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 Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme – supporting first home buyers.
What’s the Scheme?
The Scheme 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 Scheme, 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.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for the Scheme, 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.
- 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 .
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.
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.