Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee in Australia: Can You Still Apply in 2026?
The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee closed to new applications on 1 October 2025. Regional first-home buyers may instead qualify under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme.
AU Australia
Housing & Property ~ 10 min read
10 FAQ
Updated 2026-09-14
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You cannot make a new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee application in 2026. Housing Australia is legally prohibited from issuing new guarantees under that regional stream on or after 1 October 2025. The former scheme required a deposit of at least 5%, an eligible regional property and, generally, 12 months' residence in the same or an adjacent regional area. From 1 October 2025, the Home Guarantee Scheme became the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and the former First Home Guarantee became its General Stream. Eligible regional buyers can apply under that current stream through a participating lender rather than directly to Housing Australia. The old regional-residence test no longer creates a separate Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee pathway.
What you need
- No new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee can be issued on or after 1 October 2025.
- Before closure, the stream was for eligible buyers purchasing an owner-occupied home in a defined regional area.
- The former regional stream required a minimum deposit of 5% of the property value and allowed an eligible loan-to-value ratio above 80% and up to 95%.
- At least one borrower generally had to have lived throughout the previous 12 months in the regional area being purchased in or an adjacent regional area, subject to a limited employer-relocation exception.
- Applicants had to be at least 18 and satisfy the applicable citizenship or permanent-residence and prior-property-ownership requirements.
- The property had to be owner-occupied and within the applicable property price cap.
- Applications were made through an eligible participating lender rather than directly to Housing Australia.
- In 2026, regional first-home buyers should instead ask a participating lender about eligibility under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme General Stream.
Eligibility
There is no current eligibility pathway for a new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee in 2026 because the stream closed to new guarantees on 1 October 2025. Before closure, the scheme supported eligible home buyers purchasing in regional Australia with at least a 5% deposit, subject to regional residence, property, borrower and lender requirements. Housing Australia's current framework is the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. Under the current General Stream, an eligible home buyer must be at least 18, be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and generally must not have held a freehold or specified relevant interest in Australian land during the previous 10 years. The eligible loan must be through an approved lender, be for an owner-occupied residential property within the applicable price cap, have a loan-to-value ratio above 80% and no more than 95%, and satisfy the other statutory loan requirements.
How to do it
- Do not lodge a new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee application. Housing Australia cannot issue one in 2026 because the stream closed on 1 October 2025.
- Check whether you qualify under the current Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. Regional location does not prevent you from using the current General Stream if you meet its eligibility requirements.
- Check your buyer status. Current law requires an eligible home buyer to be at least 18, be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and generally not have held a qualifying ownership interest in Australian land during the previous 10 years.
- Check the property price cap. The statutory cap depends on the property's state or territory and whether it falls within a capital city, regional centre or other area.
- Confirm that the property will be owner-occupied. An eligible loan under the current General Stream must relate to a residential property that will be occupied by the buyer rather than purchased as an investment.
- Prepare at least the minimum deposit. The current General Stream is designed for eligible loans with a loan-to-value ratio above 80% and no more than 95%, corresponding to a deposit of at least 5% where other loan requirements are satisfied.
- Contact a participating lender. You do not submit a guarantee application directly to Housing Australia. An eligible lender assesses your loan and buyer eligibility and applies to Housing Australia for the guarantee.
- Complete the lender's credit assessment. Meeting Housing Australia eligibility rules does not guarantee approval of a home loan. You must also meet the lender's lending criteria.
- Confirm the current price cap and scheme rules before signing a contract. Ask the lender to verify that the property and proposed loan meet the current Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme requirements.
Can you apply for the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee in 2026?
No. The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is closed to new applications.
The current Housing Australia Investment Mandate states that Housing Australia must not issue any Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee on or after 1 October 2025. Housing Australia's current reporting also confirms that the regional stream closed when the broader scheme changed on that date.
This means that a regional buyer cannot reserve a new place, submit a new regional guarantee application through a lender or ask Housing Australia to make an exception in 2026.
What replaced the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee?
From 1 October 2025, the Home Guarantee Scheme was rebranded as the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. Housing Australia states that the former First Home Guarantee became the General Stream, while the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee closed to new applications.
A buyer purchasing in regional Australia can therefore consider the current General Stream rather than looking for a separate regional guarantee.
The guarantee remains a guarantee provided by Housing Australia to an eligible lender. It is not a cash grant or a deposit paid directly to the home buyer.
How did the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee work?
Before closure, the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee was designed to help eligible people living in regional areas buy a home in a regional area with a smaller deposit.
Housing Australia could guarantee part of an eligible home loan so that a qualifying buyer could borrow up to 95% of the property's value. The buyer therefore needed a minimum 5% deposit, subject to the lender's assessment and scheme rules.
The stream was available only through Housing Australia-approved participating lenders. Buyers could not apply directly to Housing Australia.
What was the regional residence requirement?
The former stream had an additional regional residence test that did not apply to the ordinary First Home Guarantee.
For a Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, the property had to be in a defined regional area and at least one borrower generally had to have lived throughout the previous 12 months in:
- the same regional area in which they intended to buy; or
- an adjacent regional area.
A limited exception existed where a borrower had lived in the relevant regional area for part of the preceding 12 months but was required by the same employer, after at least 12 months' employment with that employer, to relocate elsewhere.
These requirements describe the closed regional stream. They are not a way to obtain a new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee in 2026.
What counted as a regional area?
Under the Investment Mandate, a regional area is generally a Statistical Area Level 4 area in a state or the Northern Territory that is outside that jurisdiction's capital-city area. Norfolk Island, Jervis Bay Territory, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are also included in the statutory definition.
The legislation separately identifies regional centres for price-cap purposes. Current regional centres include:
- New South Wales: Central Coast, Coffs Harbour-Grafton, Illawarra, Mid North Coast, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, and Richmond-Tweed;
- Victoria: Geelong; and
- Queensland: Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
The former Housing Australia Regional Checker was designed to help applicants determine whether their residence and intended purchase location met the regional and adjacency rules. Because the regional stream is now closed, that old residence test is no longer an application pathway for a new guarantee.
What must a regional buyer meet under the current 5% Deposit Scheme?
Regional buyers can still be eligible for a Housing Australia-backed loan through the current General Stream if they satisfy the current rules.
Under the current Investment Mandate, an eligible home buyer generally must:
- be at least 18 years old;
- be an Australian citizen or permanent resident when the loan agreement is entered into; and
- not have held a freehold interest or specified relevant interest in Australian land during the preceding 10 years.
The eligible loan must also:
- be made by a Housing Australia-approved eligible lender;
- have no more than two borrowers;
- be used to purchase residential property;
- relate to a property within the applicable price cap;
- be for an owner-occupied home;
- have a loan-to-value ratio above 80% and no more than 95%;
- generally require scheduled principal repayments throughout the loan term; and
- generally have a term of no more than 30 years, subject to the statutory exceptions for eligible construction arrangements.
What are the current regional property price caps?
The current Investment Mandate sets different caps depending on the location. For the General Stream, the current caps relevant to regional purchases include:
- New South Wales: $1,500,000 in a regional centre and $800,000 in other areas;
- Victoria: $950,000 in a regional centre and $650,000 in other areas;
- Queensland: $1,000,000 in a regional centre and $700,000 in other areas;
- Western Australia: $600,000 outside the capital city;
- South Australia: $500,000 outside the capital city;
- Tasmania: $550,000 outside the capital city;
- Northern Territory: $600,000 outside the capital city;
- Jervis Bay Territory and Norfolk Island: $550,000; and
- Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands: $400,000.
Price caps can change when the Investment Mandate is amended, so the participating lender should confirm the applicable cap for the exact property before you commit to a purchase.
Why can't you apply directly to Housing Australia?
The statutory application structure is lender-based. Housing Australia considers an application for a guarantee where the applicant is an eligible lender and the application is made in Housing Australia's approved manner and form.
For buyers, this means the practical route is:
- contact a participating lender;
- complete the lender's home-loan and scheme eligibility assessment;
- provide the documents the lender requests; and
- allow the lender to lodge the guarantee application with Housing Australia.
Housing Australia's legacy Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee guidance used the same structure: home buyers applied through participating lenders and could not apply directly to Housing Australia.
Does a 5% deposit guarantee loan approval?
No. A 5% deposit is only one part of the current eligibility framework.
The statutory loan-to-value requirement permits eligible loans above 80% and up to 95% of the property's value, but the participating lender must still approve the home loan under its own lending standards. A Housing Australia guarantee does not remove the lender's credit assessment.
You may therefore need more than the theoretical minimum deposit once purchase costs, lender requirements or differences between the purchase price and lender-assessed value are taken into account.
Does Housing Australia charge an application fee?
No. The current Investment Mandate states that Housing Australia must not charge fees for issuing a guarantee under the Home Guarantee Scheme framework.
This does not mean buying the property is fee-free. Your lender, conveyancer or solicitor, state or territory revenue authority and other service providers may impose normal loan and purchase costs.
What if a website still says the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee is open?
Some older Housing Australia pages and information materials still describe the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee's former eligibility rules, including the 5% deposit, 12-month regional residence test, Regional Checker and participating-lender application process.
For a 2026 application, the decisive current rule is the legislation: no Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee can be issued on or after 1 October 2025. Use current Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme information rather than relying on pre-October-2025 regional application instructions.
Common mistakes to avoid in 2026
- Trying to reserve a Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee place. The stream is closed and Housing Australia cannot issue a new regional guarantee.
- Assuming the old 12-month regional residence test still creates a separate entitlement. It belonged to the closed regional stream.
- Applying directly to Housing Australia. Current guarantee applications are submitted by participating lenders.
- Assuming 5% deposit means automatic approval. You must also satisfy the current scheme criteria and the lender's credit assessment.
- Using old property price caps. The current Investment Mandate contains higher caps in many locations than the former Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee materials.
- Ignoring the lender's property valuation. Scheme eligibility uses the relevant property value and statutory price cap, while the lender still applies its own credit requirements.
- Buying an investment property. The current General Stream requires the property to be owner-occupied.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee still available in 2026?
No. Housing Australia is prohibited from issuing a Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee on or after 1 October 2025, so there are no new regional-stream applications in 2026.
What replaced the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee?
From 1 October 2025, the broader scheme became the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. The former First Home Guarantee became the General Stream, while the separate Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee closed.
Can regional first-home buyers still get a 5% deposit government-backed loan?
Potentially. An eligible regional buyer can use the current Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme General Stream if they meet the buyer, loan, property and participating-lender requirements.
Do I still need to have lived in a regional area for 12 months?
That 12-month same-or-adjacent regional-area residence requirement belonged to the closed Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. It does not create a separate regional guarantee application in 2026.
Can I apply directly to Housing Australia for the 5% Deposit Scheme?
No. Guarantee applications are made through participating lenders. The lender assesses your eligibility and home-loan application and applies to Housing Australia for the guarantee.
What is the minimum deposit for the current General Stream?
The current eligible-loan rules allow a loan-to-value ratio above 80% and no more than 95%, which supports eligible buyers with a deposit of at least 5% subject to the lender's assessment and other scheme requirements.
Can permanent residents use the current 5% Deposit Scheme?
Yes. Under the current Investment Mandate, an eligible home buyer can be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, provided the other eligibility requirements are met.
Can I buy an investment property under the current scheme?
No. The residential property securing an eligible General Stream loan must be intended for owner occupation.
Does Housing Australia charge a guarantee application fee?
No. The Investment Mandate states that Housing Australia must not charge fees for issuing a guarantee. Normal lender and property-purchase costs can still apply.
Why do older Housing Australia pages still show Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee rules?
Those materials describe the scheme before it closed. Current legislation expressly prevents Housing Australia from issuing new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantees from 1 October 2025.
Official sources
Federal Register of Legislation - Housing Australia Investment Mandate Direction 2018, current 2026 compilationFederal Register of Legislation - Housing Australia Investment Mandate Direction 2018 latest versionHousing Australia - Regional First Home Buyer GuaranteeHousing Australia - Annual Report 2024-25Related procedures
Useful next steps and closely related guides for Australia.
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