The $10,000 grant: new homes up to $750,000
Victoria's First Home Owner Grant is $10,000 for buying or building a home that has never been sold or lived in as a residence — a new build, an off-the-plan apartment, or in some cases a substantially renovated property. The cap is a property value of $750,000 or less, noticeably more generous than NSW's $600,000 for a completed new home. One grant per transaction, however many names are on the contract.
The stamp duty schemes are worth more
Separately from the grant, Victorian first home buyers pay no stamp duty at all up to $600,000 (new or established) and a sliding-scale concession from $600,000 to $750,000. Duty on a $600,000 Melbourne home would otherwise be about $31,070 — three times the grant. The schemes stack, so a new build at exactly $600,000 collects $10,000 plus a $31,070 duty saving. Above $750,000 you fall back to the ordinary owner-occupier rate; see our VIC stamp duty calculator for the full scales.
Eligibility in brief
Each applicant must be 18 or over and an individual, at least one must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and neither you nor your spouse can have owned Australian residential property before (for the duty exemption, the test is not having occupied a property you owned). At least one buyer must live in the home for 12 continuous months, starting within 12 months of settlement or completion. Most people apply through their lender so the grant is available at settlement.
Worked example
A first home buyer signs on a $700,000 new townhouse in Melbourne's north. The grant pays $10,000. Standard investor-rate duty would be $37,070; the sliding-scale concession cuts it to roughly $24,700, saving about $12,300. Package: roughly $22,300. Drop the price to $600,000 and the package jumps to about $41,000 — the duty exemption becomes total.