Guides to buying and renting a home in Australia

Buying

Buying a home in Australia: the steps, state by state

Buying a home in Australia follows the same broad path everywhere (finance, inspections, a written contract, settlement, registration), but the legal rules belong to each state and territory.

Transfer duty in NSW: 2026/27 rates and first home buyers

In New South Wales the buyer pays transfer duty (called stamp duty in everyday speech) on a sliding scale of rates.

Land transfer duty in Victoria: rates and concessions

Victoria charges land transfer duty on the higher of the price paid and the market value. The general rate scale runs from 1.4% up to $110,000 plus 6.5% above $2,000,000.

Transfer duty in Queensland: rates and home concessions

In Queensland the buyer pays transfer duty on a sliding scale that is nil up to $5,000 and reaches $38,025 plus $5.75 per $100 above $1,000,000.

Transfer duty in Western Australia: rates and first home

In Western Australia transfer duty is charged on a sliding scale from $1.90 per $100 to $28,453 plus $5.15 per $100 above $725,000.

Stamp duty in South Australia: how to find your figure

In South Australia, stamp duty on a property purchase is administered by RevenueSA, the state revenue office.

Property transfer duty in Tasmania: rates and relief

Tasmania charges property transfer duty on the greater of the purchase price and the unencumbered value, from $50 on the first $3,000 up to $27,810 plus $4.50 per $100 above $725,000.

Conveyance duty in the ACT and the Home Buyer Concession

In the Australian Capital Territory, duty on a property purchase is called conveyance duty and is set by a yearly ministerial determination.

Stamp duty in the Northern Territory: formula and discount

In the Northern Territory, stamp duty on a conveyance of property is set in the Stamp Duty Act 1978.

First home buyer stamp duty concessions in each state

Every state and territory taxes a property purchase, and most reduce or remove that tax for first home buyers, but the thresholds and conditions are state rules.

First home owner grants compared across the states

The First Home Owner Grant is a one-off payment run by each state and territory, not by the federal government: the federal first home page sends you to the revenue office of each jurisdiction.

Foreign purchaser surcharge duty in each state

In most states a foreign person who buys a home pays an additional duty on top of ordinary stamp duty.

Foreign buyers and FIRB approval for a home

Under federal law, a foreign person generally needs foreign investment approval before buying residential land in Australia, whatever the price. From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings, with limited exceptions.

Cooling-off period when buying a home, by state

A cooling-off period lets you cancel a home purchase after signing, but it is a state and territory rule, and it is short.

Buying at auction in Australia: the rules by state

At an Australian auction, the highest bidder at or above the seller's reserve buys the property, there is no cooling-off period, and you generally cannot make your bid subject to finance or an inspection.

Contract of sale and exchange: what you sign, by state

The contract of sale is the document that binds you to buy. In most states it becomes binding when both parties sign it, or in NSW when the signed copies are exchanged.

Building and pest inspection before you buy

A pre-purchase building inspection reports on the visible condition of a home, and a separate pest inspection looks for termites and other timber pests. Neither is a guarantee.

Strata title and body corporate: what to check by state

When you buy an apartment, unit or townhouse in a shared scheme, you own your lot and share the common property through a body that goes by a different name in each state: owners corporation (NSW, VIC, ACT), body corporate (QLD, SA) or strata company (WA).

Settlement and electronic conveyancing in Australia

Settlement is the day you pay the balance of the price, the transfer is lodged, you become the registered owner and you collect the keys. In Victoria it is usually 30 to 90 days after the contract.

Land titles register and title search in Australia

Each state and territory keeps its own register of land titles, and a title search tells you who the registered owners are and what interests (mortgages, easements, covenants, caveats) affect a property.

How to find out who owns a property in Australia, and what a title search costs

To find out who owns a property in Australia, order a title search from the land titles register of the state or territory where the property is. The search names the registered owners (registered proprietors) and lists mortgages, caveats and easements.

Buying off the plan: sunset clauses, deposits and duty (NSW, Vic, Qld)

Buying off the plan means signing a contract for a lot, apartment or townhouse before it is built or before its plan of subdivision is registered.

Home warranty insurance by state: thresholds, cover periods and limits

In most of Australia a builder must take out home warranty insurance (its name changes by state: Home Building Compensation Fund in NSW, Home Warranty in Victoria, home indemnity insurance in WA, building indemnity insurance in SA, a fidelity fund certificate in the NT) before taking a deposit or starting work, once the job passes a value threshold, usually $20,000 (Queensland: $3,300; NT: $25,000 for additions).

Underquoting and agents' price guides: NSW, Victoria, Queensland

Underquoting is when an agent advertises or quotes a price below what the law treats as the real price: in New South Wales and Victoria, that floor is the agent's own estimated selling price in the agency agreement, and in Victoria also the seller's reserve or asking price and any written offer the seller rejected.

Financing

Home loan serviceability buffer: APRA's 3-point test

In Australia, a bank or other authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) must test whether you can afford a home loan at an interest rate at least 3.0 percentage points higher than the rate you will actually pay.

Home loan deposit and lenders mortgage insurance

In Australia the deposit is the part of the price you pay yourself; the lender funds the rest.

Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (Home Guarantee)

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, formerly the Home Guarantee Scheme, lets eligible first home buyers buy with a deposit of as little as 5%, and single parents or legal guardians with as little as 2%, without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI).

Home loan pre-approval in Australia: what it is and isn't

A home loan pre-approval, also called conditional approval, tells you how much a lender is willing to lend before you choose a property.

First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS): how it works

The First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS) is a federal scheme administered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). It lets you make extra voluntary contributions to your super and later withdraw them, plus calculated earnings, towards your first home deposit.

Help to Buy: the federal shared equity scheme

Help to Buy is the Australian Government's shared equity scheme, run by Housing Australia under the Help to Buy Act 2024.

Selling

Selling a home in Australia: what it costs, by state

There is no federal rule on what it costs to sell a home in Australia, and no official table of typical fees. The main cost is the agent's commission, which in the states we checked is negotiable and agreed in writing before you sign.

Vendor disclosure when selling a home, by state

There is no single national vendor disclosure rule in Australia: each state and territory sets what a seller must give a buyer, and when.

Capital gains tax and your main residence (CGT)

Capital gains tax (CGT) is a federal tax, so the main residence rules are the same in every state and territory.

Foreign resident capital gains withholding (15%)

If you buy Australian residential land or other taxable Australian real property from someone who is, or may be, a foreign resident, the law requires you, the buyer, to pay 15% of the price to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on or before settlement.

Renting

Renting in NSW: bond, rent rises and notice periods

In New South Wales, renting is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and run by NSW Fair Trading. The bond is capped at 4 weeks' rent and rent can be increased only once every 12 months, with at least 60 days' written notice.

Renting in Victoria: bond, rent rises and notice

In Victoria, renting is regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. The usual bond cap is one month's rent, a rent increase needs 90 days' notice on the official form, and rent can rise no more than once every 12 months.

Renting in Queensland: bond, rent rises and notice

In Queensland, general tenancies (houses and units) are regulated by the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.

Renting in Western Australia: bond, rent and notice

In Western Australia, renting is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and regulated by Consumer Protection, part of the state Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Renting in SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT

Four jurisdictions, four different sets of rules. South Australia requires a landlord to have a prescribed reason to end a tenancy (since 1 July 2024) and gives 60 days' notice of a rent rise.

Rental bonds by state: caps, deadlines and who holds them

A rental bond is a security deposit, and the rules differ by state and territory. In New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia (for rent up to $1,200 a week), Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory the cap is 4 weeks' rent.

Owning

Council rates in Australia: how they work, by state

Council rates are a yearly charge on property, set by the local council (or, in the ACT, the territory) and separate from state land tax.

Land tax by state: thresholds, home exemption, surcharges

Land tax is a state and territory tax on the land you own, other than your home.

Vacant residential land tax in Victoria (VRLT)

Victoria's vacant residential land tax (VRLT) is an annual tax on residential land left vacant for more than 6 months of the previous calendar year. Since 2025 it applies across the whole state; before 2025 it covered only 16 inner and middle Melbourne council areas.

Rental property deductions and negative gearing (ATO rules)

The ATO sorts rental property expenses into three groups: those you claim now (interest on the loan, council rates, repairs and maintenance, assets costing $300 or less), those you claim over several years (capital works, borrowing expenses, assets costing more than $300) and those you can't claim (private costs, purchase and sale costs, travel to a residential rental since 1 July 2017, second-hand assets bought after 9 May 2017).

Vacancy fee for foreign owners: the 183-day rule and the annual return

A foreign person who owns a home in Australia must lodge a vacancy fee return with the ATO within 30 days of the end of each vacancy year, and pays a vacancy fee if the home was not lived in, rented or genuinely available for rent for at least 183 days in that year.

Short stay levy in Victoria (and the NSW short-term rental rules)

Since 1 January 2025, Victoria charges a short stay levy of 7.5% of the total booking fee on every stay of less than 28 consecutive days in short stay accommodation in the state (Short Stay Levy Act 2024).