Buy sooner with 5% down using the government scheme and NSW concessions
In Sydney the deposit is the barrier, not the repayment. APW Finance is a Low Deposit Home Loan Broker in Sydney for buyers who can service a mortgage but cannot wait a decade to save twenty percent.
The rules changed materially in October 2025. The old First Home Guarantee is now the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, and the three limits that used to stop people have gone.
Income caps were removed entirely. The annual cap on places was abolished, so there is no queue. And the NSW price cap rose to $1.5 million, which covers most of the Sydney market rather than a slice of it.
Under the scheme an eligible buyer purchases with 5% down and pays no mortgage insurance, because the government guarantees the gap to the lender. As a broker for 5 percent deposit home loans we work across the routes available:
Genuine savings is the requirement that catches people. Most participating lenders want your 5% held in your own name for at least three consecutive months, and a family gift on its own usually will not satisfy it.
Our guide to scheme eligibility covers the detail, and the First Home Super Saver scheme explains how to release super contributions toward your deposit.
Servicing still applies in full. The scheme removes the insurance premium and the deposit barrier, but the lender assesses your income at their buffer rate exactly as they would on any other application.
We check that first, then confirm which combination of scheme, concession and grant leaves you least out of pocket before you start attending inspections.
Timing matters too. Duty concessions and grant thresholds are set separately from the scheme cap, so a purchase can qualify under one and miss another entirely.
We map all of them against your target price range before you fall in love with a property that costs you an extra twenty thousand dollars in duty for the sake of crossing a threshold.
Buy with as little as five percent down under the government scheme, or ten percent through a standard lender with insurance capitalised. We show you both costs side by side rather than assuming the scheme always wins.
The 5% Deposit Scheme now has no income cap and no limit on places, with a $1.5 million NSW price cap. You must apply through a participating lender, and not every lender on the market is one.
Where the scheme does not apply, we compare mortgage insurance premiums between lenders, which differ more than most buyers expect, and structure the loan to keep the premium down or avoid it entirely.
We assess income, credit file, deposit source and genuine savings history, then match you to lenders that actually support low deposit borrowers. Your Low Deposit Home Loan Broker in Sydney knows which ones quietly tightened policy.
When the deposit is small, strategy matters most. A Low Deposit Home Loan Broker in Sydney builds a plan around the scheme, the concessions and the lender policy that fits you, not whichever one you read about first.
Tell us what you have saved, where it came from and what you earn. Your Low Deposit Home Loan Broker in Sydney will confirm which schemes you qualify for within one business day.
On stamp duty, our guide to the NSW first home buyer duty exemption sets out the current thresholds.
The scheme itself is administered by Housing Australia.
APW Finance Pty Ltd delivers expert lending solutions with personalised service, empowering clients across residential, commercial, and business sectors.