The Help to Buy scheme was first announced in 2022 and was finally passed through federal parliament in November of last year. The scheme would see the government contribute up to 40% of the purchase price for new homes and up to 30% of existing homes for eligible borrowers.
Under the Help to Buy Scheme, eligible low to middle-income earners would only need a 2% deposit to qualify for a standard loan with participating lenders and would not need to pay lender’s mortgage insurance.
The new announcement has seen the income caps for the scheme raised from $90k to $100k for individuals and from $120k to $160k for couples and single parents for the scheme.
Property price caps will also be increased and linked with the average house price- rather than dwelling price- in each state and territory (except NSW capital city and regional centre price caps, which are set lower to ensure purchase prices remain within the borrowing capacity of first home buyers)
Caps vary across Australia from $400k to $1.3 mil as per below:
New Property Price Caps by Region
| Region | New price caps |
| New South Wales – capital city and regional centre | $1,300,000* |
| New South Wales – other | $800,000 |
| Victoria – capital city and regional centre | $950,000 |
| Victoria – other | $650,000 |
| Queensland – capital city and regional centre | $1,000,000 |
| Queensland – other | $700,000 |
| Western Australia – capital city | $850,000 |
| Western Australia – other | $600,000 |
| South Australia – capital city | $900,000 |
| South Australia – other | $500,000 |
| Tasmania – capital city | $700,000 |
| Tasmania – other | $550,000 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $1,000,000 |
| Northern Territory | $600,000 |
| Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island | $550,000 |
| Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands | $400,000 |
To support this expansion in the scheme, the government has increased its investment from $ 5.5 billion to $6.3 billion.
Their aim, according to Housing Minister Claire O’Neil, “I’ve got a pretty straight-forward goal here – to make sure that ordinary, working-class Australians can buy a home of their own. That’s why we’re expanding Help to Buy so that most first home buyers are eligible.”
The scheme has been met with mixed reactions, with some worried that the added incentive will only push up property prices and increase the affordability gap.
The scheme is expected to be open for applications later this year.
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