Last updated: 10th September 2026
There are several government grants and schemes that can make it easier to buy your first home in Adelaide.
Each program works a little differently. Depending on your circumstances and the type of property you are buying, they may help reduce the deposit you need or help you build your deposit sooner.
Below, we break down the main first home buyer grants and schemes available to Adelaide buyers, how they work and who may be eligible.
South Australian First Home Owner Grant
The South Australian First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a one-off payment of up to $15,000 for eligible first home buyers building or buying a new home in South Australia.
To qualify, the property generally needs to be one of the following:
- a newly built home
- an off-the-plan apartment
- a substantially renovated home
- a home you are building on vacant land
Established homes don’t qualify for the FHOG.
For contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024, there is no property value cap for the grant.
Who may be eligible?
- Applicants must be at least 18.
- At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or qualifying New Zealand citizen.
- You generally cannot qualify if you or your spouse or domestic partner have previously had a residential property in Australia.
- You must live in the property for at least 6 continuous months.
Stamp duty relief for South Australian first home buyers
Stamp duty relief is separate from the FHOG and can make a significant difference to the upfront amount needed to purchase certain properties.
Since 6 June 2024, no stamp duty is payable on eligible new homes or vacant land contracts entered into, with no property value cap.
Stamp duty relief can apply to:
- new homes
- off-the-plan apartments
- vacant land where you will build your new home
It does not currently apply to the purchase of an established home under the first home buyer relief rules.
Who may be eligible?
- Applicants must be at least 18.
- At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or qualifying New Zealand citizen.
- You generally cannot qualify if you or your spouse or domestic partner have previously had a residential property in Australia.
- You must meet the residence rules, including living in the property as your principal place of residence for at least 6 continuous months.
Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
For eligible first home buyers, the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (previously known as the Home Guarantee Scheme) allows a home to be purchased with a minimum 5% deposit, while the Australian Government provides a guarantee to the participating lender.
That guarantee allows eligible buyers to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), which can otherwise add a significant cost to a low-deposit purchase.
Since 1 October 2025, the scheme has:
- no income caps
- unlimited places
- no waiting list
- a minimum 5% deposit for eligible first home buyers
Eligible single parents and single legal guardians can potentially buy with a minimum 2% deposit under the scheme.
For an eligible first home buyer, this may provide an alternative to saving a traditional 20% deposit. Your actual loan amount, deposit requirement and borrowing capacity will still depend on the lender’s assessment.
Who may be eligible?
You generally need to:
- be at least 18
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- have at least the minimum 5% deposit
- be a first home buyer, or not have owned Australian property or land during the previous 10 years
- buy within the applicable property price cap
- live in the property
- obtain an eligible principal-and-interest loan through a participating lender
You still need to meet the lender’s normal credit and borrowing requirements. Government backing helps with the deposit side, but it does not guarantee your home loan will be approved.
For Adelaide, the current South Australian capital city property price cap is $900,000. Property location rules apply.
Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme
Under Help to Buy, eligible buyers can purchase with a minimum 2% deposit, with the Government contributing up to:
- 30% of the purchase price for an existing home
- 40% for a newly built home
This reduces the amount you need to borrow from a lender. However, the Government’s contribution is not a grant. It is a percentage share of the value of your home.
Essentially, you own the home, and your name is on the property title, but the Government shares proportionally in any increase or decrease in the property’s value.
You do not pay interest or regular monthly repayments on the Government’s contribution. You can gradually buy back its share or repay it when you sell the property.
What happens when you sell your home under this scheme?
Because the Government has an equity share in the property, the amount associated with that share changes as the value of your home changes.
If the value of your home has gone up or down by the time you sell, the value of the Government’s contribution will generally move proportionally with it.
Help to Buy is not necessarily a bad option, but its trade-off is that, unless you buy back the Government’s equity share, you must pay them back when the property is sold.
Imagine you buy an established home for $600,000, and the Government contributes the maximum 30%, or $180,000. If the Government still holds a 30% share when you later sell the property for $800,000, its share would generally have increased to $240,000 at that point.
That means you are not simply paying back the original $180,000 contribution.
At sale, the outstanding home loan is paid first, then the Government’s equity share and any other relevant claims. The Government’s portion is calculated using their percentage share and whichever is greater: the property’s current valuation or its sale price. What’s left, after those amounts and your selling costs, is yours.
Help to Buy cannot typically be combined with other government guarantees, loans or shared-equity home-purchase schemes, although grants, stamp duty concessions and exemptions may still be available.
Who may be eligible?
There are 10,000 Help to Buy places available nationally each year.
Key requirements include:
- being an Australian citizen aged at least 18
- having at least a 2% deposit
- living in the property as your principal place of residence
- not owning other property in Australia or overseas
- taxable income of no more than $103,000 for an individual, or $165,000 for joint applicants and single-parent applicants
The Adelaide property price cap is currently $900,000.
You also need to qualify for finance through a participating lender. If your savings and borrowing capacity already put a purchase within reach without Help to Buy, you may not be eligible.
First Home Super Saver Scheme
If you are still building your deposit rather than preparing to buy immediately, the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme is worth understanding.
It lets eligible buyers make voluntary contributions into super, then later apply to release those eligible contributions, plus associated earnings, towards a first home.
Currently, up to $15,000 of eligible contributions from each financial year can count towards the scheme, up to a total of $50,000 across all years.
Who may be eligible?
You generally need to:
- be at least 18 when requesting an FHSS determination
- have never owned property in Australia, subject to limited financial hardship provisions
- have made eligible voluntary super contributions
- have your name on the title of the property you eventually buy
- intend to actually live in the property
Unlike some other programs, you do not need to be an Australian citizen or Australian resident for tax purposes to use FHSS.
Because super contributions and FHSS withdrawals can have tax implications, it is worth getting appropriate tax or financial advice before deciding how much to contribute.
HomeSeeker SA First Home Buyer Program
There is also a newer South Australian option worth knowing about.
The HomeSeeker SA First Home Buyer Program gives eligible buyers priority access to selected homes and land, meaning first home buyers can have an opportunity to purchase without competing against investors and other groups during the priority period.
One current example is the dedicated first home buyer precinct at Playford Alive in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, where blocks are being released specifically for eligible first home buyers.
Who may be eligible?
Eligibility generally includes:
- being over 18
- being an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- never having owned residential property in Australia and intending to live in the home
Individual releases can have additional requirements.
Working out which first home buyer support fits
There’s no single scheme or grant that suits every first home buyer, because no two situations look quite the same.
If you’re building a new home, you could potentially access South Australia’s $15,000 grant alongside stamp duty relief. If you’re buying an established Adelaide home, the 5% Deposit Scheme or Help to Buy may be more relevant instead. And if you’re not quite ready to buy, building your deposit through FHSS might be the better starting point. What matters most is looking at these programs alongside your borrowing capacity, deposit, property type and longer-term plans rather than assuming that being eligible for one scheme determines what you can buy.
Our award-winning mortgage brokers can help you work through the lending side of these options and understand how an eligible scheme may fit with your home loan.
If you don’t qualify for a particular program, that doesn’t mean buying your first home is off the table. We can look at your broader position and work through other lending and deposit strategies that may make sense for you.
Before you start making offers, it helps to have a clear picture of your options. That’s what we’re here for.
