Grants and Concessions

First Home Owners Grant (FHOG)

The first homeowners grant is probably the grant that requires the least explanation, it is currently $7,000 for an established home this also includes a stamp duty rebate for established homes up to $500,000 and vacant land up to $300,000.

To Qualify for the grant, you need to live in the home immediately after settlement or for 6 of the first 12 months of ownership, you need to have never owned and occupied a home previously in Australia as well.

In some instances you can have owned an investment property and still be eligible for the grant. If you have owned but never occupied a home, such as an investment property after the first of July 2000, you should still qualify for the grant. If you have owned a home for investment prior to this, you aren't eligible unfortunately.

Also if you have been married to someone that has owned a home in their name and that relationship has come to an end, you may also be eligible for the grant, though these instances can be a little tricky. So if you think you may be in a position to get the first home owners grant, please contact the Department of Treasury and Finance on 08 9262 1299 in Western Australia. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, please contact us by clicking here.

Click to download a First Homeowners Grant application Western Australia

To be eligible for the First home owners grant, you must be able to answer yes to all questions below:

• Each applicant is a natural person and not a company or a trust.
• At least one applicant is a permanent resident or Australian citizen.
• Each applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
• All applicants and/or their spouse/de facto have not owned a residential property jointly, separately or with some other person in any State or Territory of Australia before 1 July 2000.
• All applicants and/or their spouse/de facto have not owned on or after 1 July 2000 a residential property and occupied that property jointly, separately or with some other person in any State or Territory of Australia.
• Each applicant has entered into a contract for the purchase of a home or signed a contract to build a home on or after 1 July 2000. In the case of an owner-builder, laying of the foundations commenced on or after 1 July 2000.
• This is the first time an applicant and/or their spouse/de facto will receive a grant under the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 in any State or Territory.
• At least one applicant will occupy the homeas their principle place of residence for a continuous period of six months, commencing within 12 months of settlement or construction of the home.  

When applying for the grant in association with a mortgage loan, the lender will in almost all instances process the grant for you. Should you have missed out on the FHOG for any reason you have up to 12 months to claim it.

REBA Grant, Western Australia

This is the least known about grant for a first homebuyer, and well worth seeing if you meet the criteria. It was designed to assist first home buyers when they purchase an established or partially built home through a licensed real estate agent. The grant is up to $2,000 and has a maximum purchase price under the scheme of $400,000 to be eligible. The grant is funded through interest earned on Real Estate agents trust accounts, which is where the deposit you pay when purchasing a property goes. So the interest is earned off clients or purchasers deposit money held in trust, so it is a nice incentive and bonus for dealing with a licensed agent.

The grant is to be used to put towards the costs associated with the purchase, such as;

• government registration, stamp duty and transfer fees.
• Settlement agent or conveyancing fees.
• Professional valuation and inspection costs.
• Any mortgage insurance and bank fees and charges.

You don't qualify for the grant if you are buying land and constructing or not borrowing from a lending institution.

For more information on the REBA first home buyers assistance fund click here, to download the application click here. 

The criteria for the REBA grant are as follows

• applicants must be buying their first home, which is established or partially built (not vacant land, a plan or a 'house and land' package);
• the applicant, spouse or partner of the applicant must not own or have owned any property in the State of Western Australia before (if one of the people the applicant is buying a home with, owns or has owned a home in Western Australia before, then the applicant can apply for a partial grant based on the percentage of their ownership of the home);
• the applicant must live in the home for at least the first 12 months;
• the applicant must purchase the home through a licensed real estate agent;
• the application must be lodged with the Registrar of the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board no more than 90 days after the date that the offer and acceptance contract to buy the home is accepted (in exceptional circumstances, a short extension of time for lodgment may be granted by the Registrar if reasonable grounds exist);
• the home loan must be financed through an authorised lending institution (such as a bank, building society or credit union); and
• The purchase price of the home is $400,000 or less. 

Stamp Duty Concession Established property

Though the first homeowners grant doesn't have a price threshold, the purchase stamp duty concessions for first home owners do. In WA you will not pay any stamp duty on established homes up to $500,000, from $500,001 through to $600,000 it equalizes with the standard market rate. So ideally as a first homebuyer you will purchase below this figure.

Stamp Duty Concession on vacant land

With vacant land the stamp duty threshold is lower, there is no stamp duty payable up to $300,000 and this equalizes with the market rate at $400,000. There are a few things you need to know about grants and concessions on vacant land. These are;

• You need to have your First Home Owners Grant approved to get the concession. You can only get the grant approved if you have a construction contract or have begun construction of a home.
• There is a maximum period of 5 years that you can claim the concession for.
• You need to claim the First Home Owners Grant within 12 months of completing construction to be eligible for both the grant and the stamp duty concession.

The Established property stamp duty concession will be accessed by your settlement agent as a rule and they will normally forward the paperwork to the purchaser, the Department of Treasury and Finance will also forward the paperwork as part of the First Home Owners Grant (FHOG).

One thing it will also pay to consider, if you purchase a block of land with an existing title, you will be required to pay your transfer stamp duty on it 2 months from acceptance of your offer, even if the block hasn't settled. You will be able to claim this back though once you get your construction under way.

The Vacant land concession will need to be initiated by you if you're claiming it post settlement, you can get more information on this by contacting the Department of Treasury and Finances stamp duty hotline in Western Australia on 08 9262 1100.