First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)

The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme was introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. It is a national scheme funded by the states and territories and administered under their own legislation.

First home owners may qualify for the grant and/or the first home owner rate of duty if they are either purchasing an established home or if they are building or purchasing a new home. The grant has:

  • geographical caps on the total value of the home
  • residence requirements
  • eligibility criteria for applicants

The grant (FHOG) is a one-off grant payable to first home owners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria.

Eligible First Home Owner

To be eligible for the grant and/or first home owner rate of duty, applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

  • An applicant must be a natural person (i.e. not a company) and be 18 years or over at the time of making application. If you are under 18, you may be able to apply for an exemption from the age requirement.
  • At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or a permanent resident at the time of making application.
  • Applicants and/or their spouses or de facto partners cannot have:
    • previously received the grant or first home owner rate of duty from any jurisdiction in Australia
    • owned residential property anywhere in Australia before 1 July 2000
    • owned residential property anywhere in Australia on or after 1 July 2000 and occupied that property as a place of residence before 1 July 2004
    • owned residential property anywhere in Australia on or after 1 July 2000 and occupied that property as a place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months that began on or after 1 July 2004.
  • Applicants must occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months commencing within 12 months of settlement if purchasing a home, or within 12 months from the date of completion if building a home.
  • Applicants must hold a relevant interest (ownership) in the land on which the home is situated and must own the home in their own capacity. If they own the home as a trustee, it must be held on trust for a person with a legal disability.

First Home Owner Grant

The grant is $10,000 or the consideration paid to buy or build the house if less than that amount.

    • For eligible transactions entered into between 1 January and 30 June 2017, an additional $5,000 boost payment may be available.
    • For eligible transactions entered into between 1 July 2000 and 24 September 2013, the grant was $7,000 or the consideration paid if less than that amount.

The grant is no longer available for the purchase of established homes.

First Home Owner Grant
First Home Owner Grant

Application First Home Owner

All applicants must complete form F-FHOG1

‘FHOG Application and/or Pre-approval for the First Home Owner Rate of Duty’.

Applications can be submitted through a FHOG approved agent or directly to the Office of State Revenue.

If you are applying for a loan from a financial institution (i.e. bank or credit union) to purchase or build a home and your lender is a FHOG approved agent, they can process your application.

This may also result in you receiving your grant and approval for the first home owner rate of duty earlier than if you were to apply directly through the Office of State Revenue.

Contact your lender to find out if they are an approved agent. You will be required to produce supporting documentation with your application as required by your lender.

Rigorous Review

All applications undergo a rigorous review. During which applicants are checked for former home ownership in Western Australia and interstate. Other checks into spouse/de facto partner status, council records, title details and finance particulars are carried out on a routine basis.

Still interested?

Talk to your Conveyancer and follow the links above. This has been a brief outline of the First Home Owner Grant and does not contain all information that you may need to know.

Stewart Title

For most people, the largest investment they will ever make will be the purchase of their home. When buying a property there are many inherent risks which may affect your ownership. Stewart Title Limited operates as an insurance company. It provides protection to property owners and lenders.
 
Title insurance is a specialised type of insurance.
    • home buyers with protection.
    • home sellers with protection
    • rural property protection
    • Strata property protection
    • vacant land protection

Stewart title

Hidden Risks

There are certain unknown and hidden risks which may exist at the time of buying or selling your home or property.

If you already own your home, you can get the protection that title insurance provides. Therefore, apply for a Residential Existing Owner Policy.

Stewart provides these services to home buyers and sellers. Including residential and commercial real estate professionals. Likewise, mortgage lenders and services. Similarly, title agencies and real estate attorneys. You can add home builders and developers; and relocation professionals.

Stewart Title Limited operates as insurance company providing protection to property owners and lenders.

Claims Videos

The link provides example claims covered by Stewart Title. These claims show the value of title insurance policies. They provide protection to home buyers and existing homeowners. Protection from certain unknown and hidden risks inherent in property transactions.

In conclusion, Title Insurance can be used as a risk management tool in the conveyancing transaction.

With no excess payable on claims, the insured is compensated for the full value of their loss on a no-fault basis.

Discuss with your Conveyancer  Today.

Deposit Power Guarantee Information

Deposit Power is Australia’s leading provider of Deposit Guarantees. Having issued the first Deposit Guarantee in the Australian market in 1989, Deposit Power has now assisted over 900,000 Australians to purchase residential property.

Deposit Guarantees substitute for a cash deposit when purchasing residential property and can be used by investors, first home-buyers, people buying and selling simultaneously and for extended settlement contracts such as off the plan or vacant land purchases.

Deposit Power is part of Vero Insurance Limited, one of Australia’s largest and most successful intermediated general insurance companies.

THE POWER TO PURCHASE
With Deposit Power you now have a solution to purchase your next property. The Deposit Power Guarantee can be issued for all or part of the deposit amount required, up to 10% of the purchase price. You simply pay the full purchase price at settlement.

Deposit Power offers Short Term Guarantees to suit settlement terms of up to 6 months, and Long Term Guarantees for settlements terms of between 6 and 48 months, which suits purchasers who are buying off-the-plan, under construction or land with extended settlements.

COST EFFECTIVE AND CONVENIENT
In many cases, you may not have ready access to the cash deposit required to secure a property or may prefer a more cost effective alternative to using your own cash.

SHORT TERM GUARANTEES
Short Term Guarantees are used for the following types of property purchasers:

  • Existing residential property, that will settle within 6 months.
  • Vacant land purchasers, that will settle within 12 months.

LONG TERM GUARANTEES
Long Term Guarantees are used for the following types of property purchasers:

  • Residential property being purchased off-the-plan that will settle within 48 months.
  • Property purchasers that have extended settlement terms over 6 months and up to 48 months.