SA Stamp Duty Abolished for First Home Buyers (New Homes)

South Australia has abolished stamp duty entirely for first home buyers purchasing eligible new homes, with no price cap. On a $600,000 new build, the standard transfer duty bill is around $26,830 - money that now stays in your pocket. Combined with the existing $15,000 First Home Owner Grant for new homes, eligible South Australian first home buyers can access more than $41,000 in direct government support on a single purchase, before any federal scheme is layered on top. For buyers with flexibility about where they live, the numbers in Adelaide are now unusual by national standards.

What exactly changed in South Australia

The SA Government has removed stamp duty (formally called land transfer duty) for eligible first home buyers purchasing a new residential property. The change applies with no price cap, which is a key point of difference compared with other states. There is no income test attached to the stamp duty abolition itself - eligibility hinges on being a first home buyer and buying a qualifying new home.

Two important boundaries to understand:

• New homes only: the abolition applies to new builds, off-the-plan apartments, and house and land packages. Established (previously occupied) homes still attract full stamp duty in SA.
• Separate from the FHOG: the SA First Home Owner Grant of $15,000 for new homes remains available on top of the stamp duty abolition. The two supports stack rather than replace each other.

Because there is no cap, the saving scales directly with the purchase price. Standard SA stamp duty figures for a non-concession buyer look roughly like this:

• $500,000 new build: about $21,330 in stamp duty avoided
• $600,000 new build: about $26,830 avoided
• $700,000 new build: about $32,330 avoided
• $800,000 new build: about $37,830 avoided

Once the $15,000 FHOG is added, the combined position at a $600,000 new build is around $41,830 of direct support before any federal scheme.

SA versus other states at a $650,000 new build

Looking at a like-for-like new home purchase at $650,000, the first-home-buyer position varies meaningfully across the country. Standard stamp duty (before concessions) at that price sits at roughly $23,662 in NSW, $34,070 in VIC, $22,275 in QLD, $24,890 in WA, $29,580 in SA, $24,623 in TAS and $17,880 in the ACT. The actual amount an eligible first home buyer pays after state concessions is very different state to state:

• NSW: $10,000 FHOG for new homes up to the state cap, and a full stamp duty exemption for first home buyers on new homes under $800,000. At $650,000, stamp duty payable is generally $0.
• VIC: $10,000 FHOG for new homes. The full stamp duty exemption applies under $600,000, with a sliding concession between $600,000 and $750,000, so a $650,000 new build attracts a partial duty.
• QLD: a $30,000 FHOG applies to eligible contracts signed on or before 30 June 2026 (reverting to $15,000 from 1 July 2026), and Queensland has removed stamp duty on new homes for first home buyers with no price cap from May 2025.
• SA: $15,000 FHOG plus stamp duty abolition for first home buyers on new homes, with no cap. At $650,000, the combined state support is approximately $44,580.
• TAS: a $30,000 FHOG applies to eligible new home contracts signed on or before 30 June 2026 (reverting to $10,000 from 1 July 2026), and an exemption from stamp duty for first home buyers on homes under $750,000 applies until 30 June 2026 - more on this below.
• WA: $10,000 FHOG with a stamp duty concession for new and established homes within set price thresholds.
• ACT: no FHOG, but the Home Buyer Concession Scheme provides a full stamp duty exemption for first home buyers within set income thresholds. The ACT Budget has also confirmed full stamp duty abolition for first home buyers from 1 July 2026.

Two takeaways: South Australia is one of only a handful of states with both a meaningful FHOG and a stamp duty abolition for new builds, and it is the only state where the duty abolition for first home buyers carries no price cap whatsoever.

What a worked example looks like in Adelaide

Combine the SA stamp duty abolition with the $15,000 FHOG and the federal Help to Buy shared equity scheme on a $600,000 new build, and the buyer position changes substantially. Help to Buy lets eligible buyers contribute a minimum 2 percent deposit, with the Australian Government taking up to a 40 percent equity share in a new home. Income caps of $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for joint applicants apply, and SA's Help to Buy property price cap is currently $900,000 in metropolitan areas.

On a $600,000 Adelaide new build, the arithmetic works out roughly as follows for an eligible buyer:

• Purchase price: $600,000
• Buyer deposit (2 percent minimum): $12,000
• Government equity share (40 percent of price): $240,000
• Loan required: about $348,000
• Stamp duty: $0 (abolished for eligible first home buyers on new homes)
• FHOG: $15,000 received toward construction or settlement costs

On a 30-year loan at variable rates around 6.95 percent, the monthly repayment on roughly $348,000 sits near $2,300, compared with about $3,890 on a $588,000 loan (the same property with a 2 percent deposit and no Help to Buy contribution at the same rate). The headline saving is the repayment relief month to month, not just the upfront support. You do not pay rent on the government's equity share, but you also do not own that portion of the property - when you sell, the government receives the same percentage of the proceeds it contributed at purchase, so capital growth is shared proportionally. You can voluntarily repay the government's share over time as your position improves.

The Tasmania deadline that affects this decision

If you are weighing up state options on the back of stamp duty differences, one date is worth keeping front of mind. Tasmania's existing stamp duty exemption for first home buyers on properties up to $750,000 (covering both new and established homes), and its $30,000 First Home Owner Grant for new homes, are both scheduled to change on 30 June 2026. After that date, the FHOG steps down and the stamp duty position is subject to review. If Tasmania has been part of your decision set, the next few weeks carry a different timing pressure than South Australia, where the duty abolition for new homes does not have a scheduled expiry.

What this means for first home buyers

Whether South Australia changes your decision depends on more than the scheme numbers. A few practical points to work through:

• Eligibility is property-type specific. The SA stamp duty abolition applies to new homes only. If you are looking at established stock in Adelaide, the standard duty regime still applies. Confirming whether a specific property qualifies as a new home for duty purposes is something to check with your conveyancer or RevenueSA before signing.
• Federal scheme rules layer on top. Help to Buy and the 5 percent Deposit Scheme are mutually exclusive on the same purchase, but the state-level FHOG and stamp duty abolition can generally stack with one federal scheme. Work through the combinations for your situation before deciding.
• Capital growth and affordability still matter. Lower upfront costs and a smaller loan do not change what a property is worth in 10 years. Adelaide's medium-term price trajectory and your own income stability are the bigger drivers of the final outcome.
• Talk it through with a professional. A mortgage broker can help you compare lenders that participate in Help to Buy, and a conveyancer can confirm property-type eligibility. Both serve an important role in turning the headline numbers into a real-world plan.

Run the numbers

These tools can help you see how SA's stamp duty abolition could affect your situation:

• Stamp Duty Calculator - compare the stamp duty payable in South Australia against your own state at the price points you are looking at
• Grant Stacker - see which combination of state FHOG, stamp duty concession and federal scheme may apply to your purchase
• Scheme Comparison Tool - line up Help to Buy against the 5 percent Deposit Scheme so you can see the loan size, repayment and equity share for each
• Borrowing Power Calculator - model how a smaller loan under the Help to Buy equity contribution changes your repayments compared with borrowing the full purchase price