Main Points Considered

Scenario

A New Zealand citizen (who has lived in Australia for 12 months but has never owned property in Australia or NZ) is buying an established home as their first property in Victoria, Queensland, or New South Wales.

Victoria (VIC)

• First Home Owner Grant (FHOG):
  • In Victoria, the FHOG is only available for new homes (e.g. newly built or substantially renovated homes)​qro.qld.gov.au. There is no FHOG for purchasing an established (existing) property. (The current VIC FHOG is typically $10,000 for a new home, or $20,000 in regional areas, under specific value caps, but it does not apply to existing homes.)
  • For FHOG purposes, a New Zealand citizen is treated as a permanent resident​, sro.vic.gov.au, so they would meet the citizenship/residency requirement if they were buying a new home. However, no FHOG can be claimed in VIC since the property is established.

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• Stamp Duty Concession:
  • Victoria offers a generous stamp duty exemption/concession for first home buyers on new and established homes. For purchases from 1 July 2017, a first home buyer pays no stamp duty for homes valued ≤ $600,000, and gets a sliding concession for homes $600,001–$750,000​sro.vic.gov.au. (Above $750k, no FHB concession applies.)
  • The NZ buyer qualifies as an eligible first home buyer if they meet the FHOG criteria (never owned a home in Australia, etc.)​sro.vic.gov.au.
  • Notably, owning property in NZ does not count against FHOG/FHB status in Australia​, movingtoaustralia.co.nz, so having never owned in Australia or NZ means they clear the first-home criteria easily. At least one purchaser must be an Australian or NZ citizen or an Australian permanent resident​. sro.vic.gov.au – The NZ citizen on a Special Category Visa (subclass 444) counts as a permanent resident in this context​. sro.vic.gov.au.
  • The buyer must also occupy the property as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least 12 months, commencing within 12 months of settlement​sro.vic.gov.au. In summary, NZ citizens can receive the first-home stamp duty exemption/concession in VIC on an established home, provided the home’s value is within the limits and they live in it for at least one year.

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• Renting Out a Room:
  • Renting out a spare bedroom does not disqualify the first-home benefits in Victoria. There is no rule against partially leasing the property, as long as the owner continues to use the home as their principal place of residence.
  • The State Revenue Office has clarified that you may lease part of your property (e.g. rent out a room) provided it remains your PPR and you continue living there​, sro.vic.gov.au. This means the buyer can rent out the second bedroom in the first 12 months and still retain the FHOG (if applicable) and the stamp duty concession, as long as they live in the home for the required period. Important:
  • If the owner failed to occupy the property as required (e.g. moved out entirely too soon), the concession would be revoked, but merely having a tenant in one room does not breach the residency requirement in VIC.

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• Foreign Resident Considerations:
  • A New Zealand citizen living in Australia on a subclass 444 visa is not treated as a foreign purchaser in Victoria. NZ citizens on this visa are considered permanent residents for the purposes of the FHOG​sro.vic.gov.au, and are exempt from Victoria’s foreign purchaser additional stamp duty (which is an extra 8%) so long as they are in Australia at the time of purchase/settlement​sro.vic.gov.au.
  • In practice, this means our buyer does not need Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval to buy a home, and will not pay the foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge.
  • The only caveat is that the NZ citizen should be physically present in Australia when the property transaction is completed; if a NZ citizen was outside Australia at settlement, they could be treated as a foreign buyer in VIC​sro.vic.gov.au. In this scenario, the individual has lived in Melbourne for 12 months and faces no foreign ownership restrictions in VIC.

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Comparison of Key Conditions by State

To summarize the differences and similarities across Victoria, Queensland, and NSW, the table below outlines the key eligibility points and the impact of renting out a room for each state:

Criteria	Victoria (VIC)	Queensland (QLD)	New South Wales (NSW)
FHOG on established home?	No – FHOG only for new homes (established properties do not qualify)​qro.qld.gov.au.	No – only for new homes (e.g. $15,000 grant for new builds under $750k)​qro.qld.gov.au.	No – only for new homes (e.g. $10,000 for new homes, none for existing)​movingtoaustralia.co.nz.
Stamp duty concession	Yes – First Home Buyer Duty exemption for homes ≤ $600,000; concession on $600k–$750k purchases​sro.vic.gov.au. Available on new or established homes (unlike FHOG)​sro.vic.gov.au.	Yes – First Home Concession: no duty up to ~$700,000; concession applied on homes up to $800,000 (duty phases in)​qro.qld.gov.au. Applies to new or established homes.	Yes – First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme: no duty ≤ $800,000; discounted duty for $800k–$1,000,000​revenue.nsw.gov.au (new or established homes eligible).
Occupancy requirement	Occupier must move in within 12 months and live ≥12 months continuously as principal place of residence​sro.vic.gov.au. (At least one buyer must meet this.)	Must move in within 1 year of settlement and occupy as principal residence for at least 1 continuous year (12 months). (This was the condition for the duty concession)​qro.qld.gov.au.	Must occupy the property for ≥12 consecutive months, starting within 12 months of purchase (for contracts from July 2023)​revenue.nsw.gov.au. (Previous requirement was 6 months for earlier purchases.)
Renting out a room in first year	Allowed – No prohibition on renting part of the home as long as the owner continues to reside there. You may lease out a room and still be considered to occupy the property as your PPR​sro.vic.gov.au.	Allowed (now) – As of Dec 2024, first-home buyers can rent out a room in the first 12 months without losing the concession​qro.qld.gov.au. (Prior to this change, any renting out in the first year would have nullified the concession​abc.net.au.) The owner must still live in the home during that period.	Allowed – NSW does not restrict renting out rooms. The only requirement is that the first-home buyer themselves lives in the property for 12 months; having a tenant in a spare room does not violate this. No specific rule forbids partial renting in the first year​revenue.nsw.gov.au.
NZ citizen status (foreign buyer considerations)	NZ citizens on SCV are treated as permanent residents for FHOG and concessions​sro.vic.gov.au. No FIRB needed. No foreign purchaser duty in VIC (SCV holders are exempt from the 8% surcharge)​sro.vic.gov.au, as long as the NZ citizen is in Australia at settlement.	NZ citizen on SCV is considered a permanent resident in QLD​qro.qld.gov.au. No FIRB required. No Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty (7%) if the NZ citizen is residing in Australia (buying as a local)​noborderslawgroup.com.au. (If they were overseas, AFAD would apply, but not in this case.)	NZ citizen on SCV qualifies as a permanent resident for first-home schemes​revenue.nsw.gov.au. No FIRB needed. No 8% foreign surcharge stamp duty in NSW, provided the buyer has been in Australia ≥200 days pre-purchase​revenue.nsw.gov.au (which they have). Essentially treated the same as an Australian buyer, given their 12-month residency in Australia.

References: The information above is based on current state government legislation and guidelines for first-home buyer programs in Victoria, Queensland, and NSW. Key sources include the Victorian State Revenue Office​

sro.vic.gov.au

​sro.vic.gov.au, the Queensland Revenue Office​

qro.qld.gov.au​

qro.qld.gov.au, Revenue NSW​

revenue.nsw.gov.au​

revenue.nsw.gov.au, as well as official definitions of foreign purchaser rules​

sro.vic.gov.au​

revenue.nsw.gov.au. These references confirm the eligibility criteria and conditions summarized for each state.

If you would like further information on purchasing a first home in any state of Australia, please contact our office for help.