State & Federal Grants for Geelong Home Buyers

By Andrew Paterson

Geelong home buyers can use several state and federal schemes to get a cash grant, pay less stamp duty or buy with a smaller deposit. This guide lists each scheme, what it gives you and who can use it. Every figure was checked against the official government source on 1 October 2026.

Geelong has a higher price cap than the rest of regional Victoria. It is the only Victorian regional centre in the federal schemes, so it shares Melbourne’s $950,000 cap.

How the Schemes Fit Together

The schemes do different jobs. Some pay you money, some cut or remove stamp duty and some let you buy with a smaller deposit. A first home buyer can often use a grant, a stamp duty exemption and a low deposit scheme on the same purchase, as long as the home meets each scheme’s rules.

Common Eligibility Rules

Each scheme has its own rules, but most share these:

• You must be 18 or over and an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Help to Buy requires all applicants to be Australian citizens. From 26 November 2025, New Zealand citizens can also get the Victorian grant and first home buyer stamp duty relief.
• You must live in the home. The Victorian schemes require 12 months in a row, starting within 12 months of settlement.
• The home must be at or under the scheme’s price cap.
• The meaning of “first home buyer” differs. For the Victorian grant and stamp duty relief, you must not have received either before or lived for 6 months in a home you owned since 1 July 2000. For the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, you qualify if you have not owned property in Australia in the last 10 years.

State-Specific Incentives in Victoria

1. First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)

The First Home Owner Grant pays $10,000 towards a new home worth up to $750,000. It covers houses, townhouses, apartments and units that have never been sold or lived in, including a home you build.

• Grant amount: $10,000.
• Price cap: $750,000. For off-the-plan purchases this is the contract price.
• Living requirement: at least one buyer must live in the home for 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement or the build finishing.
• How to apply: your lender usually lodges it for you. You can also apply to the State Revenue Office within 12 months.

2. First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Exemption and Concession

First home buyers pay no stamp duty on a home worth up to $600,000. Between $600,001 and $750,000 they pay a reduced amount.

• Saving: standard stamp duty on a $600,000 home is $31,070. A first home buyer pays nothing.
• Property types: new homes, established homes and vacant land for building your first home.
• Living requirement: live in the home for 12 months in a row, starting within 12 months of settlement. For vacant land, move in within 12 months of the occupancy certificate or 36 months of settlement, whichever is earlier.

3. Victorian Homebuyer Fund (closed)

The Victorian Homebuyer Fund closed to new applicants on 10 September 2025. Existing agreements stay in place with their usual conditions, including an annual review. For shared equity, new buyers can now use the federal Help to Buy scheme below.

4. Off-the-Plan Concessions

Buying off the plan can lower the value stamp duty is charged on. Construction costs incurred after you sign the contract are taken off the price before duty is worked out. There are two versions.

• Owner-occupier and first home buyer concession: this ongoing concession still applies.
• Temporary concession: open to all buyers, including investors, with no price cap. It covers apartments, units and townhouses in a strata subdivision with shared common property. It does not cover house and land packages outside a strata subdivision.
• Deadline: for the temporary concession, you must sign the contract before 21 April 2027. The Victorian Government extended it from October 2026.

5. Principal Place of Residence (PPR) Concession

Any buyer, not only first home buyers, can get this stamp duty concession on a home they will live in.

• Price cap: $550,000.
• Saving: up to $3,100.
• Living requirement: move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for 12 months in a row.

6. Solar Homes Program

Solar Victoria offers a rebate of up to $1,400 for solar panels, plus an optional interest-free loan for the same amount.

• Eligibility: you own and live in the home, or own a home under construction, and your combined household taxable income is under $150,000.
• Building new: from 1 January 2027, all new homes in Victoria must be built all-electric.

Federal Government Schemes

7. Help to Buy

Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme run by Housing Australia. The government pays for part of your home, so you borrow less. You pay no rent or interest on the government’s share, and you can buy it back in parts or all at once.

• Government share: up to 40% of a new home or up to 30% of an existing home.
• Minimum deposit: 2%.
• Citizenship: all applicants must be Australian citizens.
• Income limits from 1 July 2026: $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint applicants and single parents. These are indexed each 1 July.
• Price caps: $950,000 in Geelong and Melbourne and $650,000 in the rest of Victoria.
• Places: 10,000 new places opened for 2026-27.

8. 5% Deposit Scheme (First Home Guarantee)

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme lets first home buyers buy with a 5% deposit and pay no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). The government guarantees part of the loan to the lender. Since 1 October 2025 there are no income limits and no cap on places.

• Minimum deposit: 5%, with no LMI.
• Price caps: $950,000 in Geelong and Melbourne and $650,000 in the rest of Victoria, including Ballarat. Both the purchase price and the lender’s valuation must be at or under the cap.
• Eligibility: a first home buyer, or someone who has not owned property in Australia in the last 10 years. You must live in the home and take a principal and interest loan.
• Property types: new and existing homes, apartments, house and land packages, off-the-plan purchases and vacant land with a building contract.
• How to apply: through a participating lender as part of your home loan application.

9. Single Parent Option (formerly Family Home Guarantee)

Single parents and legal guardians can buy with a 2% deposit and no LMI. This option is now part of the 5% Deposit Scheme and uses the same price caps.

• Minimum deposit: 2%, with no LMI.
• Eligibility: you apply on your own and cannot own another property once your new home settles.

10. Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee

The separate regional guarantee has been folded into the 5% Deposit Scheme. Geelong buyers use the 5% Deposit Scheme with the $950,000 cap.

11. First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS)

The FHSS lets you save for a deposit inside your super. You make voluntary contributions and later apply to the ATO to release them.

• Release limits: up to $15,000 of contributions from any one financial year and $50,000 in total, plus associated earnings.

Price Caps at a Glance

Scheme	Geelong price cap
First Home Owner Grant	$750,000 (new homes only)
First home buyer stamp duty	No duty to $600,000, reduced duty to $750,000
PPR stamp duty concession	$550,000
5% Deposit Scheme	$950,000
Help to Buy	$950,000
Temporary off-the-plan concession	No cap

Who Handles Each Scheme

• First Home Owner Grant: paid by the State Revenue Office. Your lender usually lodges the application as an approved agent.
• Stamp duty exemptions and concessions: claimed by your conveyancer or solicitor through the State Revenue Office’s Digital Duties Form.
• 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy: offered through participating lenders approved by Housing Australia.
• First Home Super Saver Scheme: run by the ATO.

Check Which Schemes You Qualify For

Aussiewide can check which schemes you qualify for and which lenders offer them. Schedule a free chat with a member of the Aussiewide team.

Official Sources

• State Revenue Office: First Home Owner Grant
• State Revenue Office: first home buyer duty exemption or concession
• State Revenue Office: temporary off-the-plan concession
• Housing Australia: 5% Deposit Scheme
• Housing Australia: Help to Buy fact sheet
• Solar Victoria: solar panel rebate
• ATO: First Home Super Saver Scheme

Government schemes change often. This page was last reviewed on 1 October 2026. Always confirm current eligibility with us or the relevant government body before you rely on it.