TL;DR
- There are no teacher-exclusive first home buyer grants in Australia. The real advantage comes from combining general government support (cash grants, duty concessions, federal 5% Deposit Scheme) with lender-specific teacher LMI waivers.
- State support varies dramatically by property type. Queensland and Tasmania are strongest for new builds before 30 June 2026, NSW leads for existing homes up to $800,000, and Victoria lost the Homebuyer Fund in September 2025.
- Stacking programs properly can unlock $40,000 to $60,000+ in combined support, but duty concessions often outweigh cash grants in higher-priced states.
- Grants don’t change borrowing capacity or monthly repayments. Test serviceability first, then match pathways to property type, location and deadlines.
For Australian teachers buying their first home in 2026, the landscape of government support looks different from what it did just eighteen months ago. The federal First Home Guarantee has been expanded into the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme with no income caps and no annual place limits. Several states have temporary concessions running through 30 June 2026 that materially reduce upfront costs. Others have quietly closed programs that borrowers were relying on. The net result is that where you live, what you’re buying, and when you’re buying it all matter more than ever.
The practical question for teachers isn’t just “what grants exist?” It’s “what’s the total financial support I can access in my state, and how does that compare to the alternatives?” A Queensland teacher buying a new build before 30 June 2026 can stack a $30,000 grant with a stamp duty concession and the federal scheme. A Victorian teacher can no longer access the Victorian Homebuyer Fund and needs to rethink their pathway. A Tasmanian teacher has one of the strongest established-home duty exemptions in the country, but only for a limited window. These are real dollar differences, and they change the right strategy depending on location.
This article is a state-by-state comparison of what’s actually available to teachers in 2026, grouped into clear categories (cash grants, duty concessions, guarantee schemes, shared equity, and lender-specific waivers) so you can see what you qualify for and how it fits together. The goal is to give you a decision framework, not just a list of programs.
Do Teachers Actually Get Special First Home Buyer Grants?
The short answer is no, not through government programs. State and federal first home buyer support is available to eligible buyers regardless of profession, and there are no widely available cash grants reserved specifically for teachers.
What teachers do have access to, separately from government support, is a set of lender-specific benefits for eligible educators. These typically include Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) waivers up to 85%, 90%, or occasionally 95% loan-to-value ratio (LVR), small rate discounts on certain teacher home loan products, and more flexible income assessment for casual, contract, and relief teachers. These benefits are useful, but they’re lending policies, not grants.
The real teacher advantage is in how you combine things. Teachers are generally strong borrowers because teaching income is stable, well-documented, and recognised by lenders. That means teachers are usually well-positioned to pass serviceability assessment on guarantee schemes, qualify for LMI waivers at participating lenders, and access state-based concessions cleanly. The decision isn’t whether there’s a teacher-exclusive grant (there typically isn’t), but which combination of general first home buyer support produces the best outcome for your situation.
How First Home Buyer Support Actually Works: Four Different Categories
Before comparing states, it helps to separate the types of support available. Competitors often blur these together, which makes it harder to compare like-for-like. Each category works differently and suits different borrower profiles.
Cash Grants
Direct payments to eligible first home buyers, typically the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), which is state-administered and varies in amount and eligibility. These usually apply only to new homes or substantial renovations, not existing properties.
Duty Concessions and Exemptions
Reductions or eliminations of stamp duty (transfer duty), which can be worth more than cash grants on higher-value properties. These are state-administered and vary significantly between states. Some apply to both new and existing homes; others are restricted to new builds.
Guarantee Schemes
Federal programs where the government guarantees a portion of the loan, eliminating the need for LMI. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is the main example. These don’t provide cash; they reduce the deposit needed and avoid insurance costs.
Lender-Specific Educator Benefits
LMI waivers and discounts are offered by certain banks to eligible teachers. These aren’t government support, but they can deliver comparable savings to the federal scheme on higher-value properties outside the scheme’s price cap.
The strongest strategies usually combine categories. A teacher in Queensland buying a new build under $800,000 might stack a cash grant, a duty concession, and a federal guarantee. A teacher in New South Wales buying an existing home might combine a duty exemption with the federal guarantee. A teacher in Victoria buying a $700,000 property might use a federal guarantee or choose a teacher LMI waiver, depending on whether the property fits within the price cap.
The Federal Layer: Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
Before working through the states, it’s worth anchoring the federal layer because it’s available nationally and forms the baseline against which state-specific support is compared.
From 1 October 2025, the scheme allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI. The government guarantees the portion of the loan that would normally require insurance. Income caps have been removed, annual place limits have been removed, and property price caps have been updated.
The scheme is administered through participating lenders, requires owner-occupier use with principal-and-interest repayments, and applies to both new and existing homes within the relevant price cap. Eligibility requires Australian citizenship or permanent residency, first home buyer status, and passing the lender’s full serviceability assessment.
For teachers, the scheme generally works well. Stable teaching income aligns with how lenders assess serviceability under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) buffer of rate plus 3%. Permanent teachers typically move through the application cleanly. Contract and casual teachers can also use it, though lender selection matters more for those profiles.
New South Wales in 2026
New South Wales currently offers one of the strongest established-home pathways in the country, which matters because most first-home buyers in Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong are buying existing properties rather than new builds.
The First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme provides a full transfer duty exemption on properties up to $800,000 and a concessional rate on properties up to $1,000,000. This applies to both new and existing homes. For a teacher buying an $800,000 established home in Sydney, the duty saving is typically around $30,000 to $31,000, which is larger than most cash grants.
The First Home Owner Grant in New South Wales is $10,000 and applies only to new homes up to certain values. Because the duty exemption is often worth significantly more than the grant, most NSW first-home-buyer teachers benefit more from the duty concession pathway than from trying to access the grant on a new build.
The NSW Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper is a separate alternative pathway that recognises teachers as key workers. It lets eligible buyers purchase with a reduced deposit and reduced loan amount, with the NSW Government taking an equity stake that’s repaid later. This isn’t a grant, it’s a shared ownership arrangement, and it suits teachers whose borrowing capacity is the binding constraint rather than deposit size.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, a NSW first-home buyer teacher buying an existing property under $800,000 can effectively eliminate both LMI and stamp duty, which is one of the cleanest outcomes available in any state.
Victoria in 2026
Victoria has seen meaningful change recently. The Victorian Homebuyer Fund, which had been a shared equity option, closed to new applications on 10 September 2025. This removes one pathway that some first-home-buyer teachers would have considered and makes the remaining options more important to understand.
The First Home Buyer Duty Exemption provides a full exemption from stamp duty on properties up to $600,000 and a concession on properties up to $750,000. This applies to both new and existing homes. On a $600,000 purchase, the duty saving is typically around $31,000.
The First Home Owner Grant in Victoria is $10,000 for new homes up to $750,000, with higher amounts available in regional Victoria for limited periods under specific programs. As with NSW, the duty exemption is usually worth more than the grant on existing properties, so the grant is most valuable for teachers specifically targeting new builds or off-the-plan purchases.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, a Victorian teacher buying an existing home at $600,000 or below can eliminate both LMI and stamp duty. For purchases above $750,000, the duty concession phases out, and the federal scheme’s price cap becomes the limiting factor, meaning teacher LMI waivers at participating lenders often become the stronger pathway.
Queensland in 2026
Queensland is the state with the most time-sensitive opportunity for teachers in 2026, because several programs are running through 30 June 2026 with uncertain status beyond that date.
The First Home Owner Grant in Queensland is currently $30,000 for eligible new homes under $750,000, with the higher amount running through transactions dated on or before 30 June 2026. After that date, the grant is expected to revert to $15,000 unless further changes are announced. For a teacher considering a new build in Queensland, this grant alone is a meaningful reason to act before the deadline.
Queensland also offers a first home (new home) concession on transfer duty, which under the current settings (contracts dated on or after 1 May 2025) applies without a property value cap, effectively eliminating duty on eligible new home purchases. For existing homes, the first home concession applies up to $800,000 with phase-outs above that.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, a Queensland teacher buying an eligible new home before 30 June 2026 can potentially stack a $30,000 grant, a duty concession worth $15,000 to $25,000 depending on property value, and the federal LMI saving of $15,000 to $25,000. Total support on a $700,000 new build can exceed $60,000 in combined savings and grants.
For teachers in a position to act, this is one of the strongest financial windows available in any state. The trade-off is that new build timelines can be uncertain, and settling before the deadline requires careful planning.
Western Australia in 2026
Western Australia takes a different approach, with support more concentrated on specific property types and locations.
The First Home Owner Grant in WA is $10,000 for eligible new homes, with applicability depending on location and contract value. The grant is more generous relative to WA’s lower median house prices, which means it represents a larger proportional saving than in higher-priced markets.
First home buyer stamp duty concessions apply up to $430,000 (full exemption) with phase-outs up to $530,000 on established homes, and different thresholds apply for vacant land and new home purchases. The thresholds are lower than in some eastern states, but so are median property prices in Perth and regional WA.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, a Perth teacher buying a new home under $600,000 can typically access the grant, duty concessions, and the federal LMI saving. Regional WA teachers sometimes have access to additional location-specific programs depending on circumstances.
South Australia in 2026
South Australia currently offers one of the more generous FHOG settings in the country, which makes it attractive for first-home-buyer teachers targeting new builds.
The First Home Owner Grant in South Australia is $15,000 for eligible new homes, with thresholds that make it widely accessible. South Australia also abolished stamp duty on eligible new homes for first home buyers without a property value cap under current settings, which is one of the most generous duty treatments available nationally for new builds.
For existing homes, first home buyer stamp duty relief is more limited than in states like NSW or Victoria, which shifts the decision for SA teachers toward new builds when possible. On existing home purchases, the federal 5% Deposit Scheme and teacher LMI waivers become relatively more important.
Combined stacking for an SA teacher buying a new home can include the $15,000 grant, full duty exemption, and the federal LMI savings. Total savings on a $500,000 to $600,000 new build can easily exceed $40,000.
Tasmania in 2026
Tasmania has one of the most generous current regimes for first home buyers, though several elements are temporary and worth understanding before making plans.
The First Home Owner Grant in Tasmania is currently $30,000 for eligible new homes under specific conditions, running through the current window. Tasmania also offers a temporary first home buyer stamp duty exemption on established homes under certain thresholds, running through 30 June 2026. This is unusual because most state duty concessions on existing homes have value caps that phase out at lower thresholds, and Tasmania’s current settings are genuinely generous.
For a Tasmanian teacher buying an existing home before 30 June 2026, the combination of the duty exemption and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme can produce meaningful savings on properties within the scheme’s price cap for Tasmania. For new builds, the grant plus duty exemption plus federal guarantee stacks cleanly.
The time-sensitivity matters. Teachers considering buying in Tasmania in 2026 should confirm program end dates and factor them into timing decisions, particularly for new builds where settlement timelines can extend beyond program deadlines.
Australian Capital Territory in 2026
The Australian Capital Territory has taken a different approach from most states by moving away from a traditional First Home Owner Grant model toward a concession-based framework.
The ACT does not currently offer a First Home Owner Grant for eligible buyers. Instead, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme reduces or eliminates stamp duty for eligible first home buyers, subject to income thresholds and property value limits. The scheme applies to both new and existing homes.
Because Canberra property prices tend to be higher than regional averages and ACT duty rates are meaningful, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme can be worth $20,000 to $30,000 or more in duty savings for eligible buyers. This makes the ACT one of the states where the concession pathway clearly dominates any cash grant equivalent.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, an ACT teacher buying an eligible property can eliminate both LMI and stamp duty. The relatively higher property prices in Canberra mean the federal scheme’s price cap for the ACT is worth checking carefully, as it sometimes rules out properties that would otherwise be affordable.
Northern Territory in 2026
The Northern Territory has one of the most generous cash grant environments in the country, reflecting the NT Government’s priority on supporting population growth and home ownership.
The HomeGrown Territory Grant provides eligible first home buyers with significant cash support for new builds, with the program running under current settings that include generous property value thresholds. NT also offers separate support for regional and remote area buyers under specific conditions.
First home buyer stamp duty concessions apply in the NT, though the structure is less generous on established homes than the new-build pathway. The NT approach generally rewards buyers who build, which aligns with the broader housing supply strategy.
Combined with the federal 5% Deposit Scheme, an NT teacher buying an eligible new home can stack cash grants, duty concessions, and the federal LMI saving. Total support is among the most generous in Australia for the right property type.
Which State Offers Teachers the Biggest Combined Support?
The honest answer is that it depends on what you’re buying and when you’re buying it. Different states optimise for different property types, so ranking them one to eight isn’t particularly useful. What is useful is matching the strategy to the state.
If you’re buying a new build and can act before 30 June 2026, Queensland is currently one of the strongest positions because the $30,000 FHOG, combined with uncapped new-home duty concessions and the federal scheme, can produce $60,000+ in combined support.
If you’re buying an existing home, New South Wales offers strong support through the duty exemption up to $800,000. Tasmania is also strong for existing homes through 30 June 2026 via the temporary duty exemption.
If you’re buying in Victoria, the First Home Buyer Duty Exemption up to $600,000 is strong, but the closure of the Victorian Homebuyer Fund reduces alternative pathways. For higher-priced properties, teacher LMI waivers become more important.
If you’re buying in the Northern Territory, the HomeGrown Territory Grant on new builds is among the most generous cash support in Australia. If you’re buying in the ACT, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme is strong for eligible buyers,s but the absence of a separate cash grant means the strategy leans heavily on duty savings.
South Australia and Western Australia both sit in the middle range, with good support for new builds but less generous treatment of existing homes.
New Build vs Existing Home: Where the Rules Change
One pattern runs through almost every state: new builds usually receive more generous support than existing homes. Understanding this helps with decision-making, particularly for teachers weighing whether to buy an established home now or wait to build.
Cash grants almost always apply only to new builds or substantial renovations. The $30,000 amounts in Queensland and Tasmania, the $15,000 in South Australia, and the $10,000 in most other states are new-home grants. Existing home buyers don’t access these.
Duty concessions are more variable. Some states (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT) offer substantial concessions on existing homes. Others (Queensland beyond the first home concession thresholds, South Australia, NT) skew their duty relief toward new builds.
The federal 5% Deposit Scheme applies equally to new and existing homes, which makes it the most flexible layer of support regardless of state.
For teachers, this means the choice of new build vs existing home isn’t just about personal preference or property quality. It can meaningfully change the financial support available, particularly in states where the gap between new-home and existing-home treatment is large.
When a Teacher LMI Waiver Beats a Grant-Led Strategy
Government grants and concessions aren’t the only option. Teacher-specific LMI waivers offered by certain lenders can produce similar upfront savings without the property price caps and new-build restrictions that limit many government programs.
Teacher LMI waivers typically extend up to 85% or 90% LVR (meaning a 10% to 15% deposit), with a smaller group of lenders reaching 95% LVR. They apply to eligible educators regardless of first home buyer status, which means upgraders, investors, and refinancers can benefit too. There are no federal property price caps, though individual lenders have their own loan amount limits.
As a practical guide, a teacher LMI waiver usually beats a grant-led strategy when the target property is above the federal scheme’s price cap, when the deposit is closer to 10% to 15% than 5%, when the property is an existing home in a state with weaker duty concessions, or when you’re not a first home buyer and therefore don’t qualify for state grants anyway.
For first home buyers with 5% to 8% deposits, the federal scheme plus state support usually wins. For those with 10% to 15% deposits or properties above the scheme’s cap, the waiver pathway is often stronger.
Real Teacher Scenarios by State
Looking at how these pieces fit together in practice helps clarify the decisions teachers actually face.
A graduate teacher in Queensland targeting a new $700,000 house-and-land package before 30 June 2026 can potentially access the $30,000 FHOG, new-home duty concession (saving $20,000+), and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (saving $15,000 to $18,000 in LMI). Total combined support can exceed $60,000, which is transformative relative to a 5% deposit of $35,000.
A permanent teacher in New South Wales buying an $800,000 established home in Sydney’s western suburbs can access the NSW First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme duty exemption (saving around $31,000) and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (saving roughly $20,000 in LMI). Total support of around $51,000 without any new-build requirement.
A contract teacher in Victoria buying a $580,000 existing unit in Melbourne can access the First Home Buyer Duty Exemption (saving around $29,000) and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (saving around $15,000 in LMI). The Homebuyer Fund is no longer available, so the pathway narrows to this combination plus any lender-specific teacher benefits.
A Tasmanian teacher buying a $500,000 established home in Hobart before 30 June 2026 can access the current established-home duty exemption (saving around $18,000) and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme (saving around $13,000 in LMI). Timing matters because the exemption is temporary.
A permanent teacher in Canberra earning $95,000 buying a $720,000 townhouse can use the Home Buyer Concession Scheme (saving duty of around $20,000 to $25,000 depending on exact property details) and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. The ACT doesn’t offer a separate cash grant, but the duty concession is substantial.
What Upfront Costs Still Apply Even If You Get Grants
Grants and concessions reduce upfront costs but rarely eliminate them. Teachers using these schemes still need to budget for a stack of other costs that grant advertising tends to understate.
Typical remaining costs include the 5% deposit itself, legal and conveyancing fees of $1,500 to $2,500, lender application and settlement fees of $0 to $700, valuation fees where charged, building and pest inspections of $500 to $800 combined, mortgage registration and transfer fees, and a settlement buffer of at least $3,000 to $5,000 for moving, utilities, insurance and contingencies.
As a rough rule, even a first home buyer teacher stacking every available program should budget the 5% deposit plus a further 2% to 3% of the property price for remaining costs. This is substantially less than the 10% to 12% a non-assisted buyer would need, but it’s still more than “just the deposit.”
How to Apply and in What Order
The application sequence matters. Applying in the wrong order can cause delays, missed deadlines, or unnecessary complications. A cleaner approach is to work through the decisions in a logical sequence.
Start by confirming your first home buyer eligibility across federal and state programs. Each has slightly different criteria, and it’s worth checking that you meet all of them before budgeting around them.
Next, test your borrowing capacity with a lender or broker. Grants and duty concessions don’t change how much you can borrow. Your serviceability is determined by income, liabilities, and expenses, and this sets the realistic property price range.
Once you know your borrowing capacity, identify which support pathways apply to your specific property type and location. Make a list of what you qualify for, what it saves, and whether any time-sensitive deadlines apply.
Then choose a participating lender for the federal scheme if you’re using it. Lender selection matters because pricing, features, and income assessment policies vary. For teachers with contract, casual, or allowance-heavy income, this is where a broker’s market knowledge adds value.
Submit your loan application and obtain conditional approval, which also reserves your place under the federal scheme. State grants and duty concessions are typically applied for at settlement through your solicitor or conveyancer, not separately before purchase.
Begin property searches with clear parameters: within the federal price cap for your state, aligned with any new-build requirements, and within the thresholds for state duty concessions where relevant. Move to formal approval and settlement once you have a contract of sale.
Common Mistakes and Misconceptions
A few patterns come up repeatedly when teachers navigate first home buyer support, and they’re worth flagging early.
The first is assuming grants apply to any property. Most state cash grants apply only to new homes, so buying an existing property means you’ll access duty concessions rather than the grant. Budgeting around a grant that won’t actually apply is a common early-stage error.
The second is missing time-sensitive deadlines. Queensland’s $30,000 FHOG and Tasmania’s established-home duty exemption both run through 30 June 2026 under current settings. New builds in particular can take longer than expected to complete, and settling after the deadline can cost you the benefit.
The third is relying on outdated information. Some online content still reflects pre-October 2025 federal scheme settings (with income caps and annual place limits) or references programs that have closed, like the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. Current information matters, particularly when you’re making decisions involving tens of thousands of dollars.
The fourth is treating state grants as the main support when duty concessions are often worth more. In NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, and the ACT, duty savings on eligible properties frequently exceed cash grant amounts. Focusing on the grant while ignoring the concession can lead to suboptimal property choices.
The fifth is not testing the borrowing capacity before getting attached to a property. Grants and concessions don’t change how much you can borrow. If the property you’ve fallen in love with is $850,000 and your borrowing capacity is $650,000, the grants don’t bridge the gap.
The sixth is assuming “first home buyer teacher grants” means something profession-specific. For most government support, teachers apply on the same terms as any other first-home buyer. The teacher advantage is usually in lender policy (LMI waivers, income treatment) rather than in state or federal grants.
The Bottom Line
First home buyer support for teachers in 2026 isn’t about finding a teacher-exclusive grant. It’s about understanding the four categories of support available (cash grants, duty concessions, guarantee schemes, and lender-specific waivers) and combining them to produce the strongest overall outcome for your state, property type, and deposit size. The difference between a well-structured strategy and a default approach can easily be $20,000 to $60,000 in total support, and the right strategy depends on where you live and when you’re buying.
The practical takeaway is this: work through the decisions in sequence. Confirm eligibility, test borrowing capacity, identify the support you qualify for by state and property type, and make sure time-sensitive programs like Queensland’s $30,000 FHOG and Tasmania’s established-home duty exemption are factored into your timeline. For most teachers, the best outcome comes from stacking the federal 5% Deposit Scheme with state duty concessions and cash grants where available, and comparing that against teacher LMI waivers for properties outside the federal scheme’s price cap. Confirm current rules rather than relying on older information, and match your strategy to the home you actually want to buy, not just the one that looks biggest on paper.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Are there any first-home buyer grants available only to teachers in Australia?
Not at the state or federal level. Government first home buyer support is profession-neutral, meaning teachers apply on the same terms as other eligible buyers. The teacher-specific advantages come from lender policies (LMI waivers, discounted rates, flexible income assessment for casual and contract teachers) rather than from government programs. In practical terms, teachers often benefit more from these lender-specific benefits plus general first home buyer support than from any single program.
2. Can teachers combine FHOG with the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme?
Yes, in almost all cases. The federal scheme and state-based First Home Owner Grants are designed to be compatible. An eligible teacher buying a new home in a state with an FHOG can receive the grant, use the federal guarantee to avoid LMI, and potentially access state duty concessions at the same time. Stacking all three is common and often adds up to $40,000 to $60,000 in combined support, depending on state and property value.
3. Which state gives teachers the best first-home buyer support in 2026?
It depends on what you’re buying. Queensland is currently very strong for new builds before 30 June 2026 due to the $30,000 FHOG and uncapped new-home duty concession. New South Wales is strong for existing homes up to $800,000 through the duty exemption. Tasmania has temporarily generous settings for established homes through 30 June 2026. The Northern Territory offers substantial new-build cash support. The right state is less about ranking and more about matching the support to your property type and timing.
4. Can contract or casual teachers still qualify for state grants?
Yes, because state grants and duty concessions don’t typically distinguish by employment type. The eligibility criteria are usually first-home buyer status, citizenship or permanent residency, property type, and owner-occupier use. Where employment type matters is in the lender’s serviceability assessment, which is a separate process. A contract or casual teacher can qualify for state grants, but still needs to pass the lender’s income assessment to actually secure the loan. This is where lender selection and broker input become important.
5. Is the Victorian Homebuyer Fund still available?
No. The Victorian Homebuyer Fund closed to new applications on 10 September 2025. Victorian first home buyer teachers now need to work with the remaining pathways: the First Home Buyer Duty Exemption (up to $600,000, with concessions to $750,000), the $10,000 First Home Owner Grant on eligible new homes, and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme. Teacher LMI waivers at participating lenders are also worth considering for properties above the scheme’s price cap.
6. What should a teacher in Queensland do before 30 June 2026?
If you’re considering a new home purchase in Queensland and qualify as a first home buyer, acting before 30 June 2026 can preserve access to the current $30,000 FHOG, which is expected to revert to $15,000 afterward unless further changes are announced. The practical steps are to test your borrowing capacity now, start property or builder discussions promptly, and ensure the contract can be signed and meet program requirements within the window. For new builds with long construction timelines, the contract date often matters more than the settlement date, but confirming this with a broker and conveyancer is essential.
7. Do grants reduce my monthly repayments or only my upfront costs?
Primarily upfront costs. Cash grants and duty concessions reduce the cash you need at settlement, but don’t directly change your loan amount or repayments. The federal 5% Deposit Scheme reduces both upfront cost (by eliminating LMI) and indirectly supports a smaller loan balance if you use the scheme to avoid capitalising LMI into the loan. Lower monthly repayments mostly come from either a larger deposit, a lower interest rate, or a longer loan term. Grants help you get to settlement; the loan structure and rate shape ongoing repayments.