QLD first home buyers
QLD First Home Owner Grant
The First Home Owner Grant is a Queensland government payment for first home buyers who build or buy a brand new home, never previously occupied, valued at less than $750,000. Eligible buyers receive $30,000 and must live in the home as their principal place of residence.
This page explains what the grant pays, who qualifies, which properties count, how it combines with transfer duty relief and where buyers around Noosaville actually find eligible stock. Your Mortgage Broker Noosaville maintains this page as part of its Noosa first home buyer resources, alongside the full first home buyer loans guide.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The figure most first home buyers carry around in their heads is out of date, and not in their favour. A large share of articles still in circulation quote $15,000, which was the payment for contracts signed before 20 November 2023. Since that date, an eligible new home attracts $30,000, and the Queensland Revenue Office landing page, which carries the 23 June 2026 state budget, states no change to either the payment amount or the value cap. Owner-builders are treated the same way, with the amount decided by when the foundations were laid. The doubling matters in practical terms: $30,000 is a genuine contribution toward a deposit and buying costs rather than a token gesture, and for buyers targeting new stock around Noosaville, where the construction pipeline has been active, it can be the difference between buying this year and saving for another one.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility is set by the Queensland Revenue Office and tested at the contract date, so it is worth checking every item on this list against your own position before you fall in love with a property. Each of the following must be true:
Citizenship and age
Applicant structure
Prior ownership
New home only
Value test
Occupancy commitment
The full eligibility detail, including the edge cases, sits on the Queensland Revenue Office eligibility page and is worth reading in full before signing anything.
Which Properties It Covers
The eligible property list is broader than most buyers expect, but one line matters more than all the others: established homes miss out entirely. Here is the breakdown:
| Property route | Grant eligibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New home, never occupied | Eligible | House, unit, duplex or townhouse |
| Substantially renovated by the seller | Eligible in limited circumstances | Most of the building must have been removed or replaced |
| Off-the-plan purchase | Eligible | Contract signed before completion |
| Contract to build | Eligible | Land value counts toward the $750,000 test |
| Owner-builder | Eligible | Amount depends on when foundations were laid |
| Established home | Not eligible | Duty relief may still apply instead |
The renovation trap catches people out. A seller who re-carpeted and re-modelled a kitchen has not substantially renovated anything as far as the grant is concerned; the test asks whether most of the building was removed or replaced. If you are unsure which side of that line a property falls on, the eligibility page sets out the distinction before you commit to a contract.
Why The Rule Bites Here
Every rule in this grant is statewide, but the way it lands on a buyer depends entirely on the local market, and Noosa is about as far from a generic Queensland market as it gets. The $750,000 cap, the new-build requirement and the shape of local stock interact in ways that narrow the search fast, and buyers who understand that before they start inspecting save themselves months.
The Cap Meets Noosa
The value cap is a hard line at $750,000 including land and any variations, and it is tested on total contract value rather than the advertised price. In a coastal market where desirable blocks carry a premium, that line arrives much faster than buyers coming from Brisbane or interstate tend to expect.
Where New Stock Sits
Noosaville recorded 339 dwelling approvals across the last five years, and building activity across the area sits in the 77th percentile for the state. That pipeline is where eligible homes actually come from, and it skews toward unit and townhouse developments rather than new freestanding houses.
Eligible Versus Desirable
Roughly sixty per cent of local dwellings are separate houses, many held long term by owners well past their first purchase, and only about one in ten is a flat or apartment. The homes that qualify for the grant are therefore usually the new units and townhouses, not the established streets near the water that most buyers picture first.
What The Search Looks Like
Practically, this means filtering for new or off-the-plan dwellings priced under the cap from day one, and stress-testing any house-and-land package against the land value at contract date. An early conversation with a broker, including whether a guarantor or low deposit route suits you, keeps the contract value inside the line.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant is only half the financial picture for a first home buyer in Queensland, and the other half is the first home transfer duty concession, which is a separate scheme with its own rules. The two overlap in confusing ways, so here is the shape of it, with the detail on the Queensland Revenue Office duty concession page:
Under $700,000
The phase-out band
Above the ceiling
Stacking both schemes
Different occupancy rules
A citizenship change
Notice the asymmetry: an established home scores no grant at any price but can still attract duty relief under the $800,000 ceiling, while a new home under the cap scores both. That asymmetry is exactly why so many Noosa first home buyers end up looking at new builds rather than resales.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
The application route you choose decides how quickly the money lands, and the difference between the routes is bigger than most buyers expect. The process is not difficult, but the timing rules are unforgiving, so it pays to know which path applies to your purchase before settlement day.
- 1
Through An Approved Agent
Most major lenders are approved agents, and this is the fastest route: the application is lodged alongside your home loan, and for a purchase the grant is generally paid at settlement. The paperwork is coordinated with your lender, so nothing extra sits on your plate.
- 2
Directly To The Office
You can lodge directly with the Queensland Revenue Office, but payment waits until the home is complete and every supporting document has been supplied. This route suits buyers not using a participating lender, at the cost of waiting longer for the money.
- 3
Building Contract Payments
For a contract to build, the grant is paid after completion, on presentation of the final inspection certificate or certificate of occupancy. Owner-builders qualify too, with the amount depending on when the foundations were laid rather than when work started.
- 4
Deadlines You Cannot Miss
The application window runs for one year: from taking possession and title registration if you bought, or from completion if you built. Miss it and the payment is gone, so diarise the deadline when you sign the contract rather than at settlement.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
The knock-back list is long, and almost every item on it is avoidable with a contract reviewed before signing rather than after. These are the failures the Queensland Revenue Office sees repeatedly:
- Assuming established homes qualify The single most common mistake, and the one that costs buyers the most planning time.
- Landing exactly on the cap A contract value of $750,000 or more is refused outright. The grant is not reduced proportionally, it disappears.
- Split house-and-land structures A land contract plus a separate building contract is a contract-to-build transaction, and the value test then includes the land, sometimes pushing the total over the line.
- Land bought years earlier Land that has risen in value since purchase counts at its current unencumbered value, which can quietly push a planned build past the cap.
- Excluded contract items A building contract that leaves out items such as benchtops or electrical work fails the contract-to-build test entirely.
- Occupancy breaches Moving in later than one year after completion, or leaving before six continuous months, forfeits the grant outside exceptional circumstances.
- Hidden prior ownership A spouse's earlier residential property anywhere in Australia counts against a joint application, even if you never lived in it.
- Wrong applicant structure Applying as a company or a trust is an automatic exclusion.
If any of these describe your situation, raise it before you sign. A contract structured differently at the outset, or a different property altogether, is a far cheaper fix than an application refused after settlement.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Alongside Noosaville itself, Your Mortgage Broker Noosaville works with first home buyers and refinancers right across the Noosa region, including Noosa North Shore, Noosa Heads, Castaways Beach, Marcus Beach, Peregian Beach and Weyba Downs, where the same grant rules apply and the same eligible-stock hunt is under way.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the QLD First Home Owner Grant worth?
$30,000 for eligible new home contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023. Contracts signed before that date attracted $15,000. The Queensland Revenue Office confirms both amounts, and the 2026 state budget changed neither.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The Queensland Revenue Office states plainly that there are no home owner grants for established homes, at any price. Established homes can still attract the separate first home transfer duty concession if the price qualifies.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
Less than $750,000, including the land and any contract variations. A property valued at $750,000 or more is refused outright rather than reduced, so check the total contract value before you sign.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. You must move in within one year of completion and live there continuously for six months. The Commissioner can waive this only in exceptional circumstances, so plan your move-in date before you commit.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes. The grant applies to new homes only, while the duty concession covers established homes too and cuts transfer duty on qualifying purchases. An eligible new home under the cap can receive both.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
It depends on the route. Applications lodged through an approved agent, usually your lender, are the fastest and are generally paid at settlement. Applications lodged directly with the Queensland Revenue Office wait until the home is complete.
Mortgage broker for Noosaville and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build against an established purchase and want the grant and duty positions mapped against real numbers, talk it through before you sign anything. Call (07) 3523 7115 to speak with a named local broker, see a published fee structure up front and get a process with real timelines in writing. You can also read how the business operates on the About page.