WA first home buyers
WA First Home Owner Grant
The WA First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment of up to $10,000 from the Western Australian Government for first home buyers who buy or build a new home, or buy a substantially renovated home, within the state's value caps.
This page explains who qualifies, which properties the grant covers, how it interacts with transfer duty relief, and where eligible stock around Iluka actually sits, with figures linked to RevenueWA. Your Mortgage Broker Iluka(https://g.page/) arranges finance across a panel of lenders.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The surprise for many buyers is not the grant amount but how little of the first home buyer package it actually represents. The grant itself is a flat up to $10,000, unchanged for years, while the transfer duty concessions attached to the first home owner rate of duty were substantially expanded in the 2026-27 Housing Taxation Package. For a Perth buyer, paying no duty on a home with a dutiable value up to $600,000 is usually worth considerably more cash at settlement than the grant payment itself. That changes the practical strategy: chasing the grant narrows you to new or substantially renovated stock, whereas the duty concession reaches established homes as well. Both matter, but they reward different searches.
Who Qualifies
The eligibility test is set by RevenueWA and applied per transaction rather than per buyer. The core criteria are these:
Age and applicants
Citizenship or residency
First-timer test
No means test
Residence requirement
Deadline
Which Properties It Covers
The grant and the duty concession cover different property types, which trips up more buyers than any other single rule. Here is the split:
| Property type | FHOG | First home owner rate of duty |
|---|---|---|
| New home (buy or build) | Eligible, up to the value cap | Eligible |
| Substantially renovated home | Eligible, up to the value cap | Eligible |
| Established (previous owner) home | Not eligible | Eligible, up to $800,000 |
| Vacant land to build on | Not eligible on its own | Eligible, up to $550,000 |
Sources: About the FHOG and the duty fact sheet.
Why The Rule Bites Here
The grant's property rule collides with the local housing stock in a very specific way around Iluka, and understanding that collision should shape your search before you fall in love with a property you cannot claim on.
An Established Suburb, Almost Entirely
Iluka is overwhelmingly detached housing, with 97.7 per cent of dwellings being separate houses and only 1.3 per cent flats or apartments. Almost the entire stock was built and occupied by previous owners, which means established homes, and established homes attract no grant at any price point, only the duty concession.
New Stock Exists, But It Is Thin
Around 333 dwelling approvals across the last five years point to infill rebuilds and replacements on established blocks rather than broad new estates. That is genuine eligible stock, but it appears in small numbers, so buyers hunting the grant locally face a thin, fast-moving market of new builds and substantial renovations.
The Gap Between Eligible And Desirable
Iluka draws households with a median weekly income near the top of the state, and 85.7 per cent of homes have four or more bedrooms. The grant-eligible new stock that does appear is often smaller in form, so the family-sized, grant-eligible home in this exact postcode is genuinely rare rather than merely expensive.
What This Means For Your Search
Practically, most Iluka buyers claiming the grant look one suburb over or further north, where newer estates produce eligible stock at volume. If you want to stay local, a substantially renovated home or a knock-down rebuild on an Iluka block becomes the realistic grant pathway, and vacant land duty relief can help fund that route.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The two schemes are separate, and since 7 May 2026 they are no longer linked at the cap, which quietly widened who benefits. The key interactions:
Under $600,000, new home
$600,001 to $800,000, new home
Established home up to $800,000
Vacant land
The cap link is gone
One caution: older pages across the internet still quote the previous figures, including a $750,000 grant cap and a $500,000 no-duty threshold. Both changed for transactions on or after 7 May 2026, so check the date on anything you read.
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
The application mechanics are straightforward, and in most cases your lender handles the lodgement as part of settlement, which is the route most buyers take.
- 1
Where You Lodge
Applications go to RevenueWA online, or through an approved agent, which in practice is usually your lender processing it alongside your home loan. Lodging through the lender is common because the grant and the settlement paperwork travel together.
- 2
The Deadline That Applies
You have 12 months from the completion date of the eligible transaction to lodge. Miss it and the entitlement is lost, so if your lender is not handling lodgement, diarise the completion date the day settlement occurs.
- 3
When The Money Actually Lands
RevenueWA does not publish fixed payment timeframes by purchase type, so beware anyone quoting one. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, and the practical effect is that most buyers see it applied against their settlement rather than as cash in hand afterwards.
- 4
Co-Buyers And One Grant
Only one grant is payable per eligible transaction. If two of you buy together and both qualify, you share the single $10,000 payment, which is worth reflecting in how you structure deposit contributions between co-buyers before contracts are signed.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
Most declined applications fail on predictable, checkable grounds. Run this list before you sign anything:
- Established home, grant expected The single most common mistake. A previous-owner home attracts no grant regardless of price, only duty relief.
- Over the cap The contract value exceeding $800,000 south of the 26th parallel, which covers every Perth transaction including Iluka.
- Occupancy shortfall Failing to live in the home for six continuous months, or starting occupation later than 12 months after completion. RevenueWA can claw back grants.
- Prior ownership or grant An applicant who has owned property in the relevant periods, or who has received an FHOG before in any Australian jurisdiction.
- Missed deadline Lodgement more than 12 months after the completion date ends the entitlement outright.
- Confusing the two schemes Assuming the grant cap and the duty thresholds are one scheme. They are separate, with different figures and different property rules, and mixing them up leads to wrong budgeting.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Your Mortgage Broker Iluka is based in Iluka and works with first home buyers across Perth's northern coastal corridor, including Burns Beach, Kinross, Currambine and Connolly. Because the grant steers buyers toward new and substantially renovated stock, and because eligible new builds cluster unevenly across these suburbs, it pays to talk through where your search and your finance strategy meet before you commit to a contract. Our About page explains how we work, and our first home buyer loans page covers the lending side in detail.
Questions answered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the WA First Home Owner Grant worth?
The grant is a one-off payment of up to $10,000 per eligible transaction, or the purchase price if that is less. Two co-buyers share one grant rather than each receiving a payment.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. For contracts dated on or after 3 October 2015, established homes are not eligible. The grant covers new homes and substantially renovated homes only, though duty relief can still apply.
What is the property price cap for the grant?
South of the 26th parallel, including all of Perth, the cap is $800,000 for transactions on or after 7 May 2026. North of the parallel it is $1,000,000.
Do I have to live in the property to keep the grant?
Yes. You must occupy the home as your principal place of residence for at least six continuous months, starting within 12 months of completion of the eligible transaction.
Is the grant different from stamp duty relief?
Yes, they are separate schemes with different figures. The first home owner rate of duty covers established homes and vacant land too, and its no-duty threshold is $600,000 for home transactions from 7 May 2026.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
RevenueWA does not publish fixed payment dates. The grant is paid once the eligible transaction completes, and applications must be lodged within 12 months of the completion date.
Mortgage broker for Iluka and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build against an established purchase and want to understand what each route means for the grant, duty and your deposit, talk it through before you sign. Call (08) 6311 4000 for a no-obligation conversation with a broker working across a panel of lenders, guided by published process, transparent fee arrangements and real worked numbers.