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The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) has now helped 100,000 Australians purchase or build their own home over the three years since the commencement of the Home Guarantee Scheme.

According to NHFIC, around a fifth of all those who qualified and used the scheme were key workers, including 6,700 teachers, 5,000 nurses, and almost 3,500 social workers.

Furthermore, around 34,000 guarantees were provided to regional Australians.

The Home Guarantee Scheme comprises the First Home Guarantee (FHBG), the Family Home Guarantee (FHG) and the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee (RFHBG).

The Scheme is currently available to eligible home buyers through 32 participating lenders.

NHFIC CEO Nathan Dal Bon said it is a milestone for the organisation to have helped 100,000 homebuyers break into the housing market.

“We support Australians across the housing spectrum from those renting in community housing, through to Australians with the goal of homeownership — we look forward to helping more Australians over the coming years into homes sooner under the scheme,” he said.

Recent proposals by the Australian government sought to expand the eligibility of the programs under the Home Guarantee Scheme. The changes, which are set supposed to take effect on 1 July 2023, require amendment to the NHFIC Act and NHFIC’s Investment Mandate.

Here is the summary of the proposed changes to the Home Guarantee Scheme programs:

  • All programs will become available to eligible borrowers who are Australian permanent residents, in addition to Australian citizens.  
  • For First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, the eligibility will expand to friends, siblings, and other family members for joint applications. (These guarantees had previously been restricted to people that were married or in a de-facto relationship, in addition to single applicants.)
  • The First Home Guarantee and Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee will also be expanded to non-first home buyers who haven’t owned a property in Australia in the last ten years.
  • The eligibility for Family Home Guarantee will be expanded to include eligible borrowers who are single legal guardians of children such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  

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Photo by kate_sept2004 on Canva.

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