Western Australia’s first home owner grant is a one-off $10,000 payment towards a first home that is new, whether bought or built; if less than $10,000 was paid to buy or build, the grant is that smaller amount. On a contract to build, it is paid once the first construction progress payment, generally slab down, has been made and the buyer’s name is registered on the title.
General information, not financial or legal advice, with figures as at October 2026. RevenueWA handles applications and checks that the grant goes only to people entitled to it, and its pages, listed at the foot of this one, are the place to check before you sign.
What the grant is for
The grant is for buying or building a new home, or one that has been substantially renovated, to live in as your principal place of residence; it is not available for an established home. There is no income or assets test. One grant is paid per eligible transaction, so two people building together receive one grant between them.
It is a State grant and a different thing from the Australian Government’s 5% Deposit Scheme and Help to Buy Scheme.
Who can receive it
RevenueWA’s criteria, in short. The last three apply to your spouse or de facto partner as well as to you.
- You are 18 or older when you apply, or hold an exemption from the age rule.
- At least one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident when the application is made.
- You hold an ownership interest in the land the home stands on, in your own right.
- You and your spouse or partner have not already received the grant, or the first home owner rate of duty, from any Australian jurisdiction.
- No home anywhere in Australia was owned by either of you before 1 July 2000.
- Any home either of you has owned since 1 July 2000 was not lived in before 1 July 2004, nor for a continuous six months beginning on or after that date.
The value cap
A transaction only qualifies if its total value stays within a cap, and the cap depends on where the home is. For a contract to build, the total is the value of the building contract, every variation included, plus the value of the land. The Commissioner may take the price paid for the land as its value if it was bought within 12 months of the building contract.
- $800,000
- South of the 26th parallel of south latitude, for transactions that commence on or after 7 May 2026. The southern figure covers the whole Perth metropolitan area.
- $1,000,000
- North of the 26th parallel.
- $750,000
- The earlier southern cap, for transactions that commenced on or before 6 May 2026.
For a building contract, the commencement date is the day the contract is made. Because variations count toward the total, an upgrade agreed after signing adds to the figure tested against the cap.
When it is paid
You can apply once everyone has signed the contract to buy or build, and you must apply within 12 months of completion. For a contract to build, completion is when the house is ready to live in, usually when the builder hands over the keys. When the money arrives depends on the transaction:
| Transaction | Paid |
|---|---|
| Contract to build | After evidence of the date of the first construction progress payment, generally slab down for a traditional build, and once your name is registered on the title. |
| Buying a new or off-the-plan home, through an approved agent | On the settlement date. |
| Buying a new or off-the-plan home, directly with RevenueWA | After you show your name is registered on the title, roughly three to six weeks after settlement. |
| Owner-builder | After evidence that the home is ready to live in and your name is on the title. |
For a modular home, the first progress payment depends on the contract, and RevenueWA’s ruling on modular homes decides whether the job counts as a building contract or as owner-building. You can lodge online through the application portal yourself, since applications from a third party are refused there, or through a lender that is an approved agent. RevenueWA asks applicants to check their bank details carefully, because a payment to the wrong account may not be recoverable.
The move-in rule
The grant is approved on a condition: each applicant must live in the home for a continuous six months, starting within 12 months of completion. RevenueWA does not count the requirement as met if, among other things, you live there for less than six months, or do not move in within 12 months, without the Commissioner’s approval. If you cannot meet it, written notice to the Commissioner is due within 30 days, counted from whichever comes first: the end of the 12-month period, or the day it becomes clear the rule cannot be met. If the cause was something you could not foresee or control, you can ask in writing for the six months to be shortened or the move-in date extended, and the Commissioner may consider it.
A couple sign a building contract on 5 June 2026, so the $800,000 southern cap applies. The slab is poured and the first progress payment made in October 2026; once their names are on the title, the grant can be paid. The builder hands over on 3 March 2027.
- Their application must be in by 3 March 2028, 12 months after completion.
- They must start a continuous six months in the home by the same date. Moving in at handover, the six months end on 3 September 2027.
- If instead they had not moved in, and on 10 January 2028 it became clear they could not, their written notice is due by 9 February 2028: 30 days from that day, which comes before the end of the 12 months.
An example only, with invented dates.
Without that notice, the grant may have to be repaid with penalties, and a future grant may be refused. Knowingly false or misleading statements in an application can lead to prosecution and penalties of up to $20,000. If you disagree with the Commissioner’s decision on your application, you can lodge a formal objection.
The payment the grant waits on is a progress payment under the building contract: home building contracts in WA explains when one can be claimed.