Can we buy a home in Australia?

It depends on your visa. Australian citizens and permanent residents buy like anyone else, and first home buyers can get help. On a temporary visa you count as a foreign person: you can’t buy an existing home at the moment, and a new one costs a lot more.

Your visa decides the rules

For foreign investment and stamp duty, the line is between Australian citizens and permanent residents on one side and “foreign persons” on the other. Most temporary visa holders, including people on a 482 visa who are on a pathway to permanent residence, count as foreign persons.

On a temporary visa

The ban on foreign purchases of established homes started on 1 April 2025 for two years. The 2026–27 Budget extended it by 2 years and 3 months, to 30 June 2029. Before the ban, temporary residents could get approval to buy one existing home to live in. That route is closed while the ban lasts. There are limited exceptions, mostly for developments that add new housing.

• Get approval before you sign. Apply through the ATO, which handles residential foreign investment applications. The fee for a home or land up to A$1 million is A$15,600 in 2026–27, and A$31,300 up to A$2 million. Fees go up each 1 July
• Pay the state surcharge. This is extra stamp duty for foreign buyers, worked out on the full price
• Lodge a vacancy fee return every year. Foreign owners must do this even when the home is lived in or let. If it is empty for 183 days or more in a year, you pay a vacancy fee, which is now double the application fee you paid
• Expect annual land tax surcharges in some states if you own land there as a foreign person: for example 5% in NSW and 4% in Victoria, each year

On a A$1 million home in NSW, the surcharge alone is A$90,000 (about £47,000), on top of normal stamp duty. Many people on a pathway to permanent residence choose to rent until their visa is granted. See How do bond and leases work? and permanent residence.

As a permanent resident or citizen

You buy without foreign investment approval or surcharges. Every state charges stamp duty (transfer duty), and each has its own help for first home buyers.

In each scheme you must usually live in the home for at least 12 months, starting within 12 months of settlement, and at least one buyer must be a citizen or permanent resident.

Does owning a UK home count against you?

The NSW and Victorian schemes say you’re not eligible if you or your partner have already owned residential property in Australia. The federal 5% Deposit Scheme asks that you are a first home buyer or haven’t owned property in Australia in the last 10 years. None of these tests mentions property overseas, but don’t assume: ask the state revenue office, or the lender for the federal scheme, how they treat a home you own or owned in the UK.

The 5% Deposit Scheme

Under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, the government guarantees part of your loan so you can buy with a deposit of 5% without paying lenders mortgage insurance. Since 1 October 2025 there are no income caps and no limit on places, and the property price caps went up (for example to A$1.5 million in Sydney). You apply through a participating lender. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and live in the home.

Getting a loan

Lenders set their own rules for buyers on temporary visas or paid in pounds. Some ask for a bigger deposit or count only part of foreign income. Your Australian credit history may be short. A mortgage broker can tell you which lenders will consider you. See How do I open an Australian bank account?.

How buying works

1. Get pre-approval for a loan, so you know your budget
2. Hire a conveyancer or solicitor to check the contract before you sign or bid
3. Make an offer or bid at auction. Auctions are common in Sydney and Melbourne
4. Exchange contracts and pay a deposit
5. Settle, usually a few weeks later, and pay stamp duty