Organisation : NHFIC Australia
Scheme Name : First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
Country : Australia
Website : https://www.nhfic.gov.au/
NHFIC First Home Loan Deposit Scheme
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible first home buyers to build or purchase a first home sooner. The Scheme is administered by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC).
Related / Similar Scheme : Treasury Australia SME Recovery Loan Scheme
Usually first home buyers with less than a 20 per cent deposit need to pay lenders mortgage insurance. Under the Scheme, eligible first home buyers can purchase or build a new home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent (lenders criteria apply). This is because NHFIC guarantees to a participating lender up to 15 percent of the value of the property purchased that is financed by an eligible first home buyer’s home loan.
10,000 First Home Loan Deposit Scheme places will be available for the 2021-22 financial year from 1 July 2021.
In the 2020-21 Federal Budget, the Australian Government announced an additional 10,000 FHLDS places for the 2020-21 financial year, specifically for eligible first home buyers building or purchasing new homes. These additional places are known as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (New Homes) or FHLDS (New Homes).
There are currently 27 participating lenders across Australia offering places under the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
Eligibility
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is open to singles or couples.
Singles:
If you are looking to purchase your first home as the only person named as a borrower in your home loan, then you would apply under the Scheme as a single.
Couples:
If you are looking to purchase your first home with your spouse or de facto partner, where you are both named as borrowers in your home loan, then you would both apply under the Scheme as a couple.
These are the only two types of applications that are eligible under the Scheme.
Home loan arrangements made with family or friends, with more than two borrowers, or any instance where the other borrower is not your spouse or de facto partner, are ineligible for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
How To Apply?
All applications for the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme need to be made directly with one of the Scheme’s participating lenders (or their authorised representatives, i.e. a mortgage broker).
NHFIC does not accept applications directly and we cannot provide personal financial advice.
First home buyers (and those advising a first home buyer) are encouraged to consult with a participating lender and seek their own independent financial and legal advice on how to structure their loan arrangements in a way that suits their own personal circumstances.
Participating Lenders:
Following a competitive procurement process in 2019, NHFIC appointed 27 lenders to the panel of residential mortgage lenders able to offer guarantees under the Scheme.
Both National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia have offered Scheme-backed loans from 1 January 2020. The 25 non-major lenders have offered guaranteed loans from 1 February 2020.
All participating lenders are supporting the Scheme by not charging eligible customers higher interest rates than equivalent customers outside the Scheme.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) Board, which oversees the administration of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS), has decided that the existing FHLDS lender panel will continue for the 2021-22 financial year.
Further information concerning the future arrangements for the FHLDS lender panel will be communicated in due course.