South Australia's first home buyer settings are among the most generous in the country, and most first-time buyers we meet in Adelaide are not fully across what they qualify for. Between the First Home Owner Grant and the stamp duty concession, the combined benefit on a new home can exceed $40,000. Here is a plain-English guide to what is on the table in 2026.
The First Home Owner Grant — $15,000
The FHOG is a one-off cash payment of $15,000 to eligible first home buyers who purchase or build a new home in South Australia. 'New' means a home that has not previously been sold or occupied as a residence — that includes off-the-plan apartments, house-and-land packages, and substantially renovated properties where more than half of the original dwelling has been replaced. Established homes do not qualify. The property must be occupied as your principal place of residence within twelve months of settlement, and lived in for at least six continuous months.
Stamp duty — $0 on new homes and vacant land
Eligible first home buyers pay zero stamp duty on new homes and vacant land in South Australia. For contracts entered into on or after 6 June 2024, there is no property-value cap on the concession — a first home buyer purchasing a $1.2 million new home pays no stamp duty on the transfer, which alone is a saving of around $58,000. This is the change that dwarfs all others in the SA package and has quietly re-shaped the buy-new-versus-buy-established maths for many first-time buyers.
What 'first home buyer' actually means
The eligibility rules are stricter than most buyers realise. You (and your spouse or partner) must not have previously owned a residential property in Australia. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and at least eighteen. The property must be a home, not an investment — the six-month occupancy requirement is the practical enforcement. If you are buying with a partner who has previously owned property, the couple is generally not eligible for the FHOG, though there are limited exceptions.
Established homes — the trade-off
First home buyers purchasing established homes in South Australia are generally subject to ordinary stamp duty rates. On a $900,000 established home, that is around $42,000 in duty. On the same-priced new home, it is $0. That is a material factor to weigh against the higher build cost, longer settlement timeline and (often) less convenient location of new stock. The right answer is genuinely different for different buyers — a rushed decision is expensive either way.
How to actually claim the benefits
The FHOG application is made through your lender at settlement — most lenders handle the RevenueSA paperwork on your behalf. The stamp duty concession is claimed on the transfer at settlement, again through your conveyancer or lender. Applications must be lodged within twelve months of completing the transaction. It is worth confirming with your conveyancer that both applications have been submitted correctly — occasionally we see clients miss the FHOG because the lender assumed the buyer had lodged it themselves.
Where we can help
We are not licensed to give personal financial advice, so if you are working out what price bracket you can actually afford, that is a conversation for a mortgage broker. But if you would like a considered opinion on a specific home you are looking at — new or established — or you want to talk through the buy-new-versus-buy-established maths for your circumstances, we are always happy to help. No obligation, no pressure.
