Your new family home with as little as 2% deposit.
At Great Southern Bank we’re committed to helping more Australians buy their own home. This includes single parents and legal guardians with dependents looking for their own piece of the great Australian dream.
One of the ways we do this is through our continued involvement in the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme – supporting single parents.
What’s the Scheme?
The Scheme allows eligible single parents and legal guardians with dependents to buy a family home with as little as 2% deposit.
Traditionally, home buyers need to save a 20% deposit to avoid paying costly Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI). For many single parents and legal guardians, saving a 20% deposit while raising a family on one income can feel like an unrealistic goal. The Scheme can help you overcome this barrier.
Support for single parents
Under the Scheme, your minimum savings goal drops to 2%. 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%.Plus, you don’t need to be a first-time home buyer.
The Scheme is available to eligible single parents and legal guardians re-entering the property market as well as first-time buyers.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the Scheme, applicants must:
- Be aged 18 years and over.
- Be a single parent with at least one dependent.
- Be an Australian citizen and have a valid Medicare card.
- Not be married or in a de-facto relationship.
- Be a first home buyer or a previous homeowner who does not currently own property.
- 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 .
Application and Scheme approval
- Apply and we’ll make an application to reserve your place in the Scheme. (Great Southern Bank’s normal lending criteria will apply).
Once your place in the Scheme is confirmed, you’ll:
- Have 90 days to buy your home.
- Need to move in within six months of settlement (exceptions apply for new builds).
Apply for a home loan
Whatever your home buying dreams, our team of specialists can help guide you through the process step by step.
Complete the form and we’ll connect you with one of our experienced Home Loan Specialists to discuss your goals, eligibility and next steps.
When you’re ready, we’ll help you prepare and submit your application.
Once your application is ready for assessment, your specialist will guide you from approval to settlement.
Why choose Great Southern Bank?
We’re customer owned, so our profits go towards delivering better products and services rather than to shareholders. We believe it’s a more transparent way of doing things and why we’ve been trusted by Australians for more than 75 years.
Discover the Support Scheme for first home buyers
Complete the form and we’ll connect you with one of our experienced Home Loan Specialists.
Mon - Fri: 9:30am - 4:00pm (AEST)
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 Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (including First Home Buyers and Single Parents) and Housing Australia is available at www.housingaustralia.gov.au/.
This is a one-off insurance payment which protects your mortgage lender if you default on the loan. LMI is commonly paid when borrowers have less than a 20% deposit.
The amount paid can vary depending on the lender, the loan amount and your deposit size. Most lenders let you to choose to pay LMI upfront or add this to your loan amount and include it in your repayments.