Home Loan Schemes, Grants And Support

Government Grants, Schemes & Support

Become a homeowner sooner. Get the help of a government led or Westpac supported opportunity. Talk to a home loan specialist before applying for your home loan.

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How could you get into your own home sooner?

Saving for a 20% deposit or paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) if you don’t have the full 20% can be a barrier to home ownership. However, with a bit of help, you could fast-track your dreams. This is where Westpac comes in. With the option of home loan schemes, grants and support, for eligible customers.

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Option 1: Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme

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Low deposit

Shave years off the usual time it would take to save, with a low deposit of 2% or 5%.

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No LMI

No Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) means you could save thousands.

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Sweet rate

Benefit from interest rates normally reserved for deposits of 20% or more.

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No income caps

Unlimited spots and no waiting lists.

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Explore these two pathways

First Home Buyers

Minimum 5% deposit and no LMI

You are: Eligible first home buyer purchasing a home sooner.

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Find out more

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Single Parents

Minimum 2% deposit and no LMI

You are: Single parent or single legal guardian with at least one dependent child.

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Option 2: First Home Owner Grant

Don't quite have all your deposit saved? Need a cash injection to help with some of your home-buying or building expenses? A one-off $10,000 First Home Owner Grant could be what you're looking for.

Find out more

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You may be eligible for this grant on top of one of the other schemes or support options. Our lending specialists can help you understand how it works and answer your questions.

Book an appointment

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Option 3: Other support opportunities

LMI Waiver for Professionals: low 5-10% deposit and no LMI

You work:  in one of the eligible professions. The list includes a: nurse, midwife, medical practitioner, veterinarian, pharmacist, emergency services worker, or one of 17 other occupations.

Explore eligibility

Family Security Guarantee (Using a guarantor)

You have: A family member who’s willing to guarantee the loan. You can reduce your loan to value ratio (LVR) to under 80%, meaning you won’t pay LMI.

Discover more

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)

You are: Not eligible for a grant or scheme but still want to purchase a home with a deposit of less than 20%. LMI might be a workable option.

Find out how

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Talk to a home lending specialist

We’ll support you at every stage of your home buying journey by making it easy to connect in the way that suits you.

Tell us who you are, what you'd like to discuss, and how you'd like to meet — video call, phone, in branch or we can come to you.
Choose a time that works for you and we’ll confirm your booking and who you’ll be meeting.

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Frequently asked questions

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What is Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI)?

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) won’t apply if your loan is supported by the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. However, you may still want to understand what it is. LMI is a charge that most lenders require if a home loan deposit is less than 20%. This protects the lender if you can’t repay the loan. It can either be added to your loan or paid upfront.

What are principal and interest repayments?

There are two parts to a home loan balance:

The principal amount: is how much you have borrowed.
The interest: is an amount your lender charges you based on your principal. Your interest rate is a percentage of your principal. The interest is calculated daily and added to your balance every month.

That means if you’re making principal and interest repayments you’re paying off the following:

The amount you borrowed (the principal)
The interest
Any fees.

By the end of the loan term (up to 30 years), you’ll have repaid the amount borrowed and the total interest owed. Your home will then be mortgage-free.

More about home loan repayments

How is home loan interest calculated?

We calculate your interest in two steps.

First, we multiply the balance on your loan by your interest rate and divide by 365 days in a year. This shows your daily interest charges.

We then add together your daily interest charges for every day in each month, which produces the monthly interest charge shown on your statement.

Finally, we divide this up according to your preferred repayment frequency, whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly. This figure is your repayment amount.

If your loan balance was $500,000 with an interest rate of 4.93% p.a. and monthly repayments, the calculation might look like this:

500,000 x 0.0493 / 365 = $67.53 interest per day

$67.53 x 30 days in September = $2,026 interest for September

You can use our Mortgage Repayment Calculator to estimate repayments and interest charges over the life of a loan. You can also use the calculator to check the effect that extra repayments could have on your home loan.

Planning to use an offset account? Calculate how much interest you could save.

Compare home loans and our interest rates

What to consider when deciding between fixed and variable?

Variable interest rate

With a variable rate home loan, your rate changes in line with market interest rates. Choose from our basic loan and standard home loan with offset. You could get ahead on your home loan with no cap on extra repayments and no associated break costs.

Fixed interest rate

With a fixed rate home loan, your rate won’t change over your 1-5 year fixed rate period. This also means it won’t be affected by interest rate rises during this time. With a fixed rate you'll know exactly what your interest rate and repayments will be throughout your fixed rate loan term.

Split your home loan

You could get the best of both worlds. Split your balance into separate variable and fixed rate loan amounts.

Compare home loans and our interest rates

How can I pay off my home loan faster?

Many things affect how fast you can pay down your home loan balance, and how much interest you'll pay.

Extra repayments. The simplest way to pay off your loan sooner is to make additional repayments. These repayments are on top of the repayments you’re obliged to make. Bear in mind, if you have a fixed rate with us, you can only make up to $30,000 in additional repayments. If you make more than the allowed $30,000 during the fixed rate period, break costs will apply.

Repayment type. As there are two parts to your home loan balance, the principal (what you borrowed) and the interest (what the bank charges to lend you the money). It makes sense that paying off both will save you money in the long run. As part of the conditions of the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, you'll need to pay principal and interest repayments (P&I). Read more about repayment types.

Monthly, fortnightly or weekly repayments. Repayment frequency can make a difference over time. Just by choosing fortnightly over monthly repayments is the equivalent of making one extra repayment per year.

Offset. If you link an offset account to your Rocket variable home loan, depositing your savings into this account will help to reduce the interest payable on your principal. Calculate how much you could save with an offset account.