QLD first home buyers
QLD First Home Owner Grant
The Queensland First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment from the Queensland Government to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home in Queensland. It does not apply to established homes and each applicant must meet the state's eligibility conditions.
Your Mortgage Broker Eatons Hill is a mortgage broking business serving Eatons Hill and the surrounding Moreton Bay suburbs, and this page explains the grant rules every local first home buyer should check before signing anything. Below we cover the payment amount, eligibility, the value cap, how it combines with duty relief, and how to apply.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The figure that surprises most first-time buyers is how much the payment grew: the grant was increased from $15,000 to $30,000 for eligible contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023, and that amount remains unchanged following the Queensland State Budget of 23 June 2026. The older $15,000 figure still circulates on outdated comparison sites and forum posts, but it now applies only to contracts signed before 20 November 2023. If you are signing a contract this year, work from $30,000 and confirm the current rules on the Queensland Revenue Office eligibility page before you commit, because grant amounts, caps and eligibility dates do change with budgets and administrative updates.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility is tested on you as a person, your ownership history and the property itself. The Queensland Revenue Office publishes the full test, and these are the conditions that decide most applications:
Age and applicant type
Citizenship or residency
No prior residential ownership
A new home only
Under the value cap
Genuine occupancy
Which Properties It Covers
The eligible-property list is narrower than most buyers assume, and it is the source of a large share of knock-backs. This table summarises what qualifies and what does not:
| Property arrangement | Eligible for the grant? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Newly built house, unit, duplex or townhouse, never occupied | Yes | Must be under the $750,000 combined value cap |
| Substantially renovated home sold by the developer | Yes, in limited circumstances | Cosmetic work such as a new kitchen or re-carpeting is not a substantial renovation; most of the building must have been removed or replaced |
| Off-the-plan purchase of a new dwelling | Yes | Value is tested at the contract date |
| Contract to build (comprehensive home building contract) | Yes | Value is the building contract price plus the unencumbered land value at the contract date, and both together must be under $750,000 |
| Owner-builder construction | Yes | Paid where foundations are laid on or after 20 November 2023, at the current amount |
| Established (previously occupied) home | No | The Queensland Revenue Office states plainly that there are no home owner grants for established homes, at any price |
The full definitions, including the renovation test and the contract-to-build value rules, are set out on the eligibility page.
Why The Rule Bites Here
Established stock dominates locally
Almost every dwelling in Eatons Hill is a separate house, and very few are flats or apartments, which means the suburb's visible, desirable stock is overwhelmingly established housing that the grant does not touch. A buyer walking local streets falls in love with houses the scheme cannot fund.
New supply is genuinely thin
Only 31 dwelling approvals were recorded across the suburb in the last five years, and just 5 in 2021-22, so the pool of brand-new, never-occupied homes eligible for the grant inside Eatons Hill itself is small and turns over slowly. Most eligible stock sits outside the suburb.
The eligible stock sits nearby
Neighbouring suburbs with active development, particularly Brendale and Warner, carry more house-and-land and townhouse supply under the cap. Buyers flexible on location can target grant-eligible new builds within a short drive, rather than waiting years for local stock that may never appear.
The search strategy changes
The practical consequence is a two-track search: an established home anywhere in the price range, or a new home under $750,000 in areas with real construction pipelines. Decide which track you are on before attending inspections, because the grant and duty outcomes differ between them.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant is one of two first-home schemes in Queensland, and they work differently in ways that catch buyers out. Understanding both before you sign a contract lets you price the true total cost of each property you inspect:
They are separate schemes
Different property rules
No duty under $700,000
The relief tapers away above that
Both can stack on one purchase
Residency rules differ slightly
One further note for 2026: from 1 August 2026, duty concession applicants must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree, and trusts and companies generally cannot claim. The details live on the duty concession page.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
- 1
Choose your lodgement route
You can apply through an approved agent, usually your bank or lender, or lodge directly with the Queensland Revenue Office. The agent route is generally the fastest, because payment can be made at the stage the agent lodges for, which for a straightforward purchase generally means settlement.
- 2
Time the payment to the purchase stage
When buying an already-complete new home through an agent, the grant is generally paid at settlement, which can help with costs on the day. Applying directly to the Office means waiting until the home is complete and every supporting document has been supplied, so build that delay into your cash-flow planning.
- 3
Building? Payment follows completion
For a contract to build or an owner-builder project, the grant is not paid until construction finishes, evidenced by the final inspection certificate or certificate of occupancy. During a build that runs many months, the grant does nothing for your progress payments, so do not structure your deposit around receiving it early.
- 4
Mind the deadline
Applications must be lodged within one year of taking possession and title registration for a purchase, or within one year of completion for a build. It is a hard deadline, and missing it forfeits the payment entirely, so diarise it the day you sign. The application page sets out the documents required.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
The Queensland Revenue Office publishes the refusal patterns, and nearly all of them are avoidable with a contract checked before signing. These are the traps that catch first home buyers most often:
- Buying established by mistake The single most common refusal: a previously occupied home never qualifies, no matter its price or condition, and no amount of post-contract argument changes that.
- Landing exactly on the cap A combined value of $750,000 or more is refused outright. The grant is not reduced at higher prices; it disappears, so a $755,000 purchase receives nothing.
- House-and-land structuring A package arranged as a land contract plus a separate building contract is treated as a contract-to-build transaction, and the value test then includes the land value at the contract date, which can push the total over the cap.
- Rising land values Land bought years earlier that has appreciated can push a later build over the cap even though the build contract itself looks affordable, a trap for staged plans.
- Incomplete building contracts A non-comprehensive contract that excludes items such as benchtops or electrical work fails the contract-to-build test, so check what the contract actually includes.
- Occupancy breaches Moving in later than one year after completion, or leaving before six continuous months of residence, triggers repayment, with discretion reserved for genuinely exceptional circumstances.
- Hidden prior ownership A spouse who owned an investment unit years ago disqualifies a joint application, so check both applicants' property histories across every Australian state before you sign anything.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Your Mortgage Broker Eatons Hill works with first home buyers across Eatons Hill and the wider Moreton Bay region, and the grant-eligible new-build stock for this area is spread across several neighbouring suburbs. We regularly help buyers in Warner, Brendale, Albany Creek, Bunya, Draper and Clear Mountain, along with our home suburb of Eatons Hill, and each suburb page sets out the local lending picture in detail.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the QLD First Home Owner Grant worth?
Eligible contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023 receive $30,000. Contracts signed before that date receive $15,000, which is why older articles quote the smaller figure.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The Queensland Revenue Office states there are no home owner grants for established homes. The grant covers new homes, substantially renovated homes, off-the-plan purchases and contract-to-build transactions.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
The home and land together must be valued at less than $750,000, including any contract variations. At $750,000 or above the grant is refused entirely, not reduced.
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. The Commissioner can grant an exception only in exceptional circumstances.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes. The grant applies to new homes only, while the first home transfer duty concession covers established homes too and applies to homes valued at $700,000 or under.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
Applying through an approved agent such as your lender is generally the fastest route, often paid at settlement. Applying directly to the Queensland Revenue Office means payment waits until the home is complete.
Mortgage broker for Eatons Hill and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build against established stock, or working out whether a grant-eligible purchase fits your deposit, talk it through before you sign anything. Call (07) 3523 7109 to speak with a named broker, see our fee and commission disclosures in writing, and review our published process with honest timelines. We arrange lending through a panel of lenders and will verify your situation before recommending anything, as the NCCP Act requires.