Help to Buy: A Rationed Scheme With a Three‑Lender Exit
Demand is forecast to run ahead of the 10,000 annual places — and the government’s equity stays on title long after settlement.
The demand picture
Forecast demand against supply
Six names on the list. Three ADIs.
Commonwealth Bank
The largest participant. Its own scheme page directs applicants to CommBank Home Lending Specialists and does not list a broker channel.
Bank Australia
The lender the MFAA identified in November 2025 as accepting Help to Buy applications through brokers.
Teachers Mutual Bank Limited × 4
Teachers Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Firefighters Mutual Bank and UniBank are all brands of the one ADI — and TMBL describes them as serving education, higher education, emergency services and healthcare.
What the Customer Guide actually says
The part that is still being built
The Capability Assessment records that Housing Australia has “commenced planning for future scenarios such as management of relationship breakdowns and early equity buy‑outs”, developing “interim and long‑term policies, procedures, and operational processes”. The scheme is settling files now; the process for the messiest moments in their life is still in development.
The broker takeaway
Help to Buy can be the right answer for a client who cannot get there any other way. But it is a long‑dated arrangement with a narrow exit, so the file note has to record the trade—off, not just the deposit saving. Confirm channel, accreditation and current terms with each participating lender before you position it.
Sources: Housing Australia / firsthomebuyers.gov.au — Help to Buy scheme page, participating lender list, 2026–27 threshold update and Help to Buy Customer Guide; independent Capability Assessment of Housing Australia (31 August 2026) as reported by The Adviser; MFAA statement on broker access (28 November 2025); Teachers Mutual Bank Limited divisions page. General information only — not legal or compliance advice.
Help to Buy Demand Is Forecast to Run Past Its 10,000 Places. The Rule That Should Change Your Advice Sits in the Refinance Clause
An independent capability assessment has put next year’s Help to Buy applications above the scheme’s annual cap. But the number brokers should be working from isn’t the queue — it’s what the Customer Guide says happens when your client wants to leave.
In this article
Help to Buy has been settling files since December 2025, and most brokers have by now had at least one client ask about it. The scheme is easy to explain at the front end — a 2% deposit, no LMI, the government taking up to 40% of the purchase price. It is much harder to explain at the back end, and the back end is where the broker relationship actually lives.
What the capability assessment actually found
On 31 August an independent Capability Assessment of Housing Australia was released. The Adviser reported its Help to Buy figures on 1 September, and they are worth sitting with. In the seven months to 30 June 2026 the scheme took 7,261 active applications — 9,203 including those cancelled, withdrawn or expired — producing 4,808 approvals and 3,636 settled purchases.
Looking forward, the assessment projects 12,447 active applications over the next twelve months, against 10,000 places available each year. It forecasts 8,242 approvals and 6,233 settlements from that pool.
Read that carefully. An application is not a place consumed, and the forecast approvals figure (8,242) still sits below the 10,000 cap. What the numbers describe is pressure on the front of the queue rather than a confirmed shortfall of places. But for a broker, pressure on the queue is the thing that changes a client conversation — because it changes how confidently you can promise a timeline.
These figures come from a single source reporting a government document, so treat them as indicative rather than settled. The direction, though, is not really in dispute: a capped scheme with rising interest is a rationed scheme, and rationed schemes need to be positioned differently from ordinary lending.
The scheme as it stands from 1 July 2026
If your last close look at Help to Buy was at launch, two things have moved. The income thresholds were lifted from 1 July 2026 and now sit at $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint applicants and single parents. Housing Australia also notes that property price caps are not indexed — they are “set and updated through separate policy decisions made by the Australian Government”, which means a cap can sit still while a market moves underneath it.
The core mechanics are unchanged. The government contributes up to 40% of the purchase price for a new home or up to 30% for an existing one. The minimum deposit is 2%. Applicants must be Australian citizens aged 18 or over, must live in the property as their principal place of residence, and generally cannot own other property in Australia or overseas, with limited exceptions for single parents. Renting the home out, or using it for business purposes, requires written exemption from Housing Australia.
Six names on the lender list. Three ADIs.
The government’s participating lender page currently lists six lenders for Help to Buy: Bank Australia, Commonwealth Bank, Teachers Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, Firefighters Mutual Bank and UniBank.
Four of those six are brands of the same institution. Teachers Mutual Bank Limited describes Teachers Mutual Bank, UniBank, Firefighters Mutual Bank and Health Professionals Bank (along with Australian Mutual Bank) as its retail brands, serving Australians working in education, higher education, emergency services and healthcare. So the practical panel is three ADIs — and one of those three reaches only clients in particular occupations.
Set that against the 5% Deposit Scheme, where the government’s participating lender list runs to more than fifty names. Same client, same government, a wildly different placement problem.
On broker access — check, don’t assume
In November 2025 the MFAA said that CBA, then one of only two participating lenders, had confirmed Help to Buy would not be available through mortgage brokers, while Bank Australia was accepting broker-lodged applications. MFAA chief executive Anja Pannek argued at the time that “access to the scheme has to be available through mortgage brokers”, because “shared equity is a significant long-term commitment”.
That statement is now around nine months old and the panel has grown since. CBA’s own Help to Buy page still directs applicants to speak with a CommBank Home Lending Specialist and does not list a broker channel, but neither that page nor the government’s lender list states channel availability outright. Confirm accreditation and channel directly with each lender before you position the scheme to a client.
The refinance clause is the one that should change your advice
Here is the line in the Help to Buy Customer Guide that deserves to be in every file note. On refinancing while the government still holds equity:
“Refinancing with a non-Participating Lender means you must buy out the Australian Government’s equity share in full.”
Help to Buy Scheme Customer Guide, Housing Australia
Refinancing to another participating lender is different — the guide says the client can buy out the government’s share in full or in part, subject to the minimum reduction. Either way, refinancing is subject to approval from both the existing participating lender and Housing Australia, and the client pays the refinancing costs, including discharging the Help to Buy mortgage.
Think about what that means over a normal broker’s client lifecycle. You settle a Help to Buy loan in 2026. In 2029 the client’s rate is uncompetitive, or their circumstances change, or the lender’s service deteriorates. Ordinarily that is a refinance conversation and a retention win. Under Help to Buy it is a conversation with three doors: stay put, move to one of the other two participating ADIs if the client qualifies and one of them will take the loan, or find 30–40% of the property’s current value to buy the government out entirely.
The commercial reality. A Help to Buy client is, for practical purposes, locked to a three-ADI panel for as long as the government holds equity. That is not a reason to avoid the scheme — for a client who cannot otherwise buy, it may still be plainly the right answer. It is a reason to make sure the client hears it from you at the start rather than discovering it from a lender three years later.
The income review clock and the 90-day window
The second under-discussed mechanic is the income reassessment. Per the Customer Guide, Housing Australia reviews participants “at least once every five years”. And then:
“If your taxable income goes above the income threshold for two financial years in a row, you may be required to repay part or all of the Government’s equity share.”
Help to Buy Scheme Customer Guide, Housing Australia
Where a repayment is required, the guide indicates it must be made within 90 days of the assessment date, with the participating lender working with the client to assess whether they are able to do so. Voluntary partial repayments must be at least 5% of the home’s current property value, rounded to the nearest $1,000 — and the client pays for a valuation every single time a repayment is made, plus related administrative costs.
Two things follow for brokers. First, a client on $95,000 today who is on a normal career trajectory may cross $103,000 well inside the first review cycle. That is not a remote scenario; it is an ordinary pay progression. Second, the buy-out is priced off current value, so in a rising market the client’s equity share gets more expensive to reclaim exactly as their income improves. Both are worth modelling out loud at the fact-find, not glossed.
| Moment in the file | What the guide says | The broker conversation |
|---|---|---|
| Refinance off panel | Government’s equity share must be bought out in full | Your client’s refinance options are three ADIs, not the whole market |
| Refinance on panel | Buy out in full or in part, subject to the minimum reduction and approvals | Check the other participants’ accreditation and eligibility before promising anything |
| Partial buy-back | Minimum 5% of current property value, rounded to nearest $1,000 | Chipping away in small amounts isn’t available — it’s lumpy |
| Every repayment | Client pays valuation cost plus administrative costs | Budget it; a buy-back is not a free transaction |
| Income above threshold | Two consecutive financial years may trigger a required repayment within 90 days | Model a promotion, not just today’s payslip |
| Sale | Lender’s loan first, then the government’s equity at the value at time of sale | The government shares the upside — and the downside |
The part that is still being built
The capability assessment is broadly positive on Housing Australia, recording that it “has established the core capability required to administer the scheme and is taking a proactive approach to planning for future program demands, risk management, and workforce readiness”. That is a reasonable finding and should not be read as criticism.
But one passage matters directly to brokers. The assessment records that “in recognition that shared equity arrangements with home owners may remain in place for many years, Housing Australia has commenced planning for future scenarios such as management of relationship breakdowns and early equity buy-outs”, and that this work includes “developing interim and long-term policies, procedures, and operational processes to support consistent and efficient management of these matters”.
In other words: the process for handling a separation, or an early buy-out, is being written now — while files settle. Separations are not an edge case in a mortgage book. Neither is an early buy-out from an inheritance or a partner’s income. Brokers should expect these to be workable but not yet routine, and should set client expectations about timeframes accordingly rather than assuming bank-style turnaround.
Where this lands on best interests duty
Best interests duty obligations for credit assistance providers sit under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, and how they apply to a capped, panel-limited government scheme is a question for your licensee rather than something to reason out from first principles on a Friday afternoon. What follows is general information, not compliance advice.
That said, the shape of the issue is not subtle. Help to Buy involves a long-dated third-party interest on title, a materially restricted refinance path, a cost to exit that scales with the property’s value, and a reassessment mechanism tied to the client’s future income. Those are precisely the features that a considered recommendation would normally weigh and record. If your process for Help to Buy is the same one-line note you use for a standard prime application, it is worth asking your aggregator or licensee whether that is enough.
The practical version: document that the client was told about the refinance restriction and the income reassessment, note the alternatives you considered — the 5% Deposit Scheme in particular, given its far broader lender list — and record why the trade-off was or wasn’t worth it for this client. Then point the client to Housing Australia’s own guides for the scheme’s terms, because those terms can change and yours is not the document that governs them.
What to review this week
- Confirm your actual access. Check with each of the three participating ADIs which channels they accept Help to Buy through and whether you are accredited. Six names on a government list is not six lenders on your panel.
- Check the occupational brands against your book. If you write for teachers, nurses, paramedics, firefighters or university staff, the TMBL brands may be genuinely useful to you. If you don’t, your effective panel is smaller again.
- Rebuild your scheme comparison. Put Help to Buy beside the 5% Deposit Scheme on deposit, LMI, borrowing capacity, lender choice and exit cost — not just deposit and LMI.
- Update your thresholds. If your calculators or client-facing material still say $100,000 and $160,000, they are out of date as of 1 July 2026.
- Add two lines to your fact-find. Where is this client’s income likely to be in three years, and do they understand the refinance restriction?
- Diarise the reviews. Help to Buy clients are review clients, not set-and-forget clients. Their scheme obligations continue long after your commission is paid.
Key takeaways
- Demand is forecast above the cap. An independent capability assessment projects 12,447 active applications over twelve months against 10,000 annual places, per The Adviser‘s reporting — pressure on the queue, though forecast approvals (8,242) still sit under the cap.
- Six listed lenders are three ADIs. Four of the six names are Teachers Mutual Bank Limited brands, which TMBL describes as serving education, emergency services and healthcare workers.
- Refinancing off the panel requires a full buy-out. The Customer Guide states a client refinancing to a non-participating lender must buy out the government’s equity share in full.
- Income reassessment is real. Reviews occur at least every five years; two consecutive financial years above the threshold may require a repayment within 90 days.
- Buy-backs are lumpy and cost money. Minimum 5% of current property value, with the client paying a valuation each time.
- The in-life processes are still being written. The assessment records that Housing Australia has commenced planning for relationship breakdowns and early equity buy-outs, developing interim and long-term policies and processes.
Broker FAQ
Not necessarily. Applications and places are different measures, and the same assessment forecasts 8,242 approvals over twelve months — below the 10,000 cap. The honest position with a client is that demand is rising against a fixed annual allocation, so timing matters and you cannot guarantee a place.
The government’s participating lender list names the lenders but does not state channel availability. The MFAA said in November 2025 that CBA had confirmed it would not offer the scheme through brokers while Bank Australia would; that position is dated and the panel has since expanded. Confirm accreditation and channel with each lender directly.
Per the Customer Guide, refinancing to a participating lender lets them buy out the government’s share in full or in part, subject to the minimum reduction and to approval from both the existing lender and Housing Australia. Refinancing to a non-participating lender requires buying the government’s share out in full. The client pays refinancing costs, including discharging the Help to Buy mortgage.
From 1 July 2026 the thresholds are $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint applicants and single parents. Property price caps, by contrast, are not indexed — Housing Australia states they are set and updated through separate policy decisions by the Australian Government.
Compare on more than deposit size. Help to Buy reduces the loan amount by taking government equity, which helps servicing, but restricts lender choice to three ADIs and creates an exit cost linked to the property’s future value. The 5% Deposit Scheme keeps the client on a list of more than fifty lenders with no third party on title. Which wins depends on the client’s income trajectory, their likelihood of moving lenders, and whether they can realistically buy the equity back.
This is the area the capability assessment flags as still in development. Housing Australia has commenced planning for managing relationship breakdowns and early equity buy-outs, including interim and long-term policies and processes. Expect it to be workable but not yet routine, and set client expectations on timing accordingly. Direct clients to Housing Australia for the current position.
The bottom line
Help to Buy does something no lender product does: it structurally lowers the loan a client needs, which is the single hardest problem in a market where borrowing capacity is the binding constraint. For the right client, that is genuinely valuable, and the demand figures suggest plenty of Australians agree.
But the scheme’s design puts a third party on title for potentially decades, narrows the client’s refinance market to three institutions, and ties a future obligation to a future income the client hasn’t earned yet. Those are not reasons to steer clients away. They are reasons to treat a Help to Buy recommendation as a twenty-year decision documented at the fact-find, rather than a deposit shortcut sold at the kitchen table.
The brokers who handle this well over the next year will be the ones who explained the exit before they explained the entry.
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Sources: Housing Australia / firsthomebuyers.gov.au — Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme page, Help to Buy participating lenders list, Help to Buy income and threshold updates 2026–27, Help to Buy Scheme Customer Guide, and the 5% Deposit Scheme participating lenders list; independent Capability Assessment of Housing Australia (released 31 August 2026) as reported by The Adviser, 1 September 2026; MFAA statement on Help to Buy broker access, 28 November 2025; Teachers Mutual Bank Limited divisions page. Scheme terms can change — always check the current Housing Australia documentation before advising a client.
Help to Buy: Broker Scenario Tool
Two working tools built on the scheme’s published rules — a suitability prompt for the fact-find, and an illustration of what it costs your client to get the government off their title.
The guide prices the government’s share off current value, not purchase price.
Up to 40% for a new home, up to 30% for an existing home.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and professional development purposes only. It does not constitute legal, compliance, or financial advice. Brokers should consult their aggregator’s compliance team and, where required, seek independent legal advice regarding their obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and ASIC’s responsible lending guidelines.
