The new interactive questionnaire will indicate whether potential applicants are eligible to apply by asking questions relating to citizenship, whether or not they have ever owned or had an interest in residential property in Australia, and what their taxable income is.
To be eligible for the scheme, you must be a first home buyer on an income of up to $125,000 for singles, or a combined income of up to $200,000 for couples (both must be first home buyers).
“The tool is provided as a guide only and does not mean that people using it will receive either a guarantee or a loan from a participating lender,” the NHFIC said in a statement.
“It is your responsibility to find out whether or not your particular circumstances make you eligible for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. If in doubt, it is your responsibility to get the advice you need from a participating lender or otherwise to be sure of your position.”
The eligibility tool will complement the existing property price lookup tool that has been developed to assist first home buyers to determine the property price threshold that applies under the scheme.
The scheme will be targeted to ‘entry-level’ properties, with a maximum eligible loan size determined on a regional basis to reflect the median house prices and stamp duty concessions in each of the states and territories.
First Home Loan Deposit Scheme property price caps:
| Region | Price Cap ($AUD) |
| NSW – capital city | $700,000 |
| NSW – regional centre (Newcastle and Lake Macquarie) | $700,000 |
| NSW – regional centre (Illawarra) | $700,000 |
| NSW – other | $450,000 |
| VIC – capital city | $600,000 |
| VIC – regional centre (Geelong) | $600,000 |
| VIC – other | $375,000 |
| QLD – capital city | $475,000 |
| QLD – regional centre (Gold Coast) | $475,000 |
| QLD – regional centre (Sunshine Coast) | $475,000 |
| QLD – other | $400,000 |
| WA – capital city | $400,000 |
| WA – other | $300,000 |
| SA – capital city | $400,000 |
| SA – other | $250,000 |
| TAS – capital city | $400,000 |
| TAS – other | $300,000 |
| ACT | $500,000 |
| Northern Territory | $375,000 |
| Jervis Bay Territory & Norfolk Island | $450,000 |
| Christmas Island & Cocos (Keeling) Island | $300,000 |
Applications for the scheme open on 1 January 2020 and will be lodged directly through participating lenders and their brokers.
“NHFIC has received strong interest from both potential first home buyers and lenders in the scheme, having responded to more than 1,300 enquiries about the scheme to date,” the NHFIC said.
Last week, NAB was announced as the first lender to be appointed to the panel with the remainder of the panel to be announced in the coming weeks.
Westpac was allegedly axed as the second major lender for the scheme after being accused of 23 million money-laundering breaches by watchdog AUSTRAC, some of which may have funded child exploitation in Southeast Asia.
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