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First Home Guarantee


Move in sooner with as little as 5% deposit

At Great Southern Bank, we’re proud to help more first-home buyers step onto the property ladder. One of the ways we do this is through our continued involvement in the First Home Guarantee, which is part of the Australian Government’s Home Guarantee Scheme.

What’s the First Home Guarantee?

The First Home Guarantee is a government initiative that provides eligible first home buyers the opportunity to buy or build their first home with a deposit as little as 5%.

Traditionally, home buyers need to save a 20% deposit to avoid paying costly  Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI). For many Australians, saving a 20% deposit is a big barrier to getting onto the property ladder.

Lowering the barrier to home ownership

Under the First Home Guarantee, your minimum savings goal drops to 5%. This is because the Australian Government acts as a guarantor, so you don’t have to fork out extra funds for LMI – even if your deposit is less than 20%.

You can take years off the time it takes to save a deposit and move into your first home sooner.

More places than ever before

From 1 July 2023, Housing Australia released 35,000 places under the First Home Guarantee.

WHY CHOOSE US

Experienced lenders to guide you through the process

This is our fourth year taking part in the Home Guarantee Scheme. During this time, we have helped over 7,000 customers buy a home through the scheme.

WINNER Most Recommended First Home Buyers Loan
“The scheme has meant that we could buy our first home sooner and did not have to worry about LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance). It also gave us more flexibility in terms of how much deposit we wanted to put down.”
“Wayne was an absolute champ during the whole process! Always letting me know what I needed to do and all while answering all the dumb questions I had.”
Enquire today
Simply complete the form and a Home Loan Specialist will be in touch.
Enquire now
The process
1. Application and scheme approval
Apply for a Great Southern Bank home loan and we’ll make an application to reserve your place in the First Home Guarantee. (Great Southern Bank’s normal lending criteria will apply.)
2. Buy an eligible home
Once your place in the First Home Guarantee is confirmed, you’ll have 90 days to buy your home.
3. Move into your home
You’ll need to move in within six months of settlement. Exceptions apply for new builds.
Eligibility
There are a few eligibility requirements, all applicants must:
  • Be first home buyers, or haven’t owned a property in Australia in the past 10 years.
  • Be aged 18 years and over.
  • Be Australian citizens or Australian Permanent Residents and have a valid Medicare card.
  • Have a taxable income of no more than $125,000 in the last financial year for singles or no more than $200,000 for joint applications (as shown on the Notice of Assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office).
  • Couples, friends, siblings and other family members are eligible for joint applications (maximum of two borrowers).
  • Be buying an eligible property within the property price threshold for your area. You can view the property price cap for your suburb on the Housing Australia website .
Enquire now
PODCAST
The Clever Way Home
A podcast series designed to help simplify the home buying process.
The Clever Way Home podcast

Fact sheets and information
guides

First Home Guarantee Fact Sheet
First Home Guarantee Information Guide
Speak to a Home Loan Specialist
We are here to help.

Speak to one of our Home Loan Specialists via live online chat.

Fill out our online enquiry form and one of our Home Loan Specialists will get back to you to start the process.

Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 6:00pm (AEDT)

Discover our other Support  Schemes

Family Home Guarantee

The Family Home Guarantee supports eligible single parents and legal guardians to purchase a family home

More articles for first home buyers

How to feel more confident buying your first home

Buying a home can feel scary. Here are some tips to help you feel more confident buying your first home.

Read more
The process of buying your first home

Buying your first home can be daunting. But what if we broke it down step-by-step? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to do right now.

Read more
Important Information

Great Southern Bank, a business name of Credit Union Australia Ltd ABN 44 087 650 959, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 238317. Lending criteria, limits, conditions, and fees apply. Applications are subject to credit approval. Ask us for details. More information about the Home Guarantee Scheme (including the First Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee) and Housing Australia is available at www.housingaustralia.gov.au.

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Applying for pre-approval allows you to know the maximum amount you can borrow while you look for a property.

Pre-approval means that a lender has agreed to lend you an amount of money in-principle, but the loan hasn't been proceeded to full or final approval.

While pre-approval is not a fully approved loan it can help you narrow your search, negotiate, and make an offer with certainty and confidence.

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First Home Guarantee
Family Home Guarantee
Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee

The Australian Government has introduced initiatives to support eligible Australians to build or purchase a new home sooner: the First Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.

Thanks [Name], we'll speak to you soon
One of our Home Loan Specialists will call you on [0413 456 789] at your preferred time.
To help you get the most out of your call, we recommend having some details ready:
  • Identification details
  • Details of your income and expenses
  • Financial details, including what you own and what you owe
In the meantime, if you have any questions, we’d be happy to help.
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