Grants and schemes in South Australia

South Australia offers a first home buyer three kinds of help. RevenueSA pays the First Home Owner Grant, HomeStart Finance lends with a shared-equity option, and Housing Australia runs the federal schemes. stamp duty relief has its own page. Every one has an eligibility test, which the paying agency applies; this page summarises them.

First Home Owner Grant

The grant is a one-off payment of up to $15,000 to eligible applicants who buy or build a new residential property. New means a home not lived in before, including an off-the-plan apartment or a substantially renovated home. The grant does not apply to vacant land or to an established home. For a contract signed on or after 6 June 2024 there is no property value cap.

Applicants must be natural persons and at least 18. At least one must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen permanently residing in Australia on a Special Category visa. Neither an applicant nor their spouse or domestic partner may own, or have previously owned, residential property in Australia.

The new home must be the principal place of residence of all applicants for at least six continuous months. Applications open once the contract is signed and close 12 months after building completion or settlement.

State schemes

HomeStart Finance, the SA Government lender, runs the open state schemes. The Shared Equity Option is an interest-free, repayment-free loan of 5% to 25% of the price or value, whichever is lower, added to a HomeStart, Graduate or Low Deposit loan. HomeStart shares in the rise or fall in the property's value when the home is sold. As published on HomeStart's page, the net household income limit is $120,000 a year after tax and the price limit is $750,000. The home must be lived in, in metropolitan South Australia or select regional locations; HomeStart publishes the eligible metropolitan and regional locations.

The Graduate Loan is for an employed applicant with a Certificate III, diploma, degree or higher. Employed Technical College graduates, front-line police, firefighters and permanent defence force personnel without one also qualify. The Graduate Loan starts at a 2% deposit to buy an existing home, or 5% to build. The Low Deposit Loan starts at 3% to buy an existing home and is not offered for construction. HomeStart's standard loan starts at 5% to buy or 8% to build, and none of them carries lenders mortgage insurance.

The only closed scheme found is the capped duty relief that ended on 5 June 2024.

Federal schemes in South Australia

The Home Guarantee Scheme, now the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, supports buyers with a small deposit through Housing Australia's participating lenders. From 1 October 2025 it has unlimited places, no income cap and higher property price caps. The caps vary by location. Housing Australia publishes the Adelaide and rest-of-state price caps by postcode on its price-caps page.

Help to Buy is the federal shared-equity scheme, with a government contribution of 30% or 40% of the price and applications open from 5 December 2025. Housing Australia said in June 2026 that the scheme is available across all states and territories, South Australia included. Housing Australia publishes the South Australian price caps for Help to Buy.

How they combine

Duty relief, the grant and a deposit or equity scheme are separate tests run by separate agencies. The two RevenueSA tests share their dates and the six-month residence rule but part on vacant land: duty relief covers it, the grant does not.

The grant is cash paid to an eligible applicant on a new home. A deposit guarantee lets a lender accept a small deposit without LMI, and a shared-equity contribution reduces the loan itself and so the LVR.

The tests that catch people out

• A spouse or domestic partner who has owned before. Their ownership counts against the grant and duty relief, even if the applicant never owned anything.
• The contract date. 6 June 2024 removed the value caps; 13 February 2025 removed the exception for a home owned before but lived in for under six months. The contract date decides, not settlement.
• Moving in on time. Six continuous months as principal place of residence for all applicants; for duty relief the period starts within 12 months of settlement.
• A non-eligible co-buyer. Every applicant must meet the residence test, and a spouse or domestic partner's history counts. Whether another co-buyer's ownership history affects the grant is a question RevenueSA decides.
• What counts as new. A substantially renovated home counts for the grant; vacant land does not, though it does for duty relief. A home meant solely as an investment or holiday home gets no relief.