Every state except the NT offers first home buyers some help with duty, but the caps, property types and residence rules differ a lot. Being a first home buyer on its own doesn't guarantee a concession.
New versus established: SA and, for new homes and vacant land, QLD give full relief with no value cap, while SA gives none on established homes.
Value caps: NSW exempts homes to $800,000, VIC to $600,000 and WA to $600,000, each with a sliding concession above.
Residence rules: you'll generally need to move in within 12 months and live there for 6 to 12 months.
Grants are separate: First Home Owner Grants are paid on top of, not instead of, duty relief.
First home buyer relief by state
A summary from each state's official guidance. Eligibility conditions apply in every state, so read the full rules before you rely on a concession.
NSW
New South Wales
Under the First Home Buyers Assistance scheme, eligible first home buyers pay no transfer duty on a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, or on vacant land valued at $350,000 or less. Above those amounts the concession shrinks until it runs out at $1,000,000 for homes and $450,000 for vacant land.
You and your spouse or partner must never have owned residential property in Australia or received the concession before. At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and over 18. For contracts from 1 July 2023 you must move in within 12 months of settlement and live there for at least 12 continuous months.
Eligible first home buyers pay no duty on a home, or vacant land to build a first home on, with a dutiable value of $600,000 or less. Between $600,001 and $750,000 duty is reduced on a sliding scale, and above $750,000 there is no first home concession.
At least one buyer must be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and must live in the home as their principal place of residence for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement. You can't qualify if you or your partner owned a home before 1 July 2000, or owned and lived in one for 6 months since then.
For contracts from 1 May 2025, eligible first home buyers of a new home (including off-the-plan) or vacant land to build on pay no transfer duty, whatever the value. You must move in within 1 year of settlement, and for contracts from 1 August 2026 you also need to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree.
First home buyers of established homes get the home concession rate plus a first home concession of up to $17,350, which steps down in $10,000 bands and ends at $800,000. You must never have held an interest in a residence anywhere in the world.
For contracts from 7 May 2026, first home owners pay no duty on a home up to $600,000, then $16.15 per $100 above $600,000 up to $800,000. Vacant land is duty free up to $450,000, then $20.14 per $100 above $450,000 up to $550,000. Above those caps the general rate applies.
Between 21 March 2025 and 6 May 2026 the home cap was $700,000 in the Perth Metropolitan and Peel regions and $750,000 elsewhere, with nil duty to $500,000. Eligibility follows the First Home Owner Grant rules.
For contracts from 6 June 2024, eligible first home buyers pay no stamp duty on a new home, an off-the-plan apartment or vacant land to build a home on, whatever the value. Established homes, including knock-down-rebuilds, don't qualify.
For contracts from 13 February 2025 the relief doesn't cover the foreign ownership surcharge. Contracts between 15 June 2023 and 5 June 2024 had value caps of $650,000 to $700,000 for new homes and $400,000 to $450,000 for vacant land.
First home buyers of established homes worth $750,000 or less paid no duty if their transfer settled between 18 February 2024 and 30 June 2026. The SRO says the exemption isn't available for transactions settling after that, so a first home buyer now pays the normal rates unless another concession applies.
The First Home Owner Grant for new homes is separate from duty, so it isn't part of this estimate.
The ACT doesn't have a separate first home buyer duty scheme. Instead, the income-tested Home Buyer Concession Scheme can reduce duty to nil for eligible buyers of a home or residential land, whether or not it's their first home. Eligibility depends on household income and recent property ownership, so check it with the ACT Revenue Office's eligibility checker.
The Northern Territory has no general first home buyer stamp duty concession in our calculator. The NT Government offers home buyer grants and a house and land package exemption, each with its own conditions and dates. Check them with the Territory Revenue Office before you rely on any estimate.