The Hon Kristy McBain MP
Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories
Member for Eden-Monaro

The Albanese Labor Government will help more people in Eden-Monaro into home ownership sooner through a significant expansion of criteria for the Home Guarantee Scheme.

The Home Guarantee Scheme allows eligible Australians to purchase a home with as little as two percent deposit and avoid paying Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance – potentially saving thousands of dollars on a new home.

Eligibility criteria for all elements of the scheme – including the First Home Guarantee, the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, and the Family Home Guarantee – will be expanded as the Government continues to address Australia’s housing challenges.

From 1 July this year, friends, siblings, and other family members will be eligible for joint applications under the First Home Guarantee and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. These guarantees had previously been restricted to people that were married or in a de-facto relationship, in addition to single applicants.

Eligibility will also change for the Family Home Guarantee, expanding it from single natural or adoptive parents to eligible borrowers who are single legal guardians of children such as aunts, uncles and grandparents. 

The guarantees will also be expanded to non-first home buyers who haven’t owned a property in Australia in the last ten years. This will support those who have fallen out of homeownership, often due to financial crisis or relationship breakdown. 

All three guarantees will also become available to eligible borrowers who are Australian Permanent Residents, in addition to Australian citizens. 

In total, 35,000 places are available per year across the First Home Guarantee, 10,000 places per year to 30 June 2025 under the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, and 5,000 places per year to 30 June 2025 under the Family Home Guarantee. 

The Home Guarantee Scheme is administered by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, to be renamed Housing Australia, in partnership with a number of participating bank and non-bank lenders.

More information on the scheme can be found on NHFIC’s website: https://www.nhfic.gov.au/support-buy-home.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, and Member for Eden-Monaro, the Hon Kristy McBain MP:

“We know that households are changing, which is why we are making a number of sensible changes to the eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme – because having a safe and secure roof over your head is the number one issue for people in Eden-Monaro.

“We have already supported around 340 single and joint applicants in Eden-Monaro into home ownership through the Home Guarantee Scheme – and this expanded eligibility will help more people secure their own place to call home.

“This builds on last year’s increase in the number of places available and the establishment of the Albanese Labor Government’s new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee – which has supported more than 4,700 people across our regions.”