Help to Buy Scheme Perth, WA, The 2026 Guide
If saving a full deposit feels like it keeps moving further away, the federal Help to Buy scheme offers a different path. Instead of requiring you to close the entire deposit gap yourself, the government co-purchases a share of the home with you, which means you can buy with a 2% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance on the portion you borrow.
The scheme is open in Perth, WA. The income cap sits at $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for couples and single parents from 1 July 2026, and the Perth price cap is $850,000. Those two numbers do most of the qualifying work before anything else is considered.
Our team helps buyers across Perth, WA compare their deposit pathways and structure the borrowing correctly from the start. The first home loan options available right now are wider than most buyers realise, and Help to Buy is one of several worth weighing.
Key takeaways
- Help to Buy lets eligible buyers purchase with a 2% deposit and no LMI.
- Income caps are $103,000 single and $165,000 joint from 1 July 2026.
- Help to Buy cannot be combined with a state shared-equity scheme.
Can Perth buyers actually use the Help to Buy scheme?
Yes, Help to Buy is available in Western Australia and the Perth price cap is $850,000. The scheme launched on 5 December 2025 and offers 10,000 places for the 2026-27 financial year nationally. Whether a specific buyer qualifies comes down to their income, the property price, and whether they are genuinely buying without another government shared-equity scheme running alongside it. A broker who has worked through the application process can tell you quickly which of those conditions you need to watch.
Source: Housing Australia.
How does the Help to Buy scheme actually work?
The federal government takes a co-ownership share of the property at purchase. For a new home the share is up to 40%; for an existing home it is up to 30%. You buy the remaining share with your own deposit and a standard home loan, and you pay no LMI because the government's equity brings the lender's effective risk down.
The government's share is not a loan with interest. You do not make repayments on it. What you do is share any capital gain proportionally when you eventually sell, refinance, or buy out the government's share. You can buy out the government's portion progressively over time, which is how most participants plan to transition to full ownership.
The scheme runs through Housing Australia. Applications go through an approved lender, not directly through the government, so a broker who knows which lenders are participating is the practical starting point.
Most buyers who ask about Help to Buy think it works like a grant. It doesn't. You're inviting the government in as a co-owner, which changes how you think about selling, renovating and buying them out later. Understanding that from day one makes the whole experience much cleaner.
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
What do you need to qualify for Help to Buy in Perth?
The eligibility conditions are set federally. Perth buyers are assessed on all of them before a place is allocated.
The conditions that matter most:
- › Income cap:$103,000 taxable income for singles; $165,000 for couples and single parents. Assessed on your most recent ATO Notice of Assessment. These caps are indexed every 1 July.
- › Price cap:$850,000 in Perth. The property must be at or under this figure.
- › Minimum deposit: 2% of the purchase price from your own funds.
- › No other shared equity: you cannot combine Help to Buy with a state shared-equity scheme such as the Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity loan. WA stamp duty concessions and the First Home Owner Grant are not excluded.
- › Australian citizenship or permanent residency: confirm the current residency condition with Housing Australia before applying.
Source: Housing Australia.
What does Help to Buy cost Perth buyers, and what does it mean for your deposit?
A 2% deposit on an $800,000 property is $16,000. That is the entry point for Help to Buy, and no LMI is charged on the loan you take out. On the same purchase without any scheme, a standard 80% LVR loan would require a $160,000 deposit. The gap between those two numbers is the scheme's practical value for buyers who are income-eligible but deposit-constrained.
The $850,000 Perth cap is a real boundary in this market. Most inner and middle-ring suburbs have house medians well above it. REIWA data shows that suburbs with house medians at or under the cap are concentrated in Perth's outer corridors, including Armadale at $700,000, Midland at $710,000, and Gosnells at $760,000, while unit markets in closer suburbs frequently come in under the threshold. Buyers focused on the Help to Buy cap will usually be choosing between outer-corridor houses and inner or middle-ring units.
The government does not charge ongoing interest on its equity share, but capital gains are shared proportionally at sale. If the government owns 30% and the property grows in value, the government receives 30% of that growth when you sell or buy them out. For a property in a strong-growth corridor, the buyout cost rises over time, which is worth factoring into your planning.
Source: Housing Australia; REIWA (Landgate data, August 2026).
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How does Help to Buy compare to other Perth deposit pathways?
The options worth weighing:
- › Help to Buy: 2% deposit · no LMI · government takes up to 40% equity (new) or 30% (existing) · income-tested · $850,000 Perth cap · cannot combine with state shared equity
- › First Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme): 5% deposit · no LMI · no income cap (removed October 2025) · $850,000 Perth cap · you own 100% from day one
- › Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity: 2% deposit · no LMI · WA Government takes up to 35% equity · income-tested ($128,000 single / $197,000 couple or family) · $800,000 cap · new apartments, townhouses, villas and small-lot new builds only · 1,000-loan allocation, confirm places remain
- › Standard loan with LMI: 5% to 10% deposit · LMI premium added to the loan · no price cap · no income test · full 100% ownership
For most income-eligible first home buyers in Perth, the choice between Help to Buy and the First Home Guarantee turns on one thing: whether you want to own 100% from settlement, or whether you'd rather buy with a smaller deposit and share the equity. The First Home Guarantee gives you full ownership and the lower LVR without an income test, which makes it the cleaner path for buyers whose income is close to or above the Help to Buy threshold.
Source: Housing Australia; Keystart.
When does Help to Buy not make sense for Perth buyers?
Help to Buy suits buyers who are income-eligible and genuinely deposit-constrained. It is a less natural fit where those conditions do not clearly hold.
If your income is close to the cap, consider that tax assessments from a strong earning year could push you over the threshold. The scheme assesses the most recent ATO Notice of Assessment, so timing matters. A buyer who earns $105,000 this year is not eligible, even if last year's figure was under the cap.
If you are buying in a suburb where median growth has been strong, the shared capital gain can cost more over a five or ten-year hold than the LMI premium you avoided at purchase. That calculation is personal and depends heavily on what the property actually does, but it is worth running through with your broker before you commit. For buyers who expect to hold for a short period before upgrading, the buyout cost and transactional friction can outweigh the upfront deposit saving.
If your income sits above the threshold or you're buying a property above $850,000, the First Home Guarantee is usually the better route, since it removed its income cap in October 2025 and still covers the same Perth price ceiling.
Where we see Help to Buy work well is for buyers who genuinely can't get to 5% without the scheme and whose income is comfortably under the cap. For buyers sitting near the threshold, we'd usually run a comparison across all three pathways before recommending one direction. The 2% deposit isn't free. The equity share has a real cost, it just lands later.
Joe Del Borrello · Director, Launch Finance · Chat to the Launch team →
How to apply for Help to Buy in Perth, WA, step by step
Applications go through an approved lender, not directly through Housing Australia. A broker who knows which lenders are participating can steer you toward the right one and confirm your eligibility before anything is lodged.
Step 1: Talk to us
We run through your income, deposit and the property type you're considering to confirm whether Help to Buy is the right pathway or whether the First Home Guarantee or a Keystart product suits you better.
Step 2: Confirm eligibility and gather your documents
You'll need your most recent ATO Notice of Assessment, evidence of your deposit funds, and standard loan documents. We check the income figure against the current cap before anything is submitted.
Step 3: Apply through a participating lender
We match you to a lender participating in the scheme and lodge your loan and scheme application together. The government's equity share is confirmed at this stage, not after settlement.
Step 4: Settlement and beyond
At settlement the government's share is registered on the title alongside yours. We stay in contact as you build equity and can help when you're ready to buy out the government's share or refinance.
What goes wrong when Perth buyers apply for Help to Buy?
Where applications run into trouble:
- › Income assessed on the wrong year: the scheme uses your most recent ATO Notice of Assessment. A buyer whose income lifted this year but was under the cap last year may not be eligible at the time they apply.
- › Combining with a state scheme: applying for Help to Buy while holding Keystart Urban Connect Shared Equity is an automatic disqualifier. State stamp duty concessions and the WA First Home Owner Grant are still available alongside it.
- › Misreading the price cap: the $850,000 Perth cap applies to the purchase price, not the valuation. A purchase structured above the cap for any reason loses scheme eligibility entirely.
- › Applying to a non-participating lender: not every lender on the market is approved for Help to Buy. An application lodged with the wrong lender wastes time and leaves a credit enquiry on the file.
- › Not understanding the equity buyout: buyers who plan to renovate or upgrade quickly sometimes underestimate the cost of buying the government's share back, particularly in suburbs where growth has been strong since purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Help to Buy available for existing homes in Perth?
Yes, existing homes are eligible, with the government taking up to a 30% equity share rather than the 40% available on new builds. The $850,000 Perth price cap applies to both.
Can I use Help to Buy if I'm not a first home buyer?
The scheme is open to buyers who do not currently own a home, not only first home buyers. Someone who has owned previously but no longer does may still be eligible, subject to the income and price conditions.
Can Help to Buy and the WA First Home Owner Grant be used together?
Yes, the WA First Home Owner Grant is not excluded by Help to Buy. The $10,000 FHOG applies to new homes priced at or under $800,000 in Perth and can run alongside the scheme.
Is Help to Buy or the First Home Guarantee better for Perth buyers?
For buyers above the Help to Buy income cap, the First Home Guarantee is the only option. For income-eligible buyers, the First Home Guarantee gives full ownership from day one at 5% deposit, while Help to Buy requires only 2% but shares the capital gain. The better choice depends on your deposit position and how long you plan to hold the property.
What happens when I sell a property bought through Help to Buy?
The government receives its proportional share of the sale proceeds. If it holds 30% equity and the property has grown in value, it receives 30% of the total sale price, not just the original contribution.
Should I use a mortgage broker or go directly to a lender for Help to Buy?
A mortgage broker, every time. Not every lender participates in the scheme, and a broker confirms your eligibility, identifies the participating lenders available to you, and handles the application without a credit enquiry being placed at the wrong institution.
Your Next Steps
Getting your first purchase right under Help to Buy means understanding the equity arrangement before you commit, not after. The 2% deposit is genuinely accessible, but the shared capital gain is a real condition and it behaves differently depending on the suburb, the holding period, and whether you plan to buy the government out incrementally.
The right pathway, whether that is Help to Buy, the First Home Guarantee, Keystart, or a combination, is a conversation worth having before you make an offer. Contact the Launch Finance team or call 08 9367 4222. We'll compare your options across 60+ lenders and confirm which scheme actually suits your position.
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External Resources
Launch Finance · Perth, WA · Launch Finance Pty Ltd (ABN 17 163 528 701), Corporate Credit Representative 454041 of BLSSA Pty Ltd (ABN 69 117 651 760), Australian Credit Licence 391237 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
