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Buying our family home

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Saving to purchase a family home can be a challenging task, especially when you are a single parent or single legal guardian.

To help you achieve your goal of having a family home to call your own, the Australian Government launched the Family Home Guarantee (FHG) which aims to support eligible single parents or single legal guardians with at least one dependent child.

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How does the Family Home Guarantee work?

The Family Home Guarantee is for eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians of at least one dependent, such as aunts, uncles or grandparents. Applicants can include those who are not first home buyers.

The purpose of the Family Home Guarantee is to support eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians to buy a home. It does this by allowing Housing Australia to issue 5,000 guarantees each financial year to eligible single parents and eligible single legal guardians with a deposit of between 2 and 20 per cent of the property value.

If your home loan is covered by the Guarantee, you may also be able to access other Government Support programs such as the First Home Super Saver Scheme, First Home Owner Grant and Stamp Duty Concessions. It is worth exploring all your entitlements before locking in your new home.

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How is a ‘single parent/single legal guardian’ defined?

A single parent or single legal guardian must demonstrate that they are the natural or adoptive parent of a dependent child within the meaning of s.5 of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth).  In a general sense, this means that the person must show that they are legally responsible (whether alone or jointly with another person) for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the dependent child and the dependent child is in their care. 

Alternatively, the eligible single parent or eligible single legal guardian must show that they are the natural parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of a person who receives a disability support pension and lives with them.

A parent is not a single parent if they are married or in a de facto relationship. NB: a person who is separated but not divorced is not single.

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Check your eligibility

Owner Occupied home loans paid on a principal and interest basis. Investment properties are not supported 18+ single parent or single legal guardian Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident with at least one dependant child~ Applicants must have a deposit of between 2% and 20% of the property’s value Must be able to provide 2022-23 Notice of Assessment issued by the ATO to reserve a place in the Guarantee
The single parent or single legal guardian must have a taxable income* that does not exceed $125,000 per annum for the previous financial year. The single parent or single legal guardian must be the only name listed on the loan and the certificate of title Your maximum property purchase price is subject to the suburb and postcode of your new property** Applicants can be either first home buyers or previous owners who do not currently own a home

 

~ the natural or adoptive parent of a dependent child within the meaning of s.5 of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth).

* Child support payments are not included as income for the purpose of the income cap

** To find out the property price threshold of a suburb you a looking to buy in you can try the Housing Australia tool here.

View the key fact sheet for more information.

Family Home Guarantee information guide is also available.

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What if I used to own a home?

Previous home owners can apply for the Family Home Guarantee provided they do no currently own a home.

To be eligible, you must not currently have:

  • a freehold interest in real property in Australia
  • a lease of land in Australia
  • a company title interest in land in Australia

There are no costs or repayments associated with the guarantee. However, eligible single parents are responsible for meeting all costs and repayments for the home loan associated with the guarantee.

 

Property types you could buy with the Family Home Guarantee.

An image depicting the types of property that are eligible under the scheme: a new or existing house, townhouse or apartment; house and land package; land with a contract to build a house; off the plan apartment or townhouse
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The information provided on this page is general in nature and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Eligibility for government grants and schemes may vary based on individual circumstances and location. We recommend visiting the official government websites listed to verify your eligibility and obtain the most up-to-date details.