First home buyer grants and duty concessions in Queensland

Queensland's first-home schemes changed twice in the past eighteen months, and the federal scheme changed again on 1 October 2025. Every figure below is dated, sourced, and tied to the date you sign your contract — because for duty concessions in particular, an earlier contract date can mean an entirely different threshold applies to you. Rules change; check the linked official page before you rely on any of this for a specific purchase.

Established homes, new homes and vacant land are three different concessions

Queensland does not run one first-home duty concession — it runs three, and which one applies depends on what you're buying.

Established (existing) homes — the First Home Concession

For contracts entered into on or after 9 June 2024, the concession works on a sliding scale:

• Up to $709,999.99: the maximum concession ($17,350 off the home concession rate) applies. That means no duty up to $700,000, and a small amount above it — for example, $450 at $709,999.
• $710,000 to $799,999.99: a partial concession applies on a sliding scale — the higher the value, the smaller the concession.
• $800,000 or more: no first-home concession applies; duty is calculated at the standard transfer duty rate.

These thresholds replaced a lower scale (full concession up to $504,999.99, phasing out at $550,000) that applied to contracts signed before 9 June 2024. If you've seen the older $500,000/$550,000 figures anywhere — including in an earlier version of this article — that's why: they were correct for contracts before June 2024 and are no longer current.

As at 21 September 2026; the duty example in the first bullet was corrected on 30 September 2026 and checked against the QRO transfer duty estimator. Source: QRO — First home concession.

New homes (new builds and substantially renovated homes)

For contracts entered into on or after 1 May 2025, buying a new or substantially renovated home as your first home carries a full duty concession — nil duty — with no cap on the purchase price. This replaced a tiered concession that phased out at a set value threshold.

As at 21 September 2026. Source: QRO — First home (new home) concession.

Vacant land, if you're building your first home

For contracts entered into on or after 1 May 2025, buying vacant land to build your first home on also carries a full duty concession — nil duty — with no cap on the land value. The full concession applies to the residential land itself; any additional non-residential land in the same transaction is duty at standard rates.

As at 21 September 2026. Source: QRO — First home vacant land concession.

The 1 August 2026 citizenship rule applies to every home concession — not just first-home buyers

From the 2026 State Budget, for contracts entered into on or after 1 August 2026, every Queensland home-related duty concession — the First Home Concession, the new-home and vacant-land concessions above, and the standard Home Concession used by owner-occupiers who aren't first-home buyers — requires the acquirer to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a specified foreign retiree. For a trust or corporate trustee, every beneficiary must meet this requirement. Contracts signed before 1 August 2026 are not subject to this citizenship test.

This is a broader change than a first-home-buyer rule: a returning owner-occupier claiming the standard Home Concession on their next home is caught by it too. If citizenship or residency status is relevant to your purchase, confirm your position against the official notice before you sign.

As at 21 September 2026. Source: QRO — State Budget 2026 announcement.

Queensland First Home Owner Grant (FHOG)

The FHOG is a cash grant, separate from the duty concessions above.

• Amount: $30,000, for eligible contracts signed on or after 1 July 2026 (confirmed continuing in the 2026 State Budget). No expiry date has been announced as at 21 September 2026.
• Property type: the home must be newly built, or count as new under QRO's rules — not an established home.
• Use: the home must be your principal place of residence; it cannot be an investment property.
• Citizenship: you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• One grant only: you cannot have previously received a First Home Owner Grant in any Australian state or territory.
• Value cap: QRO applies a maximum home value for grant eligibility. I could not verify the exact current figure with confidence, so I'm not publishing a number here — check the current cap directly on the QRO First Home Grant page before you rely on it.
• How it's applied: the grant is generally arranged through your lender or an approved agent as part of your loan and settlement process, or lodged directly with the Queensland Revenue Office. Confirm the process for your specific lender and purchase before settlement.

As at 21 September 2026. Sources: QRO — First Home Grant eligibility, QRO — State Budget 2026 announcement.

The federal 5% Deposit Scheme

This is the current name for what used to be several separate schemes, and the rules changed substantially on 1 October 2025. If you've read anything describing income caps, a limited number of places, or the old scheme names below as still separate and current, that information is out of date.

What changed from 1 October 2025:

• No income caps. All income levels are eligible — there is no singles/couples income test.
• No place limits. Housing Australia describes the expanded scheme as having unlimited places and no waiting list.
• The First Home Guarantee (in its original, limited form), the Family Home Guarantee and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee were all superseded. They stopped accepting new applications from 1 October 2025 and were merged into this single, expanded scheme.

Current terms, as at 21 September 2026:

• Deposit: as little as 5% (2% for an eligible single parent or legal guardian), with no Lenders Mortgage Insurance — the Australian Government guarantees the gap instead of an LMI insurer.
• Owner-occupier only: the property cannot be an investment.
• First-home test: you must not have owned a home or land anywhere in Australia in the last 10 years.
• Citizenship: Australian citizen or permanent resident, aged 18 or over.
• Loan term: up to 30 years for principal-and-interest repayment (up to 3 additional years if you're building a new home on vacant land).
• Joint applications: first home buyers can apply with a partner or joint owner; a single parent or legal guardian applying under that category cannot apply jointly with another person.

Queensland price caps (in effect from 1 October 2025):

• Brisbane and other capital city/regional centre areas: $1,000,000
• Other Queensland areas: $700,000

These are property price caps for the federal scheme specifically — they are separate from the duty concession thresholds above and from any FHOG value cap.

As at 21 September 2026. Sources: Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme Fact Sheet, 1 October 2025, Housing Australia — unlimited places and higher price caps.

First Home Super Saver Scheme

Separate again from all of the above: the First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you make voluntary contributions to super and later withdraw them toward a first-home deposit.

• Annual contribution limit counted toward release: $15,000 per financial year.
• Lifetime limit: $50,000 total.
• Release caps: 100% of eligible non-concessional contributions and 85% of eligible concessional contributions count toward the maximum release (concessional contributions are taxed at 15% inside super).
• Timing: you must request your FHSS determination before ownership of the property transfers to you — once your interest in the property is registered, you can't make a further request.

This is a superannuation mechanism, not a grant or duty concession, and how it interacts with your tax position depends on your circumstances — talk to your accountant about the tax treatment before you rely on it.

As at 21 September 2026. Source: ATO — First Home Super Saver Scheme.

Getting the sequence right

These schemes stack — a new-home purchase could combine the nil-duty new-home concession, the $30,000 FHOG and the federal 5% Deposit Scheme in the one transaction — but each has its own eligibility test, its own transaction-date rule, and its own application process. Working out which combination actually applies to your purchase, and in what order to arrange them, is worth doing with a broker before you sign a contract rather than after.