The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) was introduced to help eligible people buy their first home, with eligibility criteria including:
- You are a person, not a company or trust.
- You are at least 18 years of age.
- You are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
- You or your spouse/partner have not received an earlier grant.
- You or your spouse/partner do not have a prior relevant interest in residential property.
- You meet the residence requirement.
Helping you get it right
To help you get it right, we provide a range of information and tools, including:
- information on the First Home Owner Grant
- a decision tool providing guidance on whether you are eligible
- regular education sessions and a range of videos that step you through buying your first home.
Our compliance activities
The FHOG is intended to help you buy your first home and not an investment property. We gather information via the public, data-matching and other sources to ensure people receiving the grant comply with the conditions of the grant, including the residence requirement.
We also have a voluntary disclosure program for people who have not complied with the residency requirement.
Where we detect instances of dishonesty, we may prosecute. We have successfully prosecuted a number of people for making false declarations in their grant application or for not advising us that they have failed to meet the residency requirement.
Common errors to avoid
- Failing to live in the home and make it your principal place of residence.
- Failing to disclose that the home is an investment property to be leased.
- Failing to tell us when your circumstances have changed and you cannot meet the residence requirement timeframes.
- Renovating the home while using another property to, for example, cook, shower and sleep.
- Living in the home for a period less than 12 months.
- Misunderstanding the residency requirements by, for example, believing that as long as the home is left vacant for 12 months and not leased, the residency requirement is met.
- Failing to disclose a domestic partner or spouse.
- Failing to disclose that you, or your domestic partner or spouse, have received a grant before or have had a prior relevant interest in residential property.
- Failing to disclose previous names, including previous married names.
- Misunderstanding that from 1 July 2013, the FHOG can only be paid for a new home (that is one that has not been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence or for the provision of short term accommodation, and includes a substantially renovated home and a home built to replace demolished premises).
