The Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme, explained

For most first home buyers, the deposit and how much a lender will lend are the two big hurdles. Help to Buy tackles both at once: instead of guaranteeing your loan, the government buys a slice of the home alongside you, shrinking both the deposit you need and the mortgage you carry. It's a different model to the other first-home supports, and it comes with a real trade-off.

How Help to Buy works

Help to Buy is a shared-equity scheme run through Housing Australia. You bring a deposit of as little as 2%, the government contributes up to 30% of the price (40% for a new build), and a normal home loan covers the rest. Because the government's share cuts the amount you borrow, your loan and repayments are smaller than a standard purchase. You own the home and live in it as normal; the government simply holds its share until you repay it.

• Up to 30% government contribution for an existing home, or 40% for a new build
• A minimum deposit of just 2%
• 10,000 places available each financial year

The scheme opened on 5 December 2025. For now only a couple of participating lenders offer it, Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia, with more expected to join through 2026. You apply through a lender rather than directly to Housing Australia.

Here's how a $700,000 purchase could stack up for an eligible first home buyer in NSW, where a home at this price also attracts no stamp duty:

Monthly repayment assumes a 6.2% interest rate over a 30-year principal and interest loan. Figures are illustrative (a new build would allow up to 40%, and thresholds differ by state); we confirm your real numbers first.

The two supports stack: the government's 30% share and your 2% deposit bring the loan down to $476,000, and a first home under the NSW $800,000 threshold pays no stamp duty, usually the biggest upfront cost after the deposit.

Are you eligible?

Help to Buy has tighter eligibility than the 5% Deposit Scheme. You must be an Australian citizen, at least 18, buying a home to live in, and you can't currently own any property here or overseas (with limited exceptions for single parents).

Income caps and property price caps also apply. For 2026-27 the income cap is $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for couples and single parents, and price caps vary by location. These settings change, so we check your eligibility against the current rules.

The trade-off: you share the upside

The government's share is equity, not a grant or ordinary debt. When you repay it, you pay back its percentage of the home's value at that time, not the dollars it first put in. So if your home grows in value, the government's share grows too, and you hand back more than it contributed (if prices fall, its share falls with them). You're trading some of your future capital growth for an easier way in today.

You don't have to keep the government as a co-owner forever. You can buy the share down over time with voluntary repayments, or settle it when you sell, with each repayment priced on the home's value at the time. Doing it earlier means sharing less of your growth.

Help to Buy vs the 5% Deposit Scheme

Both schemes cut the deposit you need, but they work very differently:

• The 5% Deposit Scheme keeps you as sole owner: the government only guarantees part of your loan so you skip LMI, and you keep all the growth. No income caps, no place limit.
• Help to Buy makes the government a part-owner: a smaller deposit and loan, but you share the growth, income caps apply, and places are capped at 10,000 a year.

Which one fits depends on your deposit, your income and how you feel about sharing the upside, and for some buyers neither is the right move.

Where to next

Help to Buy can be the difference between buying now and waiting years, but the shared-equity trade-off is worth thinking through. If you'd like to work out whether Help to Buy, the 5% Deposit Scheme or the First Home Super Saver scheme fits your situation, book a free discovery call and we'll run the numbers with you.

Frequently asked questions

Official details, including current price caps and the up-to-date list of participating lenders, are on the Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme website.