First Home Loan Deposit Scheme

Here are the latest updates on the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. The scheme is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first home buyers purchase a home sooner.

The scheme will provide a guarantee to eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with as little a 5% deposit.

Under the scheme, borrowers won’t be required to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

The scheme will support up to 10,000 loans each financial year.

Who’s eligible for the scheme?

Applicants must meet eligibility criteria, including income thresholds and property prices.

The income thresholds are up to $125,000 per annum for singles and up to $200,000 per annum combined for couples.

The scheme will apply to owner-occupied loans on a principal and interest basis.

Applicants must also meet the individual lender’s loan assessment criteria.

You must have a minimum deposit of 5%. You also need to prove that the deposit has been ‘genuinely saved’.

You’ll also need enough funds to cover stamp duty (if applicable) and any other associated fees. If you’re unsure which fees may apply to your purchase or you’d like guidance around how to show that your deposit has been genuinely saved, on of our experienced mortgage brokers would be happy to assist you.

Property price caps apply to the scheme. To be eligible for the scheme, the price of the property you purchase has to be worth under a certain amount. Property price caps vary depending on location.

The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NLFIC) has a tool you can use to search property price thresholds via suburb or postcode.

How to apply 

The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme launched on 1 January 2020.

NHFIC will not accept applications directly and isn’t able to provide personal financial advice. 

You can lodge your application through participating lenders or a mortgage broker. 

If you’re interested in the scheme, it’s a good idea to meet with a mortgage broker. Your mortgage broker will look at your current circumstances and check which lenders’ eligibility criteria you meet, from there they will help you submit your applications with NHFIC and your chosen lender.

Which lenders are participating in the scheme?

Not all banks and lenders will take part in the scheme.

National Australia Bank (NAB) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) are the only major banks to offer loans under the scheme. 

The rest of the lending panel is made up of non-major lenders.

CBA and NAB will accept applications for the scheme from 1 January 2020.

The non-majors will accept applications from 1 February 2020.

Here’s the full list of lenders on the panel:

  • Australian Military Bank
  • Auswide Bank
  • Bank Australia
  • Bank First
  • Bank of us
  • Bendigo Bank
  • Beyond Bank Australia
  • Commonwealth Bank
  • Community First Credit Union
  • CUA
  • Defence Bank
  • Gateway Bank
  • G&C Mutual Bank
  • Indigenous Business Australia
  • Mortgageport
  • MyState Bank
  • National Australia Bank
  • People’s Choice Credit Union
  • Police Bank (including the Border Bank and Bank of Heritage Isle)
  • P&N Bank
  • QBANK
  • Queensland Country Credit Union
  • Regional Australia Bank
  • Sydney Mutual Bank and Endeavour Mutual Bank (divisions of Australian Mutual Bank)
  • Teachers Mutual Bank Ltd (including Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank)
  • The Mutual Bank
  • WAW Credit Union

According to the NHFIC, members of the panel were chosen based on:

  • Competitiveness of offerings
  • Geographic reach
  • Customer care
  • Ability to meet the deadline for the implementation of the scheme

Additional lenders may be added to the panel periodically after the scheme launches.

For further updates, please follow our Facebook page or check back into the website regularly. This blog post will be updated as soon as the government releases more information.

If you’d like more information on the scheme, please contact us, to organise a chat with one of our experienced mortgage brokers.

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