Overview

Introduction Statement

The Family Home Guarantee (FHG) is part of the Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS), an Australian Government initiative to support eligible single parents or eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home sooner. It is administered by Housing Australia on behalf of the Australian Government. 

The FHG aims to support eligible single parents or eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent to buy a home, whether that single parent or single legal guardian is a first home buyer or a previous homeowner. From 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024, 5,000 FHG places are available. 

Under the FHG, part of an eligible home buyer’s home loan from a Participating Lender is guaranteed by Housing Australia. This enables an eligible home buyer to purchase a home with as little as 2% deposit without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

For the FHG, any Guarantee of a home loan is for up to a maximum amount of 18% of the value of the property (as assessed by the Participating Lender). This Guarantee is not a cash payment or a deposit for a home loan.

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Eligibility

To apply for the FHG, home buyers must be:

• applying as an individual
• a single parent or single legal guardian of at least one dependent (see Eligible Single Parent and Eligible Single Legal Guardian note below) 
• an Australian citizen or permanent resident* at the time they enter the loan  
• at least 18 years of age 
• be earning no more than $125,000 per year 
• intending to be owner-occupier of the purchased property 
• NOT currently owning property, or upon settlement of the guaranteed property they’re buying, not intending to own a separate property.
  
  

*The Department of Home Affairs classifies New Zealand Citizens as Permanent Residents for the purposes of citizenship applications only. This does not extend outside of this process. To verify your eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme, please perform a VEVO check with a participating lender.

Eligible Single Parent and Eligible Single Legal Guardian

To apply for the FHG, home buyers must:

• be single. A person is considered single if they don’t have a spouse and/or a de facto partner. Note: a person who is separated but not divorced is not considered single
• have at least one dependent. To have a dependent, they must be the natural parent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of:
  • a “dependent child” within the meaning of subsections (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) of section 5 of the Social Security Act 1991 or  
  • a person in receipt of a disability support pension within the meaning of the Social Security Act 1991 who lives with you. 
• they must show that they are legally responsible (whether alone or jointly with another person) for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the dependent and the dependent is in their care. 

Previous Home Ownership

FHG applicants can be either first home buyers or previous homeowners who do not intend to own a separate property upon settlement of the guaranteed property they’re buying.

Access the Eligibility Tool – a short questionnaire to help home buyers identify which Guarantee/s they may be eligible for.

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