Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme
From 1 October 2025, the federal 5% Deposit Scheme removes income caps, waitlists and Lenders Mortgage Insurance for eligible first home buyers.
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Our Blog
Property updates and guides for NSW
Practical updates on NSW property law, first home buyer schemes, stamp duty reform and federal grants — written in plain English by East-West Conveyancing.
Latest posts
Recent updates from the blog
Fourteen articles covering the schemes, grants and NSW property law changes that affect buyers and sellers. Newest first.
Help to Buy Scheme
The federal Help to Buy shared-equity scheme lets eligible buyers purchase with the government contributing up to 40% toward the cost of a new home.
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Changes affecting first home buyers in NSW
From 1 July 2023 the NSW First Home Buyers Choice is gone and the First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme thresholds have changed — here is what first home buyers need to know.
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First Home Buyers Choice
From 16 January 2023, eligible first home buyers in NSW can choose between paying upfront stamp duty or an annual property tax on purchases up to $1.5 million.
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Shared Equity Scheme
The NSW Shared Equity Scheme helps eligible single parents, older singles and key workers buy a home with the government contributing up to 40% of the purchase price.
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2022–23 Budget New Home Guarantee Scheme
The 2022–23 Federal Budget expanded the New Home Guarantee and introduced a new Regional Home Guarantee to help more first home buyers into property with small deposits.
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Revenue NSW Surcharge Duty
Revenue NSW has clarified when surcharge purchaser duty applies to foreign persons buying residential property — and when exemptions may be available.
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NSW Budget Update — stamp duty reform
The 2020 NSW Budget proposed a landmark stamp duty overhaul — giving home buyers the choice between a one-off stamp duty payment or a smaller annual property tax.
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First Home Loan Deposit Scheme — Budget Update
The Federal Budget 2020 expanded the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme with an additional 10,000 places for new-build homes until 30 June 2021.
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Stamp duty changes for First Home Buyers
From 1 August 2020, NSW raised the stamp duty exemption threshold for first home buyers on new homes from $650,000 to $800,000 — saving eligible buyers thousands.
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First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
The Federal First Home Loan Deposit Scheme lets eligible first home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit — with the government guaranteeing up to 15% to waive LMI.
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HomeBuilder $25,000 grant
The Federal HomeBuilder grant offered eligible owner-occupiers $25,000 toward building a new home or substantially renovating an existing one — with tight deadlines.
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Property Prices in a COVID-19 World
How COVID-19 reshaped the Australian residential property market in 2020 — transaction volumes, price forecasts, and what it meant for buyers and sellers at the time.
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First Home Buyers in the COVID-19 Market
Making the first leap into property is daunting at the best of times. Here is how first home buyers were navigating the early COVID-19 market and the information sources that mattered.
Read more →Questions about your NSW property transaction?
These posts cover the broad strokes — but every property is different. Send us an enquiry and we’ll answer your specific question the next business day.