Eligible home buyers in Western Australia are now able to access the federal government’s shared equity home buying scheme.
The Cook government of Western Australia has made the Help to Buy scheme available to eligible home buyers in the western state, after passing the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025 through the Western Australian Parliament.
The bill, which passed in mid-December, means that around 1,100 low- to middle-income earners in Western Australia will be able to access the shared equity home buying scheme.
What is Help to Buy?
Help to Buy officially launched on 5 December 2025 in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, NSW, the ACT, and the Northern Territory (Tasmania is yet to pass enabling legislation to participate in the scheme).
It aims to help first home buyers get into the property market sooner by reducing the amount of money needed to purchase a property by sharing the cost with the government.
Under Help to Buy, the government will contribute up to 40 per cent of the purchase price for new homes or 30 per cent of existing homes for eligible owner-occupier borrowers.
The scheme will be available to individuals earning an annual income of up to $100,000 and to couples with a combined income of $160,000.
In Western Australia, eligible participants will be able to purchase property for up to $850,000 in Perth and up to $600,000 in the rest of the state, with only a 2 per cent deposit calculated on the purchase price.
The initiative aims to improve affordability by reducing both the upfront cost and ongoing mortgage repayments.
There are currently just two lenders offering mortgages through the Help to Buy scheme – the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Bank Australia – however, only Bank Australia is making the scheme available through the broker channel.
It is expected that more lenders will join the Help to Buy scheme panel between March 2026 and June 2026.
Housing Australia commented that it was “pleased” to make the scheme available to residents in Western Australia and added: “The inclusion of Western Australia in the Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme represents an important step in providing greater flexibility and expanded opportunities for eligible home buyers across the state.
"Housing Australia welcomes this expansion and looks forward to supporting Western Australians in achieving home ownership.”
Western Australian Treasurer Rita Saffioti stated: “We’re working collaboratively with the Albanese Labor Government to make housing more affordable for thousands of Western Australians.
“The Help to Buy scheme will complement the raft of initiatives our government is rolling out through Keystart including the Urban Connect Shared Equity product, Skilled Start Home Loans for graduates and apprentices, and low deposit loans for modular homes.
“Boosting supply is the other key way of improving affordability and our government is the focus of our additional investment of around $6 billion in a wide range of initiatives to put WA at the front of the national pack when it comes to the delivery of new housing.”
Western Australia’s Housing and Works Minister John Carey added: “The passage of this Bill adds to the vast range of ways we are working to address pressures in the rental and housing markets.
“WA is already partnering with the Federal Government to deliver thousands of social and affordable homes, and this joint initiative demonstrates how we’re continuing to work with the Albanese Labor Government to increase housing affordability and choice.”
Brokers lament WA property price caps
While the scheme has been welcomed by the government, mortgage brokers based in Western Australia have warned that limited lender participation, restrictive price caps – especially in regional areas – and the exclusion of brokers from some channels risk driving up prices in a tight market and may limit the scheme’s overall impact.
Speaking to The Adviser, Bussleton-based broker Christine Dunkerton from Loan Market Busselton, commented: "Any measure that meaningfully helps first home buyers into the market is something I support."
The WA-based broker revealed that she had seen firsthand how overwhelming and genuinely disheartening the current market has become for young buyers, noting that only one of her three adult children has been able to purchase their own home so far.
"But like all schemes, the Help to Buy has pros and cons," she continued.
While Dunkerton said that "brokers are best placed to help clients understand how the framework of a government initiative influences their longer-term objectives", she lamented that the price caps in place for regional WA were lower than market, and that she therefore does not expect to be able to write many Help to Buy loans.
"Much like the Home Guarantee Scheme, the Help to Buy property value threshold doesn't align with the market demand we're currently experiencing in the South West," she explained.
"The median value in Busselton is now up around $900,000 and I haven’t seen a property sell for under the scheme's threshold of $600,000 since before Covid," the broker continued.
"More broadly, there's always a challenge in managing price growth when more people are assisted into the market," the Loan Market broker stated, reflecting that previous efforts to boost demand amid tight supply only exacerbated property prices.
"When the Home Guarantee Scheme purchase threshold for metro WA postcodes was increased from $600,000 to $850,000 and the income caps were removed back in October, we saw immediate price increases," Dunkerton told The Adviser.
"Properties that had been sitting just under or around the $600,000 mark increased almost overnight and that caused more anxiety among borrowers."
Limiting broker access will hold back results
Loan Market broker Balpreet Bal said he had already received a few enquiries from clients about the new Help to Buy scheme, which shows "there is genuine interest from eligible borrowers".
However, he said the limited lender participation would "definitely impact how effectively the scheme can be utilised in practice".
"At this stage, restricted access through brokers limits choice and flexibility for clients, particularly around pricing and policy," Bal said.
"We’re also seeing some overlap with existing options in WA, such as Keystart’s shared ownership loans, which are similarly only available directly through Keystart rather than via brokers.
"While Help to Buy is a positive initiative and will assist some low-to-moderate income earners into the market, broader lender participation and broker access would go a long way in maximising its reach and effectiveness for WA borrowers," he told The Adviser.
Will you be writing many Help to Buy scheme loans? Let us know in the comments below?
[Related: Industry urges lenders to allow brokers to write Help to Buy]
