First Home Buyer Grants South Australia: FHOG, Stamp Duty Relief, and First Home Guarantee

South Australia's first home buyer assistance landscape changed significantly in June 2024, and again in late 2025. If you're working off advice from a year ago — or even six months ago — some of what you've been told is out of date. Here's the current picture.

There are four main forms of government support available to SA first home buyers right now: the First Home Owner Grant, zero stamp duty on new builds, the federal First Home Guarantee, and the Help to Buy shared equity scheme. Each has different eligibility conditions, and they interact with each other in ways that aren't always obvious from reading the government websites separately.

First Home Owner Grant (FHOG): $15,000 Cash

The FHOG is a $15,000 tax-free payment from RevenueSA for eligible buyers purchasing or building a new home. "New home" means:

• A home that has never been occupied or sold as a place of residence
• An off-the-plan apartment
• A substantially renovated dwelling (where the bulk of the original structure has been replaced)
• A property purchased through a comprehensive building contract or owner-builder arrangement

The most important change since June 6, 2024: the property value cap was abolished. Previously the FHOG was restricted to properties valued under $650,000. That ceiling is gone. A new home of any value now qualifies, provided the buyer meets the eligibility criteria.

Who qualifies for the FHOG:

• At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• All applicants must be natural persons aged 18 or over
• Crucially: you or your spouse/domestic partner must not have owned and occupied any Australian residential property for six months or more after July 1, 2000

The six-month ownership threshold (tightened from February 13, 2025) catches buyers who owned a property briefly in the past. Even a six-month stint as an owner-occupier in a previous home disqualifies you.

Occupancy requirement: You must move in within 12 months of settlement or construction completion, and live there continuously for at least six months. RevenueSA can claw back the $15,000 — plus interest and penalties — if this isn't met.

Zero Stamp Duty on New Homes

South Australia is now one of the most generous states in the country for first home buyers purchasing new builds. Since June 6, 2024, eligible first home buyers pay zero stamp duty on new homes — regardless of the purchase price.

This is not a concession or a discount. It's a full exemption. A first home buyer purchasing a $900,000 new apartment in the city owes nothing in stamp duty.

For comparison, a first home buyer purchasing an equivalent established property worth $900,000 would owe approximately $44,330 in stamp duty (calculated on the full progressive rate scale). South Australia offers no stamp duty relief at all for established home purchases — not even partial relief.

A secondary benefit flows from the stamp duty exemption: when RevenueSA assesses a transfer as entirely exempt, Land Services SA waives the ad valorem transfer registration fee and charges a flat $198 instead. On a $700,000 property, this saves approximately $7,200 in transfer fees.

Combined financial advantage (new vs established, $650,000 purchase):

That's a real financial difference of over $50,000 between buying new versus established at the same price point. It's the single biggest reason SA first home buyers are gravitating toward house and land packages and new construction.

Federal First Home Guarantee: 5% Deposit, No LMI

The federal First Home Guarantee allows eligible buyers to purchase a property with a 5% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). The federal government acts as guarantor for the remaining 15%, covering the lender's risk.

Until October 2025, this scheme had income limits ($125,000 for singles, $200,000 for couples) and annual spot allocations that could run out mid-year. Both restrictions have been removed. The scheme is now uncapped and has no income limits.

Property price caps for South Australia (current):

• Adelaide and major regional centres: $900,000
• Rest of SA: $500,000

LMI on a 5% deposit can cost $15,000–$25,000 depending on the lender and purchase price. Avoiding it is a meaningful saving, particularly for buyers who have a deposit saved but don't want to wait another year or two to reach 20%.

The First Home Guarantee works with participating lenders — major banks and smaller lenders are on the approved list. It can be combined with the zero stamp duty exemption and the FHOG, though the FHOG is restricted to new builds while the guarantee applies to both new and established homes.

Help to Buy: Federal Shared Equity (New as of December 2025)

Help to Buy is the federal government's shared equity scheme. It launched in participating states including South Australia in December 2025. Under this arrangement, the federal government co-purchases up to 40% of a new build or 30% of an established property, reducing the buyer's loan size and deposit requirement.

Eligibility:

• Singles: income up to $100,000 gross
• Couples: income up to $160,000 gross
• Must not currently own property
• 40,000 places nationally (capped)

Price caps (SA): $900,000 for Adelaide, $500,000 for regional SA — consistent with the First Home Guarantee caps.

The government's equity share is repaid when you sell, or can be voluntarily bought out earlier. Like HomeStart's Shared Equity Option, no ongoing repayments apply to the government's stake.

The key distinction between Help to Buy (federal) and HomeStart's Shared Equity Option (state): HomeStart allows income up to $120,000 net and a higher $750,000 metro property cap, but its co-ownership contribution maxes at 25% vs Help to Buy's 40%. Help to Buy has a lower income cap but potentially contributes a larger equity share. Buyers who qualify for both should model both scenarios.

How to Stack These Programs

These aren't mutually exclusive. The most common and most powerful combinations:

New build buyers:

• FHOG ($15,000 cash) + zero stamp duty + federal First Home Guarantee (no LMI on 5% deposit)
• Or: FHOG + zero stamp duty + HomeStart Shared Equity (reduces loan size, no ongoing government repayments)

Established home buyers:

• Federal First Home Guarantee (no LMI on 5% deposit) — this is the only meaningful government support available for established purchases, since FHOG and stamp duty exemptions don't apply

Lower-income buyers targeting affordable housing:

• HomeSeeker SA listing + FHOG + zero stamp duty + HomeStart Graduate or Low Deposit Loan

The SA government's bias toward new construction is explicit and deliberate. If you're targeting an established home, you're operating with significantly less government support than buyers purchasing new. That's not a bug in the system — it's the intended policy effect, designed to stimulate housing supply.

For a complete eligibility checklist, residency requirements, and worked examples showing exactly what you'd save in your specific scenario, the South Australia First Home Buyer Guide covers all of it in one place.

The One Condition Buyers Most Often Miss

Both the FHOG and zero stamp duty require you to occupy the home as your principal place of residence for a minimum of six continuous months, commencing within 12 months of settlement or completion. This is an active legal obligation — not a technicality.

RevenueSA audits compliance. If you purchase a new build and rent it out before satisfying the six-month residency requirement, you face claw-back of the $15,000 FHOG plus potential reinstatement of the full stamp duty bill — often $20,000–$30,000 or more — plus penalty interest. The financial consequences are severe and immediate.

Get this right. Move in on time, and document that you did.

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