First-Home Buyer Stamp Duty Relief: Official State and Territory Sources

Transfer duty—often called stamp duty—is imposed by states and territories. First-home relief is not a national entitlement: the scheme, property types, value tests, transaction date, residence requirements, partner and ownership tests, application method and post-claim obligations vary by jurisdiction.

This page is an official-source directory and pre-contract verification workflow. It avoids a static threshold table because those figures can change, and because a threshold without the scheme's full eligibility rules can be misleading.

Check relief before making an offer

1. Identify the property's jurisdiction and the date the contract or other dutiable transaction will be entered into. Do not assume the settlement date controls every scheme.
2. Classify the property exactly as the revenue authority does: established home, new home, off-the-plan property, vacant land, house-and-land package or another interest.
3. Use the relevant authority's current eligibility page and calculator. Save a dated copy of the inputs, result and scheme page.
4. Give the proposed ownership shares, purchaser and partner history, residency or citizenship status and intended occupation to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer familiar with that jurisdiction.
5. Budget for the assessed duty until the relief is confirmed. An online estimate or lender pre-approval is not a revenue assessment.

Official first-home duty directory

• NSW: use Revenue NSW's First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme page for current property, value, residence and application rules.
• Victoria: check the State Revenue Office first-home buyer duty exemption or concession page and its linked calculator and application guidance.
• Queensland: use Queensland Revenue Office's first-home concession page. It separates home, new-home and vacant-land pathways and records transaction-date changes.
• Western Australia: check RevenueWA's current First Home Owner Rate fact sheet. It explains which transaction date controls, current home and land rules, forms and reassessment steps.
• South Australia: use RevenueSA's first-home buyer stamp-duty relief page. The eligible property categories and ownership rules require close attention.
• Tasmania: the State Revenue Office established-home duty-relief page states that the temporary exemption ending 30 June 2026 is unavailable for later settlements. Check the SRO site for any relief that applies to the actual transaction rather than carrying the expired scheme forward.
• ACT: use the ACT Revenue Office Home Buyer Concession Scheme page and select the period that matches the purchase transaction date.
• Northern Territory: check the Territory Revenue Office stamp-duty page for current land concessions, exemptions and the official calculator. Do not rely on references to former first-home schemes.

Eligibility questions to verify

Do not replace the official test with a list of supposedly common national rules. Ask the revenue authority or your adviser to confirm each of these against the scheme for your transaction:

• Which date selects the applicable version of the scheme?
• Which amount is tested: price, market value, dutiable value or another measure?
• Is the property type eligible, and are land and building arrangements assessed separately?
• How are multiple purchasers, unequal shares, trusts, companies or nominees treated?
• Whose previous ownership or receipt of first-home assistance is considered?
• Do spouse or partner rules apply even if that person is not on title?
• What age, citizenship, permanent-residency or other status rules apply on the relevant date?
• When must the home be occupied, for how long, and what exceptions or notification duties exist?
• Does foreign-purchaser duty or another surcharge apply even if base-duty relief is available?

Documents and application workflow

The application may be handled by a settlement agent, solicitor, conveyancer, approved lender or the buyer, depending on the jurisdiction and scheme. Ask who is responsible and obtain confirmation that the relief has been claimed or assessed.

1. Keep the signed contract and any variations, transfer documents and valuation requested by the authority.
2. Complete the current declaration or application for the correct scheme and transaction date.
3. Provide identity, status, ownership-history and partner information required by that form.
4. Keep the assessment, approval, pre-approval or reassessment notice—not just a calculator screenshot.
5. Calendar residence, construction, completion and notification obligations stated in the approval.
6. Notify the revenue authority promptly if circumstances change; ask about reassessment, repayment or relief.

Duty relief is not the first-home grant

A first-home owner grant is a separate scheme from a duty concession or exemption. Property, timing, ownership and residence tests may differ. Eligibility for one does not establish eligibility for the other, and the application may follow a different process.

Deposit-support programs are separate again. Check each scheme independently and ask your adviser how the purchase structure and finance documents interact. The first-home buyer guide can help organise the wider buying process, but the linked revenue authority remains the source for duty.

If the transaction changes

Seek advice before substituting a purchaser, changing ownership proportions, cancelling and replacing a contract, varying a building contract, changing the intended use or failing a residence obligation. A change can create new duty, affect relief or trigger a reporting obligation. Keep written advice and the authority's response with the settlement file.

If duty was assessed without relief, use the relevant authority's reassessment or refund process rather than assuming the entitlement is lost or automatically corrected. Deadlines and evidence requirements differ.

General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Substantively reviewed 24 August 2026. Schemes can change; verify the current rule with the relevant revenue authority and a qualified local adviser before entering the transaction.