First Home Owner Grant Queensland: The Complete 2026 Guide

🏠 What is the QLD First Home Owner Grant?🔗

The First Home Owner Grant is a cash payment from the Queensland Government to help eligible first home buyers purchase or build a new home. It was introduced nationally back in 2000 to offset the impact of GST on new housing, and in Queensland it's administered by the Queensland Revenue Office (QRO). It's a one-off payment, not a loan, and you don't repay it provided you meet the residency requirements after settlement.

It's worth being clear on one thing early: the FHOG is completely separate from Queensland's transfer duty (stamp duty) concessions. They're two distinct benefits with their own eligibility rules, and meeting one doesn't automatically mean you meet the other.

💰 How much is the QLD FHOG worth in 2026?🔗

$30,000, for eligible contracts signed on or after 20 November 2023. Before that date, the grant was $15,000, temporarily doubled in November 2023 and originally scheduled to revert. For owner-builders, the same date rules apply based on when foundations are laid, not when a contract is signed, since there's no building contract to sign a date on.

The $30,000 is not taxable income. You don't declare it on your tax return, and it doesn't affect your Medicare levy or any income-tested government payments.

✅ Who is eligible for the QLD First Home Owner Grant?🔗

Eligibility comes down to three layers: the property, the applicant, and what you do with the home after you move in.

Property requirements: the home and land combined must be valued at less than $750,000, including any contract variations, a home worth exactly $750,000 isn't eligible. It must be a new home, never previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, and it must become your principal place of residence, not an investment property.

🎯 The essential: At least one applicant must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, be 18 or over, and never have received a first home owner grant in any Australian state or territory. There's no income test, so what you earn has no bearing on eligibility either way.

Applicant requirements, in full: at least 18 years old, with the Commissioner able to waive this in exceptional circumstances. At least one applicant needs to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, so joint applicants where only one holds citizenship or residency can still qualify. You must not have previously received a first home owner grant anywhere in Australia, though if you received one and later repaid it in full, including any penalty, you may be able to reapply.

Then there's the previous ownership test, and it's the one that catches most people out: you or your spouse must not have owned residential property in Australia on or after 1 July 2000 that you lived in, or any residential property before 1 July 2000 at all, regardless of whether you lived in it. There's an important exception, though. Owning a residential property since 1 July 2000 that was used solely as an investment and never lived in doesn't automatically disqualify you, but you'll need evidence covering the entire ownership period, lease agreements, utility accounts in a tenant's name, and tax returns declaring the rental income.

Residency requirements: you must move into the home as your principal place of residence within 1 year of settlement or completion, and live there continuously for at least 6 months. You can rent out spare rooms during that period without it affecting your primary use of the home. You can also rent the whole home out before you move in and still keep the grant, though this may affect your eligibility for the transfer duty concession, the residency rules differ slightly between the two benefits. The Commissioner has discretion to make exceptions for genuine hardship.

🏗️ What types of homes qualify?🔗

"New home" covers more ground than most people expect. It includes a brand new dwelling never previously occupied or sold as a residence (houses, units, duplexes and townhouses all count), an off-the-plan purchase on an unregistered plan, a comprehensive contract to build where one builder is responsible from foundations through to the final inspection certificate, and owner-building it yourself or coordinating multiple contractors, which still requires a final inspection certificate.

It also covers a substantial renovation, where all or most structural components have been removed or replaced before purchase and the seller is GST-registered and selling it as a taxable supply (cosmetic work like paint and carpet doesn't count), a relocated, kit or modular home not occupied since being fixed to its new site, and a manufactured home in a home park.

The house-and-land package trap is worth flagging on its own. A separate land contract plus a separate building contract is treated as a "contract to build," and the $750,000 cap applies to the combined value of the land at current market value plus the build cost. Rising land values can push you over the cap even if the build cost alone looks modest, so it's worth checking the combined figure before you assume you're under the line.

📝 How to apply for the QLD First Home Owner Grant🔗

Most buyers apply through an approved agent, usually a lender or a conveyancer or solicitor acting in that role. The agent lodges the application, and the grant is typically paid at settlement or at the first construction draw-down for a building contract. If you're not using an approved agent, you can apply directly through the QRO.

Timing matters. For a completed new home, apply at or before settlement. For an off-the-plan purchase, apply after signing the contract. For a contract to build or an owner-builder project, apply after foundations are laid. Applying too early or too late can delay payment, so it's worth talking to your lender or conveyancer about the right timing for your situation.

🧩 Other first home buyer benefits you can stack🔗

The FHOG is only one piece of the puzzle. Most eligible QLD buyers can combine it with a transfer duty concession, and with one (not both) of the two main federal deposit schemes.

Queensland transfer duty concession: a separate state charge, and you may pay little or nothing as a first home buyer. For a new home, first home buyers get a full transfer duty exemption with no property value cap for eligible contracts. Established homes are on a sliding scale, a full exemption applies up to $700,000, a partial concession applies between $700,001 and $799,999, and there's no concession above $800,000. This can be combined with the FHOG, they're separate benefits with separate eligibility rules, but check both sets of residency obligations since they differ slightly.

First Home Guarantee (federal): lets eligible buyers purchase with as little as a 5% deposit without paying LMI, with the government guaranteeing the remaining shortfall. There's no income cap and no limit on places. In Queensland, the property price cap is $1,000,000 in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 for the rest of the state. It can be combined with the FHOG, being approved for a federal home guarantee scheme doesn't affect your FHOG eligibility.

Help to Buy (federal): a shared equity scheme where the government contributes up to 40% of the purchase price for a new home, or up to 30% for an existing home, for a minimum 2% deposit. There are 10,000 places nationally per year, and income caps for FY2026-27 of $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents. It can also be combined with the FHOG, Help to Buy explicitly allows state grants and stamp duty concessions alongside it. What you can't do is combine Help to Buy with the First Home Guarantee, the two federal schemes are mutually exclusive, you have to choose one or the other. For the full breakdown of how Help to Buy works, see our complete Help to Buy scheme guide.

⚠️ Common mistakes and misconceptions🔗

Thinking the grant applies to established homes. It doesn't, full stop. There's no FHOG for buying an existing, previously lived-in or previously sold property.

Confusing the FHOG with the transfer duty concession. They're separate schemes, and meeting the rules for one doesn't mean you've met the rules for the other.

Assuming there's an income test. There isn't one, your salary doesn't factor into FHOG eligibility at all.

Thinking owning an investment property automatically disqualifies you. It doesn't, provided you've never lived in it, but you'll need documentation to prove that.

Getting the application timing wrong. For a construction loan, the grant is paid at the first draw-down, not at land settlement. Applying before foundations are laid can cause delays.

Forgetting the $750,000 cap includes land value. This is the one that catches out house-and-land package buyers, where land plus build together can exceed the cap even if neither figure alone looks like a problem.

Thinking the grant is taxable. It isn't, it's a government grant, not assessable income.

❓ Frequently asked questions🔗