WA first home buyers
WA First Home Owner Grant
The First Home Owner Grant in Western Australia is a one-off payment of up to $10,000 from the WA Government to eligible first home buyers who buy or build a new home, or a substantially renovated home, within the value cap.
This page explains who qualifies, which properties the grant covers, how it interacts with the separate first home owner rate of duty, and what the rules mean for buyers searching around Mount Claremont. Your Mortgage Broker Mount Claremont(/) writes these guides for western suburbs buyers starting out.
What It Is Worth Right Now
The payment is a flat $10,000, one grant per eligible transaction, so two co-buyers split one payment between them rather than each receiving it. That matters more than it sounds, because the grant has covered the same flat sum for years while Perth prices and the value cap have both moved, so its real purchasing power, spread across a deposit, has thinned. What has genuinely changed recently is the cap around it: for transactions on or after 7 May 2026, the value limit south of the 26th parallel rose to $800,000, which pulled a wider band of new homes into eligibility than the older $750,000 limit did. If you are reading a page that still quotes $750,000, it is out of date.
Who Qualifies
The eligibility rules are set by RevenueWA and apply statewide, so they do not vary by suburb. These are the tests every applicant must clear, drawn from the official grant page:
Age and residency
A first home, genuinely
A new or substantially renovated home
Under the value cap
An occupancy commitment
No means test
Which Properties It Covers
The property-type and price rules decide eligibility, so it helps to see them side by side rather than buried in prose. Both tables below come from the RevenueWA grant pages:
| Property situation | Grant eligible? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Newly built home, under $800,000 | Yes | Contract on or after 7 May 2026, south of the 26th parallel |
| Newly built home, $800,000 or more | No | Over the south-of-26th value cap |
| Substantially renovated home | Yes | Must meet the same value cap and occupancy rules |
| House and land package or self-build | Yes | Grant paid on completion of the eligible transaction |
| Established home, any price | No | Excluded for contracts dated on or after 3 October 2015 |
| Vacant land on its own | No | Land can attract duty relief, but earns no grant |
Why The Rule Bites Here
Established stock dominates locally
Mount Claremont is an established suburb by almost every measure: 77.7 per cent of its 1,776 dwellings are separate houses, and only 4.0 per cent are flats or apartments. The grant deliberately excludes established homes, so the majority of what actually gets listed here earns nothing, however first the buyer is.
New supply exists, but it is modest
Dwelling approvals over the last five years total 193, with 38 recorded in 2021-22, placing the suburb around the 67th percentile in the state for building activity. That is genuine new stock, some of it eligible, but it is a narrow pool relative to demand from buyers hunting anything qualifying.
Eligible and desirable are not the same
The suburb sits in the top SEIFA decile for advantage and disadvantage, with a median household income around $2,835 a week, so the properties buyers want here often sit well above an $800,000 cap even when new. Buyers frequently need to trade size or location to stay eligible.
What this means for your search
Search for new apartments, new townhouses in redeveloping pockets, or house and land further out, rather than established character homes. Our first home buyer loans page walks through financing those routes, and a construction loan suits a build route where the grant applies at completion.
How It Stacks With Duty Relief
The grant and the first home owner rate of duty are separate schemes, and confusing them is the single most common mistake on this topic. The duty fact sheet sets out how they interact:
They cover different property types
Duty thresholds differ from the grant cap
The link between the two schemes was removed
Vacant land has its own bands
The best case combines both
Eligibility mirrors the grant, with two exceptions
How it works
How To Apply And When Money Arrives
- 1
Lodging the application
You can apply online through RevenueWA or through an approved agent, which is usually your lender, at or around the time of your loan application. Lodging through the lender is common because the paperwork overlaps with your finance file.
- 2
The deadline
The application must reach RevenueWA within 12 months of the completion date of the eligible transaction, so diarise it the day you settle rather than assuming someone else will track it for you.
- 3
When payment lands
The sourced pages confirm payment is made once the eligible transaction completes but do not state a processing timeframe, so no dates are promised here. Build your deposit plan so settlement works even if the $10,000 arrives after handover.
- 4
Where buyers go wrong on timing
Occupancy carries its own clock: six continuous months of residence must start within 12 months of completion. Buyers who rent the new home out first, or move in late, can forfeit a grant they genuinely earned, so sequence your move before you sequence anything else.
Worth knowing early
What Gets An Application Knocked Back
Most declined applications fail on facts the applicant knew or could have checked before signing. These are the documented knock-back reasons:
- Buying an established home and expecting the grant The exclusion for contracts dated on or after 3 October 2015 is absolute, and excitement at signing overrides the fine print more often than you would think.
- Crossing the value cap A contract over $800,000 south of the 26th parallel earns nothing, and the contract date, not your hopes, fixes which cap applies.
- Failing the occupancy rule Not living in the home for six continuous months, or starting occupation more than 12 months after completion, forfeits the payment.
- Prior property history A previous grant in any jurisdiction, ownership before 1 July 2000, or owning and occupying a home for six months or more after 1 July 2004 ends eligibility.
- Missing the 12-month application deadline The clock runs from completion, and it is unforgiving, so lodge early and confirm receipt.
- Treating the two schemes as one The grant and the duty concession have different figures, different caps and different property rules, and assuming they match has cost buyers real money.
Where we work
Areas We Service
Alongside Mount Claremont, Your Mortgage Broker Mount Claremont(/) serves first home buyers across the neighbouring western suburbs, including Floreat, Shenton Park, Karrakatta, Claremont, Swanbourne and City Beach, each with its own stock of grant-eligible and grant-ineligible property.
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 for an eligible transaction, or the purchase price if that is less. It is paid once per eligible transaction, so co-buyers share a single grant.
Can I get the grant on an established home?
No. Contracts for established homes dated on or after 3 October 2015 are not eligible. The grant covers new homes, substantially renovated homes, or building a home, under the applicable value cap.
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 separate figures. The first home owner rate of duty applies to established homes and vacant land as well as new homes, and its thresholds differ from the grant cap.
How long does the grant take to arrive?
The sourced pages do not state payment timeframes. Payment is made once the eligible transaction completes, and applications must be lodged with RevenueWA or an approved agent within 12 months of completion.
Mortgage broker for Mount Claremont and the suburbs around it
Get In Touch
If you are weighing a new build, a house and land package or a substantially renovated home against the grant rules, Your Mortgage Broker Mount Claremont can talk through the finance side while you confirm eligibility with RevenueWA. Where a deposit is the sticking point, a guarantor or low deposit loan may change the maths. Call (08) 6311 4000 for a free, no-obligation conversation: no lender fees to you, a published process, and honest answers about whether the timing stacks up.