Government home buyer support can make a smaller deposit workable, but the programs do different jobs. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is a guarantee to a participating lender. Help to Buy is a shared-equity arrangement where the government contributes to the purchase and shares in future value changes.
Use the First Home Buyer Scheme Checker to compare the key numbers before speaking with a participating lender. It is a planning tool only; the lender and Housing Australia decide eligibility.
Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
The 5% Deposit Scheme can help an eligible first home buyer buy with a minimum 5% deposit, without Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Eligible single parents or legal guardians may be able to use a minimum 2% deposit. Since 1 October 2025, the Scheme has no income caps, no waiting list and no cap on places.
The property must still be under the location-specific price cap. Both the purchase price and the lender-assessed property value matter. For land plus a separate building contract, the combined land and build cost must remain under the cap.
The main personal checks include citizenship or permanent residency, age, owner-occupier plans, property history and a principal-and-interest loan through a participating lender. A lower deposit does not remove the lender's normal credit assessment.
Read the official 5% Deposit Scheme overview and use the official postcode price-cap tool before relying on a cap.
Help to Buy is shared equity
Help to Buy can use a minimum 2% deposit. The Australian Government may contribute up to 30% of an existing home's purchase price or up to 40% for a newly built home. That reduces the bank loan needed today, but the government holds an equity share and participates proportionally in gains or losses when that share is repaid or the home is sold.
For the 2026-27 financial year, the published taxable-income thresholds are $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint applicants or a single parent applicant. The income figure is based on the required ATO Notice of Assessment, not simply a payslip figure.
You also need to meet the location-specific property price cap, citizenship, ownership, owner-occupier and participating-lender rules. Help to Buy cannot be combined with other government shared-equity, loan or guarantee support for the same purchase, although stamp-duty concessions, grants and exemptions may still be available.
Check the official Help to Buy overview, its current income thresholds and the property price caps before applying.
How to compare the two pathways
The 5% Deposit Scheme may suit a buyer who can service the whole loan but wants to avoid waiting for a 20% deposit or paying LMI. Help to Buy may suit a buyer whose deposit and lender-approved loan leave a gap to the purchase price, and who accepts the long-term shared-equity obligations.
In either case, start with a realistic purchase budget. Keep transfer duty, legal costs, inspections, lender fees and a cash buffer outside your deposit. Then test the repayment at a higher interest rate, not only the rate shown in an advertisement.
Next steps
Run your figures through the First Home Buyer Scheme Checker, then return to the First Home Buyer Hub to check your cash budget, LMI and repayments together. A participating lender can confirm whether the property, your application and the selected scheme all meet the current rules.