QLD first home buyers
QLD First Home Owner Grant
The Queensland First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment from the state government to people buying or building their first home, and it is available only for new homes that have never been lived in.
The payment sits alongside separate transfer duty relief, and the two schemes turn on details that regularly trip up first time buyers, from contract structure to move-in deadlines. Your Mortgage Broker Sarina works through both with buyers around Sarina. This page covers the current amounts, every eligibility test, the local picture, and how to apply.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The amount most people remember is out of date. Contracts signed before 20 November 2023 attracted $15,000, and from that date forward an eligible new home attracts $30,000. The Queensland Revenue Office material current to the June 2026 State Budget records no change to either the amount or the value cap, which requires the home and land together to be worth less than $750,000. Both figures sit on the QRO eligibility page, and they are worth checking at the source, because the old $15,000 figure still circulates on pages that were never updated after the increase.
Who Qualifies
Six tests decide eligibility, and missing any one of them ends the application, so every one of them is worth testing before the contract is signed:
Applicant type
Citizenship
Property history
A new home only
The value test
Occupancy
Which Properties It Covers
The property type test trips more applications than any other, so here is the entire question laid out in one table:
| Property type | Grant eligible? | What the QRO eligibility page says |
|---|---|---|
| New home, never lived in | Yes | Can be a house, unit, duplex or townhouse, including off-the-plan |
| Substantially renovated | Sometimes | Only where the seller completed the renovation in limited circumstances, cosmetic work does not count |
| Contract to build | Yes | Requires a comprehensive home building contract, value tested as contract price plus land |
| Owner-builder | Yes | Grant amount depends on when the foundations were laid |
| Established home | No | The QRO states there are no home owner grants for established homes |
Why The Rule Bites Here
Statewide guides make the grant sound like a cheque waiting for any first home buyer. Around Sarina the binding constraint is different, and it changes where you should even be looking:
Established Homes Set The Tone
Nine in ten dwellings in Sarina are separate houses, and overwhelmingly established ones, which is most of what is for sale on any given weekend. The grant walks straight past that stock. Buyers who want the money are hunting for something most local streets do not contain.
New Supply Runs Thin
Approval figures tell the story plainly: 159 dwellings approved across the suburb in five years against 1,948 existing dwellings, with just 31 approvals in 2021-22. That is a slow trickle into a fixed stock. Eligible new homes do exist around Sarina, but they are scattered and they move quickly.
The Cap Rarely Bites
Nothing in the local numbers suggests price is the binding constraint here. Few local builds approach the cap, so the real question is not whether a Sarina build fits under it but whether the transaction has been structured as a genuine new-home purchase or contract-to-build deal.
Where That Leaves Your Search
You are choosing between two paths: an established house, which gets no grant but can still claim duty relief, or a new build or house-and-land package, which gets the grant if the paperwork holds. Our first home buyer loans page covers the deposit side of both, because with a median household income of $1,605 a week and a median mortgage repayment of $1,733 a month locally, the decision deserves proper arithmetic.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant is one of two schemes running on the same purchase, and the second one is the part most buyers have never heard of:
New home stacking
Established homes, duty only
Above the ceiling
Different occupancy clocks
Renting part of the home
One citizenship wrinkle
Vacant land runs separately
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
Payment timing is where this grant quietly differs from most government money, and choosing the right lodgement route can pull the payment forward by months:
- 1
Apply Through Your Lender
Lodging through an approved agent, which in practice means your bank or lender, is the fastest route. For a straightforward purchase the agent generally claims the grant at settlement, so the payment lands with the keys rather than months later.
- 2
Applying Direct To QRO
Lodging directly with the Queensland Revenue Office is slower, because nothing is paid until the home is complete and every supporting document has been supplied. It suits buyers who can carry the purchase without the money; most cannot.
- 3
Builds Pay After Completion
A contract to build, or an owner-builder project, is not paid until completion, on the final inspection certificate or certificate of occupancy. Since most construction loans release funds on a matching progress schedule, the two timelines are worth lining up early.
- 4
Mind The Payment Deadline
You have one year from taking possession and title registration to apply for a purchase, or one year from completion for a build. The QRO application page sets out the paperwork, and the deadline is enforced strictly.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
Every refusal on this list was avoidable at contract stage, which is exactly when fixing it costs nothing:
- The established home trap Buyers sign on an established home and assume it qualifies. It never does, at any price.
- Landing on the cap A contract value at or over $750,000 is a hard cutoff. The grant is refused in full, not reduced, and contract variations count toward the total.
- The split house-and-land deal A package written as a land contract plus a separate building contract is a contract-to-build transaction, so the value test includes the land from day one.
- Land bought years ago Land purchased earlier that has since risen in value can quietly push a build over the cap, because the unencumbered value at the contract date is what counts.
- The incomplete building contract A contract that leaves out benchtops, electrical work or other finishes is not comprehensive, and it fails the contract-to-build test entirely.
- Occupancy slips Moving in later than one year after completion, or leaving before six continuous months, forfeits the grant. Only exceptional circumstances move the Commissioner.
- History and structure problems Prior residential ownership anywhere in Australia by you or a spouse, or applying through a company or trust, ends the application.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Grant eligibility questions do not stop at the town boundary. Your Mortgage Broker Sarina works with first home buyers right across the district, including Grasstree Beach, Freshwater Point, Koumala and Sarina Range, and the same two questions apply everywhere: is the home genuinely new, and does the contract structure satisfy the value test.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the QLD First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant pays $30,000 for eligible new home contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, up from $15,000 for earlier contracts, figures the QRO eligibility page confirms alongside owner-builder rules.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The Queensland Revenue Office states plainly that there are no home owner grants for established homes, whatever the price. An established purchase can still attract the separate first home transfer duty concession if it qualifies.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. You must move in within one year of completion and live there continuously for six months, or the grant can be reclaimed. The Commissioner's discretion to extend this applies only in exceptional circumstances.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes. The grant covers new homes only, while the duty concession applies to established or new homes and removes duty entirely below $700,000. An eligible new purchase can claim both.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
Applying through an approved agent, meaning a bank or lender, is fastest, generally paid at settlement for a purchase. Applying directly to the QRO delays payment until the home is complete and all documents are supplied.
Mortgage broker for Sarina and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
Before you commit to anything, get the grant and duty position checked against the actual property. Call (07) 3523 7116 and you will deal with one named broker, Your Mortgage Broker Sarina, who will walk both schemes through against your numbers, with every fee or commission disclosed in writing first. More on how the brokerage operates sits on the About page, and if an established purchase turns out to suit you better than chasing the grant, that is exactly what you will be told.