First home, 5% deposit, no LMI.

The Home Guarantee Scheme is the single biggest deposit lever available to Australian first home buyers. It lets you borrow up to 95% of property value without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The federal government guarantees the lender against the gap between your deposit and a standard 20%.

Eligibility caps for FY2025-26: $125K single income, $200K combined. Property caps vary by state and metropolitan-vs-regional split. $900K NSW and Victoria metro at the top, $600K smaller-state regional at the bottom. Places are allocated each financial year, so timing matters.

What we model: borrowing capacity under APRA's +3% serviceability buffer with a 30% DTI guardrail (which lands closer to what a broker will actually submit you at than the bank's headline maximum), HGS eligibility against the current caps, stamp duty per state with FHB concessions applied, and First Home Super Saver if you're 12+ months from purchase.

What we won't tell you: which suburb to buy in (that depends on your brief; start with the suburb scout once your capacity is clear) or which lender to approach (we don't take referrer fees from any lender or broker).