A briefing for first home buyers under 35 in Australia

The rules changed. Your spreadsheet should too.

A fortnightly Australian briefing on first-home schemes, HECS, lender policy, state concessions, and the numbers that actually change what you can buy.

First edition in progress: which first-home schemes you can stack, which you can't, and the one pair that's worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Covering NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT

Checked against Housing Australia, Treasury, Department of Education, ATO, APRA, and state revenue offices. Every claim sourced or softened.

Policy receipts Source links, dates, and what changed. Plain-English math Deposit paths, scheme stacking, lender treatment. No sales call General information only. No phone number, no pressure.
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The rule board, 2025–26.

Five changes · 18 months
01
1 Oct 2025
5% Deposit Scheme expanded.
02
1 Jun 2025
HECS-HELP balances reduced 20%.
03
5 Dec 2025
Help to Buy opened (participating states).
04
Feb 2026
APRA debt-to-income limits activated.

We explain the rules. We don't tell you which loan to take. Everything here is general information, never personal credit advice.

The situation

Here's where you actually stand.

You've probably been told some version of this. "Just save harder. Cut the avocado. Move further out."

The math doesn't support it anymore.

The deposit gap has widened over the last five years while wage growth has lagged. In most capital cities, the headline deposit needed for an average home has climbed by tens of thousands of dollars. Every dollar you save is racing a target that's moving faster than you can sprint. The Briefing uses sourced figures in each edition rather than stale averages left sitting on a landing page.

This isn't a personal failure. It's a structural one. A large share of Gen Z first home buyers have already moved on from the 20% deposit goal and are targeting 10% or less.
Old advice vs new rule

What your parents heard. What now applies.

Common 2010s home-buying advice next to the 2025–26 reality.

Old advice
New rule
You need a 20% deposit to buy.
Eligible buyers can apply for a 5% deposit loan with no LMI under the federal scheme, nationwide.1
HECS will block your loan.
HECS-HELP balances were reduced 20% from 1 June 2025. Some lenders now treat small balances differently.2
You need to save the LMI premium too.
The 5% Scheme waives LMI for eligible buyers; Help to Buy can lower the cash deposit further.3
Off-the-plan is the risky route.
Stamp duty concessions on off-the-plan dwellings exist in several states. Verify with the SRO.
Apply with one big bank.
APRA DTI limits and lender-specific HECS treatment mean one lender approves, another declines.5
The new rules

Five things changed in the last 18 months.

01

The 5% Deposit Scheme expanded.

From 1 October 2025, the federal scheme removed income caps, lifted property price caps, and removed place limits.1 Eligible first home buyers can apply for a 5% deposit loan with no LMI, subject to lender approval and scheme criteria. The LMI saving against a standard low-deposit loan can run into five figures.

02

HECS got rewritten.

A 20% reduction was applied to HECS-HELP balances effective 1 June 2025 (applied through legislation and ATO processing).2 The compulsory repayment threshold lifted to $67,000. Some lenders treat small HECS balances differently when assessing borrowing power, but lender policies vary and change.

From the sourceHousing Australia · 1 Oct 2025
"Unlimited places and higher property price caps for first home buyers from 1 October 2025."

The expansion removes the cap-and-wait constraint that knocked back most applicants in 2024.

housingaustralia.gov.au
03

Help to Buy opened on 5 December 2025.

In participating states and territories,3 the government takes a shared-equity stake of up to 40% so you can buy with a smaller deposit. It isn't right for everyone: you don't fully own the property, and Help to Buy cannot be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme.4

04

Off-the-plan stamp duty concessions are in flux.

In several states, stamp duty on off-the-plan townhouses and apartments can be calculated on the land value only, rather than the finished property. The saving can be substantial. Concession scope, eligibility, and end dates vary by state and shift with each budget.

05

APRA activated debt-to-income lending limits.

Counter-balancing the good news, from February 2026 APRA activated debt-to-income lending limits as a macroprudential tool.5 How a lender sees your deposit, your HECS, and your credit card together matters more than ever. The same buyer can be approved at one lender and declined at another.

At a glance

What the federal schemes do.

Federal schemes are nationwide; state schemes vary by jurisdiction and budget cycle.

Scheme What it does Who runs it Where it applies
5% Deposit Schemeexpanded 1 Oct 2025 5% deposit with no LMI for eligible first home buyers. No income caps, no place limits. Housing Australia1 Nationwide
Help to Buyopened 5 Dec 2025 Government takes a shared-equity stake of up to 40%; buyer contributes a smaller deposit. Housing Australia3 Participating states / territories
First Home Super SaverFHSS Voluntary super contributions withdrawn for a first home deposit. Tax-driven uplift. ATO6 Nationwide
First Home Owner GrantFHOG One-off grant for eligible first home buyers building or buying new. State revenue offices All states (rules differ)
Stamp duty concessions Reduced or waived stamp duty under each state's price thresholds. State revenue offices Varies; verify with SRO
APRA DTI limitsactivated Feb 2026 Macroprudential cap on the share of new lending above a debt-to-income ratio. APRA5 All regulated lenders
Can I use both?

Which schemes stack, which don't.

Scheme rules change. The exclusions below are confirmed by federal sources.

Yes
5% Deposit Scheme + First Home Super SaverFHSS boosts your deposit via super tax savings; the 5% Scheme then waives LMI on the loan.
Yes
5% Deposit Scheme + First Home Owner Grant (new builds)Where FHOG eligibility applies in your state, the grant can sit alongside the federal scheme. State rules differ.
Yes
FHOG + state stamp duty concessionState schemes generally stack with each other. Check your state revenue office for current thresholds.
No
5% Deposit Scheme + Help to BuyHelp to Buy and the 5% Deposit Scheme are mutually exclusive. Choose one path or the other.4
Check
Help to Buy + FHOG / FHSSScheme interactions for Help to Buy depend on state participation and current criteria. Confirm with Treasury or your state SRO.
Deposit paths

The same buyer, four different deposit shapes.

Illustrative only. Loan and scheme rules add further caps.

Standard loan20% deposit, no scheme
20%
5% Deposit Schemeno LMI; scheme criteria apply
5%
Help to Buyshared equity; participating states
2%
10% deposit + LMIcommercial path; LMI premium applies
10%
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Short emails for buyers under 35 in Australia. Scheme changes, lender policy shifts, and the plain-English math when there is something worth sending.

Who this is for

You're probably one of these four.

The Solo Saver

$70 to $95k single income, no parental help on the horizon, $30 to $50k saved, a chunk of HECS, renting.

You've done the math a hundred times and keep hitting the same wall. What you actually need: a strategic answer to whether to pay HECS down, use the First Home Super Saver, or push harder on the 5% Scheme.

The Power Couple

Two incomes, $130 to $180k combined, $60 to $100k saved between you, both with HECS, capped out of the inner suburbs.

Eyeing growth corridors because inner suburbs are out of reach. What you actually need: clarity on whether to buy under your state's stamp duty cliff or step up and accept the duty cost.

The Parent-Backed Buyer

Mum and Dad have offered help. Gift, loan, or guarantor, and you don't know which structure is right.

The choice affects your borrowing power, your relationship, your tax position, and what happens if you ever break up with a partner. What you actually need: an honest read on which structure fits your family.

The Builder

House-and-land in a growth corridor. FHOG available for new builds, stacked with the 5% Scheme, stacked with stamp duty exemptions.

Only if the math lines up under the caps. What you actually need: someone who can tell you which estates are realistically inside the caps after upgrades.

What lenders look at

The ten lines on a home-loan assessment.

A standard lender will ask about all of these. Lender treatment of each varies, sometimes materially.

IncomeEmployment type, length, base vs variable, bonus and commission history.
HECS-HELP balancePost-2025 reduction applied. Treatment of small balances varies by lender.
Credit card limitsMost lenders count the full limit as a liability, not the balance you carry.
Buy Now Pay LaterActive accounts increasingly treated like short-term debt.
Existing loansCar loans, personal loans, student lines outside HECS.
Living expensesHEM benchmark or actual declared expenses, whichever is higher.
Genuine savingsCash you've held for typically 3 months or more. Gifts rarely qualify.
Deposit sourceSavings, gift, parental loan, or guarantor. Each is assessed differently.
Credit fileDefaults, late payments, recent enquiries. Smaller blemishes still matter.
Property location and typeSome lenders restrict postcodes, apartment sizes, or off-the-plan exposure.
Why email-first

We're a publication first.

Most home loan advice online is either outdated or written for people who already own three properties. Ours isn't.

Right now, the Briefing is the entire product. No phone number. No bookings. No "30 minute call" CTA buried below the fold. Just short, fortnightly emails on what changed in the rules, what changed in lender policies, and what it means for buyers under 35.

Every claim you read here is general information, not personal advice. If you need personalised help now, speak to a licensed mortgage broker or financial adviser.

Bank of Mum and Dad

Most first home buyers get help. Everyone else feels sick reading articles like this.

Both sides deserve an honest take.

If your parents are helping, the structure matters more than the amount. A cash gift can lift your deposit but typically doesn't count as "genuine savings" for most lenders. A guarantor arrangement avoids LMI but puts their home on the line. A private loan reduces your borrowing power because it shows up as a debt.

If your parents aren't helping, the path is harder but not impossible. The expanded 5% Deposit Scheme exists for buyers without family backing. The First Home Super Saver scheme provides a tax-driven uplift to a deposit and remains underused.

Two different problems. Two different strategies. No judgement either way.

What we're not

What we're not.

We're not the loudest voice in this space. We won't tell anyone home ownership is "easier than you think". It isn't.

We won't pretend Help to Buy and the 5% Scheme are interchangeable. The trade-offs are different, and the right comparison starts with the rules, not a sales script.

We won't pretend there's a magic relationship with a bank that gets buyers a special rate. No broker has one. What exists is knowledge of which lender, at which moment, will say yes to a specific shape of income, debt, and deposit.

If you want a brand that tells you what you want to hear, this isn't it.

Sample edition Read the full edition →

This is what arrives in your inbox.

A real Briefing edition, written for launch. Future editions follow the same shape.

From: The Briefing
Subject: Edition 01 · The schemes that stack, and the one pair that doesn't.
Tue 19 May 2026 · 7:00 AEST · ~5 min read
Edition 01

The 5% Scheme, Help to Buy, and what you can actually combine.

Two federal home-buying schemes that look like they do the same thing. Most people I've talked to assume they stack. They don't, and the choice is worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The 5% Deposit Scheme, after 1 October 2025

For eligible first home buyers: 5% deposit, no Lenders Mortgage Insurance, nationwide. The federal government removed income caps and place limits.1 You apply through a participating lender; the government acts as guarantor for the missing 15%.

  • Waives the LMI premium (often five figures on a sub-20% deposit).
  • On a $700,000 home, that's a $35,000 deposit instead of the $140,000 a standard 20% loan asks for.
  • Available in every capital city and growth corridor, subject to property price caps.

Help to Buy, opened 5 December 2025

In participating states and territories, the federal government takes a shared-equity stake of up to 40%. You contribute as little as 2% deposit. You make repayments on the share you own; the government's share sits behind it.3

  • Lower deposit and lower loan than the 5% Scheme.
  • You don't fully own the property. The government's share moves with the property's value.
  • Conditions apply to what you can do with the property over time.
The right question is not "which scheme is best?" It is "which trade-off fits your deposit, state, income, and timeline?"

Why they don't combine

The two schemes are mutually exclusive.4 You pick one path:

  • 5% Scheme: smaller deposit, full ownership, full mortgage, no LMI.
  • Help to Buy: smallest deposit, partial ownership, smaller mortgage, government share of capital gain.

What does stack

  • 5% Scheme + FHSS. Super contributions boost your deposit; the 5% Scheme handles the loan.6
  • 5% Scheme + FHOG (new builds). Where state FHOG eligibility applies, both can sit together.
  • FHOG + state stamp duty concession. State schemes generally stack with each other.

The bottom line

As a general rule, the 5% Scheme is the cleaner structure when you can save the deposit and want full ownership. Help to Buy can reduce the upfront cash and loan size, but you are accepting a shared-equity trade-off. Your state, income, property price, and lender approval still decide what is actually available.

General information only. This edition explains scheme mechanics. It does not recommend a loan or take your circumstances into account.

Next edition (Tue 2 June 2026): HECS after the 20% reduction. What two lenders see, and why they quote thousands apart.
About

About this site.

genzhomeloans.com.au is an independent publication for Australian first home buyers under 35. Right now it's email-first: the Briefing fortnightly, a Starter Pack welcome sequence when you subscribe, and a public archive for anyone Googling the rules.

Everything you read here is general information. It does not take your personal circumstances into account and it is not a recommendation to use any loan, lender, or scheme.

FAQ

Questions we get a lot.

Do I need a 20% deposit?

No. Under the expanded 5% Deposit Scheme you can buy with 5% down and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. For some buyers, Help to Buy lets you start at 2%.

Is the Briefing actually free?

Yes. We take no payment, no affiliate fees, and no sponsorship to write what's in the Briefing.

Will my HECS stop me getting a loan?

It can affect how much you can borrow, but on its own it doesn't disqualify you. After the 2025 reforms, some lenders treat small HECS balances differently than others. The lender you choose matters.

Can I use parental help and the 5% Scheme together?

Usually yes, depending on how the parental contribution is structured. A gift is treated differently to a guarantor arrangement.

Do you only cover Victorian buyers?

No. The Briefing covers all states. State-specific rules (stamp duty thresholds, FHOG amounts, off-the-plan concessions) are flagged whenever they appear.

Can you tell me which loan to use?

No. The Briefing explains rules and trade-offs. It does not provide personal credit advice or recommend a specific loan.

Editor's note
gz
Who writes this

Edited by the genzhomeloans editor

The editor's full name and entity details will be published before launch. This is a publication, not advice. Every edition is checked against primary sources (Housing Australia, Treasury, ATO, APRA, ASIC, state revenue offices) before send. Lender-specific claims link to that lender's published policy, or aren't made.

Find something off? Reply to any edition. Corrections appear in the next one, with a note about what changed and why.

Sources

  1. Housing Australia, "Unlimited places and higher property price caps for first home buyers from 1 October 2025" — housingaustralia.gov.au
  2. Department of Education, "Legislation to reduce student loan debt by 20% passes parliament" — education.gov.au
  3. Treasury, Home Ownership Support — treasury.gov.au
  4. First Home Buyers, FAQ — firsthomebuyers.gov.au
  5. APRA, "Activating debt-to-income limits as a macroprudential policy tool" — apra.gov.au
  6. ATO, First Home Super Saver Scheme — ato.gov.au
Important

genzhomeloans.com.au is a publication. We are not currently licensed to provide credit assistance. Everything on this site is general information and does not take your personal circumstances into account. Talk to a licensed mortgage broker or financial adviser before making any decision.

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