New lender joins Help to Buy scheme

The bank confirmed that, from 6 October 2026, eligible members would be able to apply for Help to Buy loans through its broker partners.

Teachers Mutual Bank’s chief customer officer Greg Johnson said the staged approach was deliberately designed to ensure processes were ready before brokers begin submitting applications.

"As a new scheme, we want to make sure the experience for members is a positive and easy one. Following this initial period, the scheme will open to mortgage brokers on 6 October 2026,” he said.

“This will ensure that key issues such as eligibility, application processes and our interactions with Housing Australia are well bedded in before opening to brokers – in turn ensuring that brokers and their customers receive the standard of service they would expect from our bank.

“We look forward to working with brokers to help their customers access the scheme and become homeowners.”

The bank is the third authorised Help to Buy lender, and prior to the announcement, the Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia were the only institutions writing loans under the scheme, with Bank Australia the sole provider distributing through the broker channel.

Johnson said the lender’s longstanding focus on essential workers and member service made it a natural fit for the program.

“For 60 years, we’ve been helping Australians achieve their financial goals and we’re pleased to partner with the government to make home ownership more accessible for more Australians – particularly essential workers who play such an important role in our communities,” he said.

Johnson also linked Help to Buy to the bank’s broader participation in government‑backed home ownership support.

“We are already part of the Australian government 5% Deposit Scheme and this program provides another pathway for our members to buy a home sooner,” he said.

Help to Buy, administered by Housing Australia and launched nationally in December 2025, allows eligible buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of at least 2 per cent, backed by an equity contribution from the Australian government of up to 40 per cent for new dwellings and up to 30 per cent for existing homes.

There are 10,000 places available each financial year, and the scheme is open to both first‑time buyers and former owners re‑entering the market.

From 1 July, taxable income limits were lifted to $103,000 for single applicants and $165,000 for joint and single‑parent applicants, up from $100,000 and $160,000, broadening the pool of households who can qualify.

Housing Australia said that over the next three years, it expects Help to Buy to support up to 40,000 eligible households into ownership.

Housing Australia on panel expansion

Housing Australia CEO Scott Langford said bringing Teachers Mutual into the program was a significant step towards improving access to home ownership.

“Teachers Mutual Bank Limited’s participation will provide additional opportunities for key workers and other eligible Australians to access the Scheme through a lender that has a long history of supporting its member communities,” Langford said.

“Many of Teachers Mutual Bank Limited’s customers are teachers, health professionals, emergency services workers and other essential workers who make an enormous contribution to our communities each day. Increasing participation in the Scheme will help ensure more Australians can access the support available through Help to Buy.”

Langford said the ultimate objective of the program was to create practical routes into home ownership for households who would otherwise struggle to buy.

“By welcoming additional lenders to the panel, we are making it easier for more people to access the Scheme and receive support through a lender that meets their needs,” he said.

Federal Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has repeatedly framed Help to Buy as a way to open more pathways into ownership for households who are currently locked out.

Speaking at the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia’s Looking Ahead webinar in February, she told brokers that expanding the lending panel would be central to the scheme’s effectiveness and that intermediaries would be central to its delivery.

“We see mortgage brokers as key partners in delivery, partners in competition, partners in access and partners in helping Australians turn aspiration into home ownership,” she said.

Scheme uptake and emerging pressure points

Since launch, Help to Buy has attracted more than 7,200 applications, with around 4,800 participants having either settled or secured a property and the remainder still searching.

Housing Australia data showed that about 86 per cent of participants are first home buyers, and nearly 70 per cent are single applicants, including 12 per cent who are single parents.

The agency also noted the growing presence of older single women, reporting that 42 per cent of female participants are aged 40 or above, and has put the median deposit among borrowers at around $30,000.

Demand has so far been strongest in Victoria, followed by NSW and Queensland, alongside South Australia and the ACT.

The program expanded into Tasmania last month, making it available across all states and territories just as 10,000 new places were opened for the financial year 2026–27 under the higher income caps.

At the same time, brokers have warned that limited lender participation, tight property price caps in some regions, and the exclusion of brokers from certain distribution channels risk dampening the scheme’s overall impact and could add to competitive pressures for popular stock.

[Related: Income limits raised for Help to Buy]