First Home Loan Deposit Scheme launches today
From today, eligible first home buyers will be able to apply for guarantees under the Australian Government’s new First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
The Scheme will help first home buyers purchase a home sooner and will be offered through 27 participating lenders across the country.
The two major bank participating lenders, the National Australia Bank (NAB) and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), will offer guaranteed loans from the Scheme’s commencement date of 1 January 2020.
Both CBA and NAB have dedicated First Home Loan Deposit Scheme web pages providing further information on how to apply for the Scheme.
The 25 non-major lenders will begin offering guaranteed loans from 1 February 2020.
Consistent with NHFIC’s Investment Mandate, the non-major lenders will receive no less than 50 per cent of the initial 10,000 guarantees allocated in the current financial year.
The initial lending panel composition achieves the Australian Government’s objective of promoting competition between the big and small lenders, and also ensuring that the Scheme has broad geographic reach, including in regional and remote communities.
The composition of the panel should enable strong activation of the mortgage broker channels and promote choice for first home buyers.
All participating lenders are supporting the Scheme by committing to not charging eligible customers higher interest rates than equivalent customers outside of the Scheme.
The full list of initial Scheme lenders is:
Major bank lenders:
- National Australia Bank
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Non-major lenders:
- Australian Military Bank
- Auswide Bank
- Bank Australia
- Bank First
- Bank of us
- Bendigo Bank
- Beyond Bank Australia
- Community First Credit Union
- CUA
- Defence Bank
- Gateway Bank
- G&C Mutual Bank
- Indigenous Business Australia
- Mortgageport
- MyState Bank
- People’s Choice Credit Union
- Police Bank (including the Border Bank and Bank of Heritage Isle)
- P&N Bank
- QBANK
- Queensland Country Credit Union
- Regional Australia Bank
- Sydney Mutual Bank and Endeavour Mutual Bank (divisions of Australian Mutual Bank Ltd)
- Teachers Mutual Bank Limited (including Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank and UniBank)
- The Mutual Bank
- WAW Credit Union
Information about the Scheme is available on NHFIC’s website (www.nhfic.gov.au/what-we-do/fhlds/) including online tools to assist prospective first home buyers determine their potential eligibility and identify the relevant property price threshold that will apply to any potential purchases.
Media contacts
Kathy Lindsay | Wells Haslem Mayhew (for NHFIC) | klindsay@whmspa.com.au | 0437 230 007