VIC first home buyers
VIC First Home Owner Grant
The Victorian First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment of $10,000 from the Victorian Government for eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home in Victoria. It does not apply to established homes.
This page sets out the current rules for Campbellfield buyers: who qualifies, which properties count, how the grant stacks with duty relief, and where eligible stock actually sits around this suburb. Your Mortgage Broker Campbellfield(https://business.google.com/) keeps this page current against the State Revenue Office.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The grant pays a flat $10,000, one payment per eligible transaction, and the same amount applies statewide. That surprises buyers who remember the old regional scheme paying more outside Melbourne: that separate regional first home owner grant is a closed scheme that does not apply to current contracts, so there is no higher regional figure to chase, and anyone quoting one is out of date. What matters more than the amount is the combination. A new home valued up to $600,000 can attract the grant and a full duty exemption, which together is worth considerably more than the grant alone. Between $600,001 and $750,000 the grant still applies but duty is reduced on a sliding scale rather than waived. The figures on this page come from the State Revenue Office and were checked in September 2026.
Who Qualifies
The eligibility test is strict, and it is applied to every applicant and their partner, not just the person named first on the contract. You need all of the following:
Age and entity
Citizenship status
First ownership test
An eligible property
The value cap
The residency commitment
If you are unsure whether a past property interest counts against you, the SRO eligibility page sets out the full test, and it is worth reading before you sign anything.
Which Properties It Covers
The property type rules trip up more buyers than the income or citizenship tests, because "new" has a specific legal meaning here that is narrower than everyday usage. This table sorts the common cases:
| Property situation | Grant eligible? | Duty relief available? |
|---|---|---|
| New home, never sold or occupied | Yes | Yes, new or established |
| Substantially renovated home | Yes | Yes |
| Home built on a demolished site | Yes | Yes |
| Off-the-plan purchase of a new home | Yes, cap on contract price | Yes |
| Established home, previously occupied | No | Yes, if under $750,000 |
| Home previously leased or used for short-stay accommodation | No | Yes, if under $750,000 |
| Company or trust purchase | No | Depends on the buyer |
The established-home row is the one to remember: no grant at any price, but the duty exemption or concession still applies below $750,000.
Why The Rule Bites Here
The Established Stock Problem
Campbellfield is overwhelmingly an established suburb: 85.1 per cent of dwellings are separate houses and only 2.8 per cent are flats or apartments, which means the overwhelming majority of what is listed for sale here has been lived in before. An established home attracts no grant at any price, so a buyer shopping the existing stock on the usual channels is shopping for duty relief alone and leaving the $10,000 on the table entirely.
Where The Eligible Homes Actually Sit
The pipeline of eligible new stock is thin but real: 231 dwellings were approved across the suburb over the last five years, placing Campbellfield around the middle of the state for building activity. Those approvals, along with new townhouse projects on the corridor through Somerton and Epping, are where grant-eligible contracts come from, and they are rarely the listings that dominate the portals on a Saturday morning.
The Cap Versus The Market
The $750,000 value cap is generous for some Melbourne suburbs and tight for others, and Campbellfield sits in a workable middle. With a median household income around $1,110 a week and median mortgage repayments near $1,600 a month, local buyers are budget-conscious, and most new townhouse product in the area prices within the cap, though buyers should verify each contract rather than assume.
What This Means For Your Search
Practically, a grant-motivated buyer here searches differently: off-the-plan townhouse releases, house-and-land packages on infill sites, and new builds in neighbouring estates, rather than the established three-bedroom stock the suburb is known for. That changes the finance conversation too, because construction and off-the-plan timelines suit construction loans rather than a standard purchase approval.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant and the first home buyer duty exemption are two separate schemes with separate thresholds, run by the same office, and buyers regularly confuse the caps. The stacking rules are simple once separated:
New home up to $600,000
New home from $600,001 to $750,000
Established home under $600,000
Established home $600,001 to $750,000
Vacant land to build
Once-only rule
The detail lives on the SRO duty page, and it is worth reading both schemes side by side before choosing between a new build and an established home.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
- 1
Choose Your Lodgement Route
Applications go through an approved agent, which in practice means your lender, or directly to the State Revenue Office. Most buyers lodge through the lender, because the grant paperwork travels with the home loan application and the lender verifies eligibility as part of credit assessment.
- 2
Watch The Deadline
You have 12 months from settlement, or from completion of construction for a built home, to lodge the application. Miss that window and the grant is lost, no matter how eligible the purchase was, so the date belongs in your calendar the day contracts sign.
- 3
Understand Payment Timing
The SRO does not publish fixed payment timeframes, so be wary of anyone promising dates. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, which for a straightforward purchase generally means around settlement, and for a construction loan generally means once the build finishes.
- 4
Keep Your Records
Hold onto the contract, evidence of occupancy and any correspondence about eligibility. The residency commitment is a continuing obligation for 12 months, and if the SRO later reviews the claim, contemporaneous records are what resolve it quickly in your favour.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
These are the failure modes the SRO sees, and every one of them is avoidable with a contract check before signing:
- Assuming established homes qualify The single most common error: the buyer pays a deposit on a previously occupied house believing the grant applies, and it never did.
- A "new" home that has been lived in A property leased out or used as short-term accommodation before purchase fails the never-occupied test, even if it was never sold.
- Crossing the cap A contract price above $750,000 disqualifies the whole transaction, and off-the-plan buyers need to check the contract price specifically.
- Breaking the residency rule Renting the home out immediately, or moving in more than 12 months after settlement or completion, breaches the occupancy commitment.
- A partner's history A previous grant, or a previously owned and occupied home, counts against an applicant even when it was the partner's, not theirs.
- Wrong entity Applying through a company or trust fails the natural-persons requirement outright.
- Missing the deadline Applications lodged more than 12 months after settlement or completion are rejected regardless of merit.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the VIC First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant pays $10,000 as a one-off payment for an eligible new home anywhere in Victoria. There is no separate regional amount on current contracts, because the regional scheme is closed.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. The grant only applies to new homes that have never been sold or occupied, substantially renovated homes, or homes built to replace a demolished one. Established homes never qualify.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
The property must be valued at up to $750,000. For an off-the-plan purchase, the cap applies to the contract price rather than the completed value.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. At least one applicant must move in within 12 months of settlement or completion and live there as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes with separate thresholds. The duty exemption applies to homes up to $600,000, with a concession up to $750,000, and it also covers established homes.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
The SRO does not publish fixed payment dates. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, so most buyers receive it around settlement or the end of construction.
Mortgage broker for Campbellfield and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build against established stock and want the grant and duty maths worked through properly, Your Mortgage Broker Campbellfield can help, and our About page explains how we operate. You can also read our first home buyer loans page or our guarantor and low deposit options. Call (03) 9122 8522 to talk it through, with no obligation and no cost for the initial conversation.