VIC first home buyers
VIC First Home Owner Grant
The First Home Owner Grant in Victoria is a one-off payment of $10,000 from the Victorian Government to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home, a substantially renovated home or an off-the-plan home valued at up to $750,000.
This page sets out what the grant is worth, who qualifies, which properties it covers and how it interacts with the separate first home buyer duty exemption, with the eligibility rules applied to the stock actually available around Kew East. Figures throughout come from the Victorian State Revenue Office.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The grant pays a flat $10,000, once, on every eligible transaction across Victoria. That surprises buyers who remember the old regional scheme, which paid a larger amount outside Melbourne: that scheme is closed and does not apply to current contracts, so there is no higher regional figure to chase. The SRO's eligibility page confirms the single statewide amount. The grant is also not the biggest money on the table for most first home buyers. The separate duty exemption or concession, which runs on its own thresholds, often removes or reduces a larger cost, and the two schemes stack where the property qualifies for both. Read them as a pair, not as alternatives.
Who Qualifies
The eligibility rules are tested on every applicant, not just the main buyer, so check each point against your partner's history too:
Natural persons only
Age and status
A clean first-home history
A genuinely new home
Inside the value cap
A real move-in commitment
Lodge on time
Which Properties It Covers
The property test is where most Kew East applications stand or fall, because the grant follows the building, not the buyer. Here is the split at a glance:
| Property type | Grant eligible | Duty relief possible |
|---|---|---|
| New house, townhouse, apartment or unit, never sold or occupied | Yes | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Substantially renovated home | Yes | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Home built to replace a demolished one | Yes | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Off-the-plan purchase, contract price under $750,000 | Yes | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Established (previous owner-occupied) home | No | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Vacant land to build a first home | No, until the build | Yes, within its own thresholds |
| Home previously leased or used for short-stay accommodation | No | Depends on the property |
The table hides one trap worth naming: a home that looks new but has been tenanted or listed on a short-stay platform before sale fails the grant test outright. Ask for the occupancy history in writing before you sign anything.
Why The Rule Bites Here
The $750,000 cap does its real work at suburb level, and Kew East illustrates it better than most. This is not a suburb where the cap quietly passes every listing, and it is not one where eligible stock is thick on the ground either. The four questions below are the ones a first home buyer here actually needs answered before they start inspecting.
The cap against the local market
Kew East sits 8.2 kilometres from the CBD in the state's top SEIFA decile, and the housing stock reflects it: 66.3 per cent of dwellings are separate houses and 36.3 per cent hold four or more bedrooms. Established family housing at that profile transacts well above a first-home budget in most cases, so the realistic grant-eligible purchases here are not the suburb's typical listing.
Where eligible stock actually sits
The new-build flow is thin. Only 145 dwellings were approved across the last five years against 2,357 existing dwellings, and just 24 approvals landed in 2021-22. Flats and apartments make up 11.6 per cent of the housing stock. The grant-eligible homes that do appear here are off-the-plan apartments and small townhouse developments, not detached new builds.
The gap between eligible and desirable
Even when a qualifying property appears, the median household here carries a mortgage repayment of about $3,000 a month, which signals the price of the established stock nearby. A new apartment under the cap buys a different lifestyle to the four-bedroom houses that dominate the suburb, and buyers should weigh that gap honestly before committing to the grant route.
What it means for your search
Practically, a Kew East buyer chasing the grant widens the search ring: toward newer townhouse stock in Balwyn North and Bulleen, or toward Alphington and Ivanhoe East where recent development has been steadier. Alternatively, an established home nearby forfeits the grant but keeps full access to the duty exemption, which for many buyers is the larger benefit anyway.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The first home buyer duty exemption or concession is a separate scheme with its own thresholds, which do not match the grant cap. The two combine like this:
New home up to $600,000
New home between $600,001 and $750,000
Established home up to $600,000
Established home up to $750,000
Vacant land to build
Once only, for one scheme
Because the thresholds differ between the schemes, the order of operations matters on an off-the-plan purchase, where the dutiable value can be calculated differently from the finished contract price.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
The application itself is short, but the timing rules around it are strict and the SRO enforces both ends of them. Work through the four steps below in order, because a missed deadline or a missing document is the difference between a paid grant and a written-off one.
- 1
Choose your lodgement route
You can lodge through an approved agent, which in practice means your lender, or directly with the SRO. Most buyers lodge through the lender so the grant is processed alongside the loan application, and the paperwork is collected once rather than twice.
- 2
Gather the eligibility evidence
Expect to prove identity and citizenship status for each applicant, the contract of sale, and details of any prior property ownership by you or your partner. Lenders and the SRO both verify the prior-ownership declarations, so answer them precisely rather than generously.
- 3
Watch the two clocks
Two deadlines run in parallel: occupancy must begin within 12 months of settlement or completion and continue for 12 months, and the application itself must be lodged within 12 months of settlement or completion. Diary both dates the week you sign.
- 4
When the money lands
The SRO does not publish a fixed payment timeframe, and it varies with how the transaction completes. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, so on a construction loan that means after the build finishes rather than at land settlement.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
The knock-back reasons are predictable, which makes them avoidable. Every one of these appears in the SRO's own guidance as a ground for refusing payment:
- Buying established stock The most common mistake in suburbs like this one, where most listings are established homes that will never qualify for the grant.
- A "new" home with history A property leased out or used for short-term accommodation before purchase fails the eligibility test, however recently it was built.
- Breach of the cap A contract price over $750,000 ends the claim, and off-the-plan buyers should check which price is being measured.
- Occupancy shortfalls Moving in later than 12 months after settlement or completion, or leaving before the 12 continuous months are served, forfeits the grant.
- Hidden prior ownership A partner's earlier property interest, or a previous grant either of you received, disqualifies the application even if you personally have never owned.
- Wrong applicant structure Applying through a company or trust is ineligible, full stop.
- A lapsed deadline Missing the 12-month application window closes the door permanently, with no discretion to reopen it.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Alongside Kew East itself, Your Mortgage Broker Kew East helps first home buyers work through grant eligibility and loan structure across the surrounding north-east suburbs, including Ivanhoe East, Bulleen, Balwyn North, Balwyn, Kew and Alphington, where the balance between new-build grant stock and established duty-relief stock varies street by street.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the VIC First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant pays $10,000 as a one-off payment, and the same amount applies statewide. There is no separate regional payment on current contracts, because the former regional scheme is closed.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The grant only covers new homes, substantially renovated homes and off-the-plan purchases. An established home qualifies for no grant at any price, though duty relief may still apply.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
The home must be valued at up to $750,000. For off-the-plan purchases, the contract price is what counts against the cap, so the finished value can differ.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. At least one applicant must move in as their principal place of residence within 12 months of settlement or completion, and stay for at least 12 continuous months.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes with separate thresholds. The grant covers new homes only, while the duty exemption or concession can apply to established homes and vacant land as well.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
The SRO does not publish a fixed payment timeframe. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, and you must apply within 12 months of settlement or completion.
Mortgage broker for Kew East and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a grant-eligible new build against an established home that keeps the duty exemption, that comparison is worth running before you sign. Your Mortgage Broker Kew East works through both scenarios with you, alongside the first home buyer loan and construction loan structures behind them. Call (03) 9122 8521 for a free, no-obligation conversation. You can verify our credentials on the About page, and our fees are disclosed in writing before you decide anything.