VIC first home buyers
VIC First Home Owner Grant
The First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment from the Victorian Government to people buying or building their first home in Victoria. It applies to new homes that meet the state's eligibility rules, including a value cap and an occupancy commitment.
This page explains what the grant pays, who qualifies and which properties count, then connects those rules to the housing stock around Gladstone Park, where most dwellings are established houses. Your Mortgage Broker Gladstone Park(https://business.google.com/) covers eligibility, duty relief, the application process and the reasons applications get refused.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The grant pays a one-off $10,000 to an eligible applicant or applicants, and that single figure applies statewide. That surprises many buyers who remember the old regional scheme paying a higher amount in country Victoria: that separate regional grant is a closed scheme that does not apply to current contracts, so the current figure is $10,000 whether you buy in Mildura or Melbourne. The Victorian State Revenue Office administers the payment, and the money is generally paid once the eligible transaction completes. The grant is not a deposit in itself, because it arrives around completion rather than at contract signing, so most buyers still need genuine savings to hold the contract together while the application is processed.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility turns on who you are, what you have owned before and what you commit to after settlement. The SRO's eligibility page sets out each condition, and the points below summarise them:
Natural persons only
Citizen or permanent resident
No previous grant
No prior ownership
Occupancy commitment
One claim per person
Which Properties It Covers
The property rules trip up more buyers than the person rules do, so the table below separates what qualifies from what does not. The full definitions sit on the SRO's eligibility page:
| Property type | Grant eligible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New house, townhouse, apartment or unit, never sold and never occupied | Yes | Must not have been leased out or used for short-term accommodation |
| Substantially renovated home | Yes | The renovation must create a new home as recognised under the scheme |
| Home built to replace a demolished one | Yes | The replacement home must meet the new home conditions |
| Off-the-plan purchase | Yes | The value cap applies to the contract price |
| Established home, any price | No | No grant at any value, though duty relief may still apply separately |
Why The Rule Bites Here
Gladstone Park is a suburb of established homes, and that single fact shapes what the grant can and cannot do for a local buyer. The statistics tell the story plainly, and each one changes where an eligible purchase can actually happen:
Almost no apartment stock
Census data shows 96.4 per cent of local dwellings are separate houses and none are flats or apartments, which means the new apartment developments that feed the grant in inner Melbourne simply do not exist here. Buyers relying on an off-the-plan unit to qualify need to look to neighbouring suburbs or broader growth corridors instead.
Established stock misses out
Because the grant covers new homes only, the overwhelming majority of houses for sale in Gladstone Park at any given moment will never qualify. This catches buyers who assume the grant applies to any first home, so check the property type against the scheme rules before you sign anything.
New stock comes in a trickle
The area recorded 338 dwelling approvals over the last five years, placing it around the 69th percentile for building activity in the state. That is a steady stream of knockdown rebuilds and infill builds rather than a wave, which means genuinely eligible, brand new stock in the suburb is limited at any one time.
The value cap and the local market
The $750,000 value cap matters in a suburb where four or more bedrooms make up about a third of homes, because larger rebuilt homes can push past the cap. A median household mortgage repayment of about $1,961 a month suggests prices sit within reach of many buyers, but every new build contract needs checking against the cap, and off-the-plan buyers should watch the contract price rather than the finished value.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant is one scheme and the first home buyer duty exemption or concession is another, with different thresholds and different property rules. Confusing the two is one of the costliest mistakes a first home buyer makes, so the points below separate them. The SRO's duty page carries the full detail:
Different property scope
Full duty exemption to $600,000
Sliding concession to $750,000
Different thresholds, one trap
The same occupancy promise
Once only
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
The application is a paperwork exercise run either through your lender or directly with the SRO, and the sequence is predictable enough to plan around. Four stages carry the file:
- 1
Lodge through an approved agent
Most applicants lodge through their lender, which acts as an approved agent and bundles the grant application into the loan process. This is usually the smoothest route because the lender already holds the identity documents, the contract and the loan approval that the application needs.
- 2
Lodge directly with the SRO
Where no approved agent is involved, or the timing does not suit, you can apply straight to the State Revenue Office. Direct applications carry the same evidentiary requirements, so gather the contract of sale, identity documents and proof of eligibility before starting.
- 3
Mind the 12 month deadline
You must apply within 12 months of settlement or completion of the build. Missing that window ends the claim regardless of how strong the eligibility was, so diarise the deadline when the contract is signed rather than after the dust settles.
- 4
Payment on completion
The SRO does not publish a fixed payment date, and payment is made once the eligible transaction completes, so do not budget the grant into your deposit before that point. For an off-the-plan or construction purchase, completion can sit months or years after signing.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
Refusals cluster around a handful of predictable mistakes, and every one of them is avoidable with a contract read before signing rather than after. The SRO's own guidance points to these:
- Buying established and assuming The most common refusal: an established home never qualifies for the grant, at any price, no matter how first the home is for the buyer.
- A "new" home that has been lived in A property that has been leased out or used for short-term accommodation before purchase fails the new home test, even if it has never been sold.
- Crossing the cap A contract price or completed value above $750,000 ends the claim, and buyers of larger rebuilt homes need to watch this closely.
- Breaking the occupancy promise Not living in the home for the full 12 continuous months, or moving in later than 12 months after settlement or completion, puts the grant at risk of clawback.
- Hidden history A previous grant received, or a home previously owned and occupied for six or more continuous months, by you or your partner, ends eligibility even when the other applicant qualifies.
- Wrong applicant structure Applying as a company or a trust fails outright, and restructuring after signing a contract generally will not save the claim.
- Missing the deadline Applications lodged more than 12 months after settlement or completion are refused, full stop.
Where we work
Areas We Service
This page is written for buyers across the City of Hume, and the same grant rules apply in every suburb we cover. We work with first home buyers in Westmeadows, Broadmeadows, Jacana, Glenroy, Gowanbrae and Tullamarine, along with Gladstone Park itself. Where a suburb has newer townhouse or unit stock, the grant conversation changes shape, so it pays to ask about the specific property rather than the suburb.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the VIC First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant pays $10,000 as a one-off payment, and the same amount applies right across Victoria. The separate regional grant scheme is closed and does not apply to current contracts.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The grant covers new homes never sold or occupied, substantially renovated homes, homes built to replace a demolished one, and off-the-plan purchases. Established homes miss out entirely.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
The home must be valued at up to $750,000. For off-the-plan purchases, the cap applies to the contract price rather than the final completed value.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. At least one applicant must move in within 12 months of settlement or completion and live there as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes. The duty exemption or concession covers new and established homes, with full relief up to $600,000 and a sliding concession up to $750,000.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
The SRO does not publish a fixed payment timeframe; payment is made once the eligible transaction completes. Apply within 12 months of settlement or completion through your lender or the SRO directly.
Mortgage broker for Gladstone Park and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing up a new build, an off-the-plan contract or an established home and want to know how the grant and duty relief land on your numbers, talk it through before you sign. A first home buyer loan conversation covers deposit, the guarantor and low deposit pathway if your savings are thin, and the timing of the grant payment against your contract. Call (03) 9122 8522 and ask for Your Mortgage Broker Gladstone Park, or read more on our About page. Every figure on this page links to the State Revenue Office, so you can check it yourself.