- buying or building a new home, substantially renovated home or off-the-plan home, with a commencement date between 1 January 2017 and 30 June 2019, or
- building a home as an owner-builder, for which building started on or after 1 January 2017 and on or before 30 June 2019.
- move into the home beginning within 12 months of settlement or completion of construction; and
- live in the home as a principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least one year.
For further information on eligibility requirements please visit Revenue Circular GEN011.2 Principal place of residence.
Applicants and their partners are not eligible for the FHOG if:
- they have already received the FHOG anywhere in Australia
- before 1 July 2000, they owned or held a relevant interest in a residential property anywhere in Australia
- on or after 1 July 2000 but before 1 January 2004, they acquired a relevant interest in residential property anywhere in Australia, and occupied the property for any period of time
- on or after 1 January 2004, they acquired a relevant interest in residential property anywhere in Australia and occupied the property for six continuous months or more.
An applicant who received a grant and later paid it back may be entitled to apply for an additional grant, depending on the circumstances.
Find out if you're eligibleIs this the first time each applicant and/or their partner will receive a grant under the First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 anywhere in Australia?
exit / clearAll concessions and exemption applications at the ACT Revenue Office are self-assessed. You are obligated to ensure that all the eligibility criteria have been met (or will be met) before applying for any concession or exemption code in the Buyer Verification Declaration.
You should undertake your own inquiries into the eligibility requirements. This may include obtaining information from this website, legislation, or independent professional advice.
Grant amount
The FHOG changed over the years having different grant amounts, residency requirements and application forms depending on the commencement date of your eligible transaction (see Table 1 below).
Table 1 – FHOG information by commencement date range
Commencement dates
Grant amount
1 January 2017 to 30 June 2019
1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016
1 September 2013 to 31 December 2015
New or substantially renovated homes
From 1 September 2013 to 30 June 2019, the FHOG applied only to new or substantially renovated homes.
A new or substantially renovated home means:
- a home that hasn’t been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, or
- a substantially renovated home that, with renovations complete, hasn’t been previously occupied or sold as a place of residence, or
- a home that’s subject to an off-the-plan purchase agreement.
Deferred duty is available for established homes in some circumstances.
Substantial renovations
Substantial renovations must be renovations that impact the building as a whole, meaning that all, or substantially all, of the previous building has been removed or replaced.
Substantial renovations do not include:
- renovating one part of the building without any work on the rest of the home
- removing or replacing a kitchen or bathroom with only minor repair work on the rest of the home
- cosmetic improvements.
How to apply
You can lodge your FHOG application in two ways: through an approved agent or directly to the ACT Revenue Office.
You must lodge your application within one year from the completion date of the eligible transaction. This means the settlement date or the date of issue of the Certificate of Occupancy and Use.
Owner-builders can only lodge their application within this one-year period if the home has been completed.
Filling out the application
When you apply for the FHOG, you need to make sure the information on your application is true and correct. It’s an offence for you to make a false or misleading statement when applying for the grant.
If you’re unsure about any of your obligations or the information required in the application, contact us so we can help.
Applying through an approved agent
An approved agent is a financial organisation approved by us to accept and process applications for the grant before completion of the eligible transaction.
You must use an approved agent for payment to be available at settlement or first draw down/progress payment.
If you apply through an approved agent, the agent can lodge the application any time between the transaction’s commencement date (exchange of the contract) and the completion date.
Please contact the agent for a status update on your application.
Applying directly
We only accept direct applications after completion of the transaction. The FHOG application is made by SmartForm .
Please submit complete applications with all the necessary supporting documents; incomplete applications delay processing time.
What happens next?
If we approve your FHOG application:
- and you applied through an approved agent, you’ll receive your grant at the settlement date set by the approved agent;
- and you applied directly to us, you’ll receive your grant within 10 working days.
We review applications and conduct ongoing investigations to make sure that all applicants comply with the conditions. We generally conduct these investigations after we’ve paid the grant.
What happens if I don’t comply?
If, at any time, you do not meet the FHOG eligibility requirements, you must, by law, notify the Commissioner for ACT Revenue in writing and repay the grant within 14 days of becoming aware of your ineligibility.
If you have any concerns about your FHOG eligibility, including residency, please contact us as early as possible.
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