contract to build a

home):

• you must enter into an eligible building contract

within 90 days of being pre-approved; and

• you must start building within 6 months of

entering into the eligible building contract and

finish building within 24 months of starting.

Search the property price threshold for a suburb or

postcode on NHFIC's website at

www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/property-

price-thresholds/

What property price thresholds apply for FHLDS (New

Homes)?

FHLDS (New Homes) assists in the building or purchase of a

new home. The value of the new home must not exceed the

relevant price cap for the area in which it is located. The

price caps for capital cities, large regional centres and

regional areas are on the following page.

State

Capital city and

regional centres*

Rest of

State

New South Wales $950,000 $600,000

Victoria $850,000 $550,000

Queensland $650,000 $500,000

Western Australia $550,000 $400,000

South Australia $550,000 $400,000

Tasmania $550,000 $400,000

Territory All areas

Australian Capital Territory $600,000

Northern Territory $550,000

Jervis Bay Territory & Norfolk Island $600,000

Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling)

Islands

$400,000

* Note that regional centres only include the areas identified as (1) in

New South Wales, Illawarra and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, (2) in

Victoria, Geelong, and (3) in Queensland, Gold Coast and Sunshine

Coast.

Who is eligible for FHLDS (New Homes)?

• Australian citizens who are at least 18 years of

age. Permanent residents are not eligible.

• Single applicants with a taxable income of up to

$125,000 per annum for the previous financial

year and couples with a taxable income of up to

$200,000 per annum for the previous financial

year. For all FHLDS (New Homes) applications

made to 30 June 2021, the relevant financial

year assessed will be 2019-20.

• Couples are only eligible for FHLDS (New Homes)

if they are married or in a de-facto relationship

with each other. Other persons buying together,

including siblings, parent/child or friends, are not

eligible for FHLDS (New Homes).

• FHLDS (New Homes) assists single (individual)

applicants and couples (together) who have at

least 5 per cent of the value of an eligible

property saved as a deposit. If 20 per cent or

more is saved, then the home loan will not be

covered by FHLDS (New Homes).

• Loans under FHLDS (New Homes) require

scheduled repayments of the principal and

interest of the loan for the full period of the

agreement, which will need to be for a term of

30 years or less, (with limited exceptions for

interest-only loans, which mainly relate to

construction lending).

• Applicants must intend to be owner-occupiers

of the purchased property. Investment

properties are not supported.

• Applicants must be first home buyers who have

not previously owned, or had an interest in, a

property in Australia, either separately or jointly

with someone else (includes residential strata

and company title properties).

How to apply

Eligible first home buyers can apply for FHLDS (New

Homes) through a participating lender. The full list of

participating lenders is at

https://www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/how-to-

apply/#FHLDSlenders.

• First home buyers are responsible for meeting

all costs and repayments for the home loan

associated with the guarantee.

• All applications for the FHLDS (New Homes)

need to be made directly with one of the

Scheme’s participating lenders.

NHFIC doesn’t

accept applications directly from first home

buyers.

Find out more on how to apply at

www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/how-to-

apply