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Buy your first home with a deposit as low as 5%

The First Home Guarantee is part of the Australian Government's Home Guarantee Scheme.

The First Home Guarantee supports Australian’s who have saved a minimum deposit of 5% of the property value and meet other eligibility criteria to buy a home without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), helping reduce the upfront cost of buying a home. 

For the 2025/2026 financial year, 35,000 places are available for the First Home Guarantee. 

The Mutual Bank is proud to be a participating lender in the Scheme, offering a pathway to home ownership for first home buyers who may otherwise find it difficult to enter the property market. 

You can find more information about the First Home Guarantee on the Housing Australia website.

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First Home Guarantee FAQs

Maximum price caps apply and vary by location. Price caps are the same for all Guarantees. Both the purchase price and property value must not exceed the price cap for the property’s location. For new builds with land and a separate build contract, the combined land purchase price and build cost must also stay under the price cap. 

For regional centres in NSW (for example Newcastle) the price cap is $900,000 and for other areas (for example Maitland) it is $750,000.

Home buyers can use the Postcode Search Tool on Housing Australia’s website to check the price cap for the location they want to buy in. The tool is only a guide – home buyers should confirm the price cap with our Lenders. 

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) is a one-off premium added to your home loan if you do not have a 20% deposit. It is an insurance policy which covers the lender against the losses they may suffer if the borrower can no longer pay loan repayments. If a borrower defaults on their mortgage, LMI means the lender can recover what is owed to them by repossessing the property the home loan is tied to. If the property’s value has fallen, the lender can suffer a loss. This is the risk LMI covers.

Learn more about Lenders Mortgage Insurance

You can visit the Housing Australia website to find out more about the First Home Guarantee.

View the First Home Buyer Guarantee Information Guide.

View more Frequently Asked Questions about the First Home Guarantee

How to Apply

 

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  • 1 Rate only available for minimum loan amount of $20,000. On expiry of the fixed rate period the rate will revert to the variable rate for the applicable home loan.
  • 2

    Comparison rate calculated on a loan amount of $150,000 over a term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees, or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

  • 3 100% Offset Account includes a Monthly Service Fee. Please review our Product Disclosure Statement for more information.
  • 4 No minimum repayments are required providing debt remains within approved limit.
  • 5 Rate includes a discount margin off the Investment Budget Home Loan Variable Rate. Margin subject to change until loan contract is issued. Lending criteria, T&Cs, fees and charges apply. Rate only available for new owner-occupied loans to The Mutual Bank with minimum new loan amount of $100,000.
  • 6

    Comparison rate calculated on a loan amount of $150,000 over a term of 25 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees, or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. For variable rate interest-only loans, the comparison rate calculation is based on an initial 5-year interest-only term. For fixed rate interest-only loans, the comparison rate calculations are based on an initial interest-only term equal to the fixed rate term.

Home Guarantee Scheme eligibility criteria apply.  Eligibility criteria, terms, conditions, fees, and charges apply to all loans and are available on application.