The WA First Home Owner Grant is a $10,000 payment for eligible buyers building or buying a brand-new home, administered by RevenueWA. It does not apply to established homes. As at June 2026 it sits alongside the WA first home duty concession, the federal First Home Guarantee and Keystart low-deposit lending, which can stack for first home buyers building new.
Building brand new is the path WA aims its first home support at. The grant, the duty concession and the deposit schemes all reward a new build over an established purchase, and most first home buyers qualify for more than one. Here is what each one does and how they fit together in 2026.
The $10,000 First Home Owner Grant
The First Home Owner Grant is a $10,000 one-off payment for eligible buyers building a new home or buying one that has never been lived in. It is funded by the WA Government and administered by RevenueWA. The key word is new. Buy an established house and the grant does not apply, which is the single biggest reason first home buyers lean towards building.
To be eligible you generally must be 18 or over, a natural person buying as an individual rather than a company, an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and you and your partner must not have owned residential property in Australia before. You also need to move in within a set period and live there for a minimum continuous time. RevenueWA assesses each application on its facts.
The first home duty concession
The WA first home owner rate of duty is separate from the grant. On eligible purchases below the lower threshold, no transfer duty is payable, tapering to the standard rate above it. Critically, when you build, you generally pay duty on the land value only, not the finished house, which can save many thousands against buying established.
Stamp duty, properly called transfer duty, is charged on what you buy. Buy an established home and you pay duty on the whole house-and-land value. Build, and you buy the land, then sign a separate building contract for the house. Duty is charged on the land only, because the house does not exist yet at the point of transfer. That structural quirk is worth real money on a first build.
Layer the first home concession on top and many first home buyers building on a modestly priced lot pay little or no transfer duty at all. Thresholds and rates are set by RevenueWA and change periodically, so confirm the current figures for your contract before you budget.
The schemes that stack, side by side
These are four separate programs with their own rules. The table summarises what each does for a first home buyer building new in WA as at June 2026.
| Support | What it gives you | New build? |
|---|---|---|
| First Home Owner Grant | $10,000 cash towards a new home | New only |
| First home duty concession | Reduced or nil transfer duty, land-only on a build | New or established |
| First Home Guarantee (federal) | Buy with a low deposit, no LMI, government guarantees the gap | New or established |
| Keystart (WA) | Low-deposit lending with no LMI, income and price caps apply | New or established |
The combination that does the heavy lifting is the grant plus the duty saving plus a low-deposit pathway. Together they cut both the cash you need up front and the deposit gap, which is what moves a brand-new build from out of reach to within reach for a first home buyer.
How it changes a new build budget
Walk it through in order. The numbers below are illustrative and use round figures to show the shape, not a quote.
- Grant. The $10,000 grant lands as cash towards your build, reducing what you fund yourself.
- Duty. Building means duty on the land value only, and the first home concession can reduce or remove even that, saving several thousand more.
- Deposit. A low-deposit scheme means you may need far less than the usual 20 per cent, and avoid lenders mortgage insurance.
- Result. The same brand-new home costs the same to build, but the cash you need to start is materially lower than buying established.
To put real numbers against your suburb, read our true cost to build by Perth suburb guide, then browse designs and your finance options. The grants set the floor on what you need, the build cost sets the ceiling.
This is general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not credit assistance or a credit quote. Consider whether it is right for you and seek advice. Finance is arranged through Central Lending Solutions, the licensed credit partner The Property Plug works with (Australian Credit Licence or credit representative number [TBC]).