OZ Home Loan
  1. 01 Getting ready
  2. 02 Pre-approval
  3. 03 Choosing a loan
  4. 04 Offer and formal approval
  5. 05 Settlement

Australia · owner-occupier and first home

The whole route,
walked once
before you walk it

Buying a first home in Australia is five stages long, and almost every expensive mistake is a decision made in the wrong one. This site lays the route out end to end: what gets decided where, what to have ready, and which government agency sets each rule.

Start at stage 01 What the schemes actually do

Quick numbers

Run it now

Monthly repayment
—
At +3% (stress test)
—
Loan-to-value ratio
—
Total interest over the term
—

What this assumes
  • Principal and interest, repaid monthly, at a rate that never changes.
  • The stress figure adds three percentage points to your rate — lenders assess capacity above the actual rate, and it is worth seeing that number.
  • Loan-to-value ratio uses the price you enter. A lender uses its own valuation, which can be lower.
  • Excludes lenders mortgage insurance, transfer duty, fees, insurance, rates and strata levies.

An estimate for comparing scenarios, not a quote, an approval or financial advice. For a maintained official version see Moneysmart's mortgage calculator.

The route

Five stages, and what each one actually decides

Each stage owns a small number of decisions. Making them in the right stage is most of what separates a smooth purchase from an expensive one.

  1. 01 Getting ready The months before you apply for anything, when your deposit, your spending record and your existing credit limits decide what will be possible later. Three to twelve months, depending on the deposit First decision: How much deposit are you actually aiming for?
  2. 02 Pre-approval A lender looks at your full position and indicates what it would lend, subject to a property. It is what lets you bid or make an offer with a number you can stand behind. Two days to three weeks, then valid for roughly three months First decision: Is this a real assessment or a calculator result?
  3. 03 Choosing a loan Comparing what is actually different between products, which is usually the structure and the fees rather than the number on the poster. A week or two, in parallel with looking at properties First decision: Fixed, variable, or split?
  4. 04 Offer and formal approval From the moment you have a contract on a specific property to unconditional approval on that property. One to four weeks, and shorter if you bought at auction First decision: Auction or private treaty?
  5. 05 Settlement The day the money moves, the title transfers, and the loan actually starts. Mostly handled by your conveyancer, with a small number of things that are yours alone. Usually 30 to 90 days after exchange, set in the contract First decision: Are the settlement figures right?

Government schemes

Four things people call "the first home scheme"

They are separate, run by different bodies, and being eligible for one tells you nothing about the others. Each card links to the agency that sets the rule.

Home Guarantee Scheme Eligible first home buyers, single parents and regional buyers The government guarantees part of the loan, which lets a participating lender approve a lower deposit without lenders mortgage insurance. It is a guarantee to the lender, not a payment to you. The catch › First Home Super Saver Scheme First home buyers who can make voluntary superannuation contributions You make voluntary contributions into superannuation, then apply to release them plus associated earnings towards a first home deposit. The benefit comes from the concessional tax treatment inside super. The catch › State and territory duty concessions First home buyers, and in some places all buyers under a threshold Each state and territory sets its own transfer duty, and each runs its own concessions and exemptions for first home buyers, usually banded by property price. The catch › First Home Owner Grant First home buyers, generally of new homes A one-off payment administered by each state and territory, usually restricted to newly built or substantially renovated homes rather than established ones. The catch ›

Checklists

Print it, tick it, take it with you

One page per stage: the documents, the questions to ask, and the things to confirm in writing. Built to be printed and carried, not scrolled.

Open the checklists

Calculators

Three numbers worth running early

Repayments at a stressed rate, your loan-to-value ratio, and the upfront cash you need beyond the deposit. Simple arithmetic, run in your browser, shown with its assumptions.

Open the calculators

Guides

Recently written

All guides

Questions

Asked before the first appointment

How much deposit do I need for a first home in Australia?

The figure that changes your costs is the percentage, not the dollar amount. At 20% of the property value or more, lenders mortgage insurance does not apply. Below 20% it normally does, unless a government guarantee covers you, and it gets more expensive as the deposit shrinks. Budget separately for transfer duty, conveyancing, inspections and moving — those are on top of the deposit.

What is the difference between pre-approval and approval?

Pre-approval assesses you: income, debts, deposit and credit history, without a specific property. Formal approval assesses the property as well — valuation, security type, strata and location. That is why a pre-approval is not a guarantee, and why an under-valuation late in the process is the most common surprise.

Should I fix my rate or stay variable?

Fixing buys certainty for a set period and costs flexibility: extra repayments are usually capped, offset is often unavailable, and breaking early can be expensive. Variable moves with the market and normally allows unlimited extra repayments and a full offset. A split does some of each. Which suits you depends on how much certainty is worth to you, not on a forecast.

Do the first home schemes apply everywhere in Australia?

No, and this is where most confusion starts. The Home Guarantee Scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme are federal. Duty concessions and first home owner grants are set by each state and territory, with their own thresholds, property types and residence conditions. Advice written for another state can be exactly wrong for yours.

How long does the whole process take?

Saving aside, roughly: pre-approval takes days to a few weeks and lasts about three months; from contract to unconditional approval is one to four weeks; settlement is commonly 30 to 90 days after exchange, set in the contract. The five stage pages on this site give the detail for each.

General information about how the Australian home buying and lending process works. Thresholds, concessions and scheme eligibility are set by federal, state and territory agencies and change; each page links to the agency that sets the rule. Reviewed 17 August 2026.