Am I still a first home buyer?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 7 min read

The short answer

Probably, for at least one of the tests. "First home buyer" isn't one status, it's three separate rule books: the federal 5% scheme, your state's first home owner grant, and your state's stamp duty concession. You can pass one and fail the others on the same purchase.

The 5% scheme uses a 10 year look back. The state benefits usually look back much further, sometimes your whole life, and often count your partner's history too. Which ones you pass decides how much deposit you need and how much stamp duty lands on top of it, so it's worth knowing before you start looking, not at the conveyancer's desk.

Three different tests: scheme, grant, stamp duty

The 5% scheme is federal, run by Housing Australia through participating lenders. You qualify as a first home buyer, or as someone who hasn't held an interest in property in Australia in the 10 years before you sign the home loan. That includes land, investment property, commercial property and long leases, whether you owned it alone or with an ex. If two of you are on the loan, both have to pass.

The first home owner grant is run by your state, and it's generally only for a brand new home or a build. Each state writes its own ownership test. In Victoria and Queensland, for example, the question is whether you or your spouse owned residential property in Australia before 1 July 2000, or lived in one you owned after that date.

The stamp duty concession is also your state, and it's usually the strictest. In NSW, you and your spouse or partner must never have owned or co-owned residential property in Australia. Other states draw the line in their own place, so the safe assumption is that the scheme is the easy test and the state benefits are the hard ones.

And if you're looking at Help to Buy, that's a fourth test again: you can't own any property in Australia or overseas right now, and every applicant has to be an Australian citizen.

Not sure which of the three tests you pass?

Book a call. Tell me what you've owned, when, and whose name it was in, and I'll tell you which benefits are still on the table and what that does to your deposit and stamp duty.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

No application, no credit check, nothing on your file. Just the numbers.

Am I a first home buyer if I owned before, years ago?

I owned a place many years ago. Do I become a first home buyer again? covers this one. For the 5% scheme, if you haven't held an interest in property in the 10 years before your home loan date, you're back in: 5% down, no lenders mortgage insurance. The home loan date is the day you sign the loan agreement, and the look back runs from when your last sale actually settled, so if you're close to the 10 year mark, a few months can decide it.

Stamp duty is a different story. Most state concessions are close to a lifetime test, so ten years on you can get the scheme and still pay full duty on the same purchase. Put that number in the budget on day one.

Partner owned a home before: am I still a first home buyer?

My partner owned a house before. Am I still eligible for first home buyer benefits? is the most common version of this question. Buy jointly with someone who has owned before and, generally, the purchase isn't a first home: no scheme, and generally no grant or duty concession. Some states give a partial concession for the half going to the person who's never owned, and your conveyancer can confirm whether yours does.

Buying in your own name changes the scheme side. An individual applicant is assessed on their own circumstances regardless of relationship status, so your partner's history doesn't count for the 5% scheme. The state side is where it gets caught: NSW stamp duty and the grant in Victoria and Queensland all count your spouse or partner's ownership, even if they're not on the title. So going solo can keep the scheme and still lose the state benefits. Check your state's rule before you build a plan around it.

Investment first: do I lose first home buyer status?

If I buy an investment property first, do I lose my first home buyer benefits? says yes, and for the 5% scheme and most stamp duty concessions that's right: an investment property is a property interest, and it uses up your first home benefits. For the scheme you're out for 10 years from when you sell it.

The grant is where states split. In Victoria and Queensland, owning a property after 1 July 2000 that you never lived in may not count against you for the first home owner grant. That doesn't rescue the scheme or the duty concession, but it's worth knowing if a new build is in your future. Then do the sum properly: the concession you're giving up against what getting in three or four years sooner might be worth. If that only works with a boom, it's a warning.

Age, residency and living in it

Every one of these needs you to be 18 or over, and the bank won't lend before then anyway. Can I buy a home if I'm under 18? covers how to use the years before that so you're ready the week you turn 18. The 5% scheme takes Australian citizens and permanent residents. Help to Buy is citizens only. State grants generally need at least one buyer to be a citizen or permanent resident.

Then there's living in it, and the rules don't line up. The 5% scheme wants you in within six months of settlement and living there for as long as the guarantee is on, which runs until your scheduled repayments bring the loan to 80% of the value assessed at purchase, or you refinance or sell. State residence periods are their own thing: NSW stamp duty relief asks for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement, and the Queensland grant asks for six continuous months. Do I have to live in my first home, or can I rent it out? and Is it worth living in the property first to get the stamp duty exemption? go through why people trip on this: they meet the state period, put tenants in, and forget the scheme is still on.

Stacking what you qualify for, and first home buyer stamp duty

Can I stack the 5% scheme, the stamp duty exemption and the government grant? covers the big one. Yes, you can stack them: the official scheme guide says the 5% scheme doesn't stop you using state grants or duty concessions. Because the grant is generally for new homes, stacking all three usually means a new build, and on a build under the scheme the land and the construction go to the bank together as one application. The one thing you can't combine is the 5% scheme with Help to Buy.

On the duty side, Do first home buyers still pay stamp duty? explains how the thresholds work. Every state publishes a price table. In NSW, a first home buyer pays no duty on a home up to $800,000 and a reduced amount up to $1 million. Other states set different lines and treat new homes, existing homes and land differently, so check your state's current table when you're making offers, not the one a mate quoted you two years ago.

The honest part

Eligibility questions feel like yes or no, and they mostly aren't. Two people with the same history can land differently purely on which state they're buying in, whether they're buying new, and whose name goes on the loan. A wrong assumption here is usually a five figure surprise.

I can tell you how the scheme and the lenders will treat you. The state grant and stamp duty are confirmed by your state revenue office and your conveyancer, and the dates on your old contracts are what decide it. Find them before you start looking.

Everything on this page was checked against the official scheme pages and the NSW, Victorian and Queensland revenue offices on 11 November 2026. Other states have their own rules, and all of them change.

Not sure which of the three tests you pass?

Half an hour. We go through what you or your partner have owned and when, which state you're buying in, and whether you're buying new or established. You leave knowing which benefits you can use, what deposit you need and what stamp duty to budget for.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

No application, no credit check, nothing on your file. Just the numbers.

Common questions about first home buyer eligibility

Am I a first home buyer if I owned a house more than 10 years ago?+

For the 5% Deposit Scheme, generally yes. It is open to anyone who hasn't held an interest in property in Australia in the 10 years before they sign the home loan. State stamp duty concessions and grants are usually stricter. NSW, for example, asks that you and your partner have never owned residential property in Australia, so you can qualify for the scheme and still pay full stamp duty on the same purchase.

My partner has owned a home before. Can I still get first home buyer benefits?+

If you buy together, generally not. For the 5% scheme both people on the loan have to pass the test. If you buy in your own name, the scheme looks only at your circumstances, but several states count your spouse or partner's history for the grant and stamp duty concession anyway, so going solo doesn't automatically keep the state benefits.

Do I lose first home buyer status if I buy an investment property first?+

For the 5% scheme, yes, for 10 years: any property interest in Australia counts, investment or not. For stamp duty in most states, yes. The grant is where states differ: in Victoria and Queensland, a property bought after 1 July 2000 that you never lived in may not count against you for the first home owner grant.

Can I use the 5% scheme and the first home owner grant together?+

Yes. The 5% scheme doesn't stop you using state grants or stamp duty concessions, as long as you meet each one's own rules. The grant is generally for new homes only, so stacking all three usually means buying new or building. What you can't combine is the 5% scheme with Help to Buy.

How long do I have to live in my first home?+

Each rule sets its own period. The 5% scheme wants you in within six months of settlement and living there for as long as the guarantee is on. State rules differ: NSW stamp duty relief asks you to move in within 12 months and live there for 12 continuous months, while the Queensland grant asks for six continuous months. Check the one that applies to your state before you plan to move out.

Next question

Help to Buy or the 5% scheme: which one fits?

Once you know you qualify: one scheme lends you a guarantee, the other brings in a co-owner. What each costs you when you sell.