When to Claim Stamp Duty Relief as a Concreter

When Stamp Duty Concessions Apply to First Home Buyers

Stamp duty concessions apply to first home buyers in every state and territory, but the amount you save and the type of property that qualifies depends entirely on where you're buying. In NSW, a full exemption applies to new and established homes valued up to $800,000, with a sliding concession up to $1,000,000. In Victoria, a full exemption applies to properties valued up to $600,000, with a concession on homes between $600,001 and $750,000. In Queensland, the first home concession reduces duty by up to $17,350 on established homes valued under $709,999, with no concession at $800,000 or more. In WA, no duty is payable on homes valued up to $600,000, with a concessional rate on homes between $600,001 and $800,000.

If you're buying in Brisbane or the Gold Coast and you've found an established place at $650,000, the Queensland concession will knock off most of the duty but not all of it. If you're buying in Perth at the same price, you'll pay a concessional rate on the portion above $600,000. If you're buying in Melbourne at that price, you'll pay a reduced rate because the property is above the $600,000 exemption threshold.

The relief is automatic if you meet the eligibility criteria, but it's only available at settlement. You won't see it reflected in a contract price or deposit requirement. When you're working out how much cash you need to settle, factor in whether the concession applies to the property you're buying and the state you're in.

How New Builds Attract Different Concessions

In South Australia, stamp duty relief is available on new homes and vacant land only, with no relief available on the purchase of an established home. In Queensland, a full transfer duty concession applies to new homes with no price cap for contracts signed on or after 1 May 2025, reducing duty to nil on the residential land component. In Western Australia, a 100% off-the-plan duty concession capped at $50,000 applies to pre-construction contracts on dwellings valued up to $800,000, reducing proportionally to 50% for dwellings valued between $800,001 and $899,999.

Consider a concreter buying a new townhouse in Adelaide valued at $580,000. The SA relief wipes the duty entirely. If that same buyer purchases an established house at the same price in the same suburb, they pay full duty. The difference in upfront cash required is over $20,000.

In WA, the off-the-plan concession runs until 30 June 2028 and applies to all new dwellings purchased off-the-plan or under construction in strata, survey-strata or community titles arrangements. If you're buying a unit in a development that hasn't started construction yet, the 100% concession capped at $50,000 applies on values up to $800,000. If the unit is already under construction when you sign, the concession drops to 75% capped at $50,000.

Combining Duty Relief with the 5% Deposit Scheme

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with a deposit of as little as 5% of the property value, with Housing Australia providing a guarantee to the participating lender of up to 15% of the property value, enabling borrowers to reach a combined deposit and guarantee of 20% without paying LMI. State and territory grants and stamp duty concessions can generally be used alongside the scheme, though restrictions vary by jurisdiction and program.

If you're buying in regional NSW at $650,000 and you qualify for both the 5% Deposit Scheme and the stamp duty concession, you'll need $32,500 for the deposit plus settlement costs, but you won't pay duty because the property is under $800,000. The scheme doesn't cover duty, but the concession does. You still need to fund the deposit and other settlement costs like conveyancing and adjustments.

Property price caps from 1 October 2025 are $1,500,000 in NSW capital cities and regional centres and $800,000 in other areas, $950,000 in VIC capital cities and regional centres and $650,000 in other areas, and $1,000,000 in QLD capital cities and regional centres and $700,000 in other areas. The caps apply to both the purchase price and the lender's assessed value. If you're looking at regional properties in Queensland outside the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast, the cap is $700,000. If you're in those regional centres, the cap is $1,000,000.

Applications for the 5% Deposit Scheme are made through a panel of participating lenders, and you can access a range of home loan products including variable, fixed and split rate structures depending on the lender. The scheme works with your state concession, not instead of it.

What Happens if You Miss the Residency Requirement

In NSW, buyers must move into the home within 12 months of settlement and reside in the property as their principal place of residence for at least 12 continuous months. In Victoria, the buyer must move in within 12 months of settlement and reside there for at least 12 months. In Western Australia, each applicant must occupy the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least six months commencing within 12 months of completion.

If you take a job interstate eight months after settlement, or you decide to rent the property out before the residency period is complete, the state revenue office can claw back the concession and charge you the full duty plus interest and penalties. The requirement is enforced. Revenue offices audit residency using utilities connections, electoral roll data and council rates correspondence.

In some jurisdictions, hardship provisions apply if you can demonstrate genuine unforeseen circumstances like illness, employment relocation or relationship breakdown. You need to apply in writing and provide evidence. The outcome is discretionary and varies by state. If you're planning to buy and there's any chance you'll need to relocate or rent the property out within the first year or two, speak to a broker who works with tradies before you commit. You can explore finance for tradies that accounts for variable work locations and contract timelines.

How Queensland's Concession Works on Established Homes

In Queensland, duty is calculated at the standard home concession rate with an additional first home concession amount deducted, with the maximum first home concession deduction of $17,350 for properties valued up to $709,999. The concession phases out in $10,000 property value bands and reaches nil for properties valued at $800,000 or more.

A concreter buying an established house in Brisbane at $680,000 would receive the full $17,350 concession deducted from the calculated duty. If the property is valued at $750,000, the concession has partially phased out. At $800,000, there's no first home concession and you pay the standard rate. The concession doesn't eliminate duty entirely on most purchases. It reduces the amount payable, and that reduction shrinks as the property value increases.

For agreements entered into on or after 1 August 2026, at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree. The same citizenship requirement applies to the new home concession and the vacant land concession in Queensland from that date.

When the ACT and NT Offer the Widest Relief

In the ACT, eligible buyers are fully exempt from conveyance duty regardless of the value of the property purchased and regardless of household income from 1 July 2026. In the Northern Territory, the HomeGrown Territory Grant provides $50,000 for eligible first home buyers purchasing or building a new home, with no cap on the purchase or build price, for contracts signed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2027.

If you're buying in Canberra at any price and you meet the residency and ownership tests, you pay no duty. If you're buying a new build in Darwin at $650,000, you receive a $50,000 grant plus a reduction of up to $18,601 on transfer duty under the Territory Home Owner Discount. The combination of grant and duty relief in the NT is the most generous in the country for new builds, but it only applies to new homes. The $10,000 grant for established homes ended on 30 September 2025.

In the ACT, buyers must be individuals aged 18 or over, must not have a relevant prior property interest, and must own and occupy the property as their principal place of residence continuously for a minimum of one year commencing within 12 months of settlement. The prior property interest test in the ACT is strict. If you've owned any residential property anywhere in Australia before, you're ineligible.

How WA's Statewide Thresholds Changed in 2026

From 7 May 2026, the geographic distinction between the Perth Metropolitan and Peel regions and areas outside those regions was removed for the First Home Owner Rate of duty in Western Australia, with a single statewide threshold now applying to all WA transactions regardless of location. No duty is payable on homes valued up to $600,000, with a concessional rate on homes valued between $600,001 and $800,000 at a rate of $16.15 for every $100 or part thereof above $600,000.

Before May 2026, regional buyers in WA had access to higher thresholds than metro buyers. That distinction no longer exists. Whether you're buying in Perth, Geraldton or Kalgoorlie, the same duty thresholds apply. A concreter buying in Bunbury at $720,000 pays a concessional rate on the $120,000 above the $600,000 threshold, which works out to roughly $19,380 in duty rather than the full rate.

The WA FHOG is $10,000 for eligible buyers purchasing or building a new home, with a value cap of $800,000 for homes south of the 26th parallel and $1,000,000 for homes north of the 26th parallel for eligible transactions commencing on or after 7 May 2026. The link between the grant value cap and eligibility for the duty concession has been removed. You can access the concessional duty rate on purchases above the grant cap.

Avoiding the Pitfalls with Vacant Land Purchases

In NSW, a full stamp duty exemption applies to vacant land valued up to $350,000 with a concession for land valued between $350,001 and $450,000. In Queensland, a full transfer duty concession applies to vacant land with no price cap for contracts signed on or after 1 May 2025. In WA, no duty is payable on land valued up to $450,000, with a concessional rate on land valued between $450,001 and $550,000 at a rate of $20.14 for every $100 or part thereof above $450,000.

If you're buying land in regional NSW at $380,000, you'll pay a reduced rate on the portion above $350,000. If you're buying land in Queensland at the same price, you pay no duty at all. If you're buying in WA at $480,000, you pay a concessional rate on the $30,000 above $450,000, which works out to roughly $6,042.

The concession applies at settlement of the land, not at completion of the build. You need to meet the residency requirement after the house is built and you move in, but the duty concession is claimed when you settle on the land. If you buy land and don't build within a reasonable timeframe, or if you sell the land before building, the revenue office may reassess your eligibility and recover the concession.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We'll walk through your state's concessions, work out what you're eligible for, and make sure you're not leaving cash on the table at settlement.

Frequently Asked Questions