The $60,000 Decision: How Mixed-Visa Couples Structure the Title and the Loan

The $60,000 Line on One Couple’s Contract

Craig* is a UK citizen on a subclass 461 visa. He is married to a New Zealand citizen and is buying a family home in Brisbane.

On the standard path, with both names on the title, his half of the purchase attracted Queensland’s 8% Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty. On a purchase around $1.5 million, 8% of his 50% share comes to roughly $60,000 in extra duty, on top of ordinary stamp duty.

The structure their broker put in front of them instead: his name on the loan, only her name on the title.

Both incomes supported the borrowing and the bank was satisfied. Because no foreign person acquired a share of the property, there was no share for the surcharge to attach to. Roughly $60,000 stayed in their offset account instead of going to the revenue office.

*Name changed, figures illustrative. This exact structuring question comes up in our client calls every few weeks.

Nothing about that outcome relied on a grey area. It relied on knowing how the federal purchase restriction treats spouses and how state surcharge duty is calculated. This page walks through both, and through the situations where this structure is the wrong move.

The Two Walls Mixed-Visa Couples Hit

A couple where one partner is a citizen or permanent resident and the other is on a temporary visa runs into two separate barriers. Two different levels of government administer them. They get conflated constantly, and the fix for each one is different.

Wall 1: the federal ban on established homes

Under the foreign investment framework, a temporary-resident partner generally cannot buy an established dwelling at all. The Commonwealth has paused foreign purchases of established homes until 30 June 2029 (as at July 2026).

New builds and vacant land remain open with approval. But the established three-bedder in the suburb you actually want is, on the face of it, off the table. Our FIRB approval guide covers the framework in full.

Wall 2: state foreign purchaser surcharges

Even where a purchase is permitted, states add a surcharge on top of ordinary stamp duty when a foreign person acquires residential property. In Queensland it is Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty (AFAD) at 8% of the foreign person’s share of the dutiable value, as at July 2026.

On a typical Brisbane family home that is a five-figure to six-figure sum. It is the single largest avoidable cost in most mixed-visa purchases.

The federal rules decide whether the purchase can happen at all. The state rules decide what extra duty is paid. Getting past one does not automatically get you past the other.

Three Rules That Change the Outcome

Neither wall is as solid as it first looks, and not because of any workaround. The rules themselves are written with these three doors in them.

Rule 1: the federal ban has a spouse exception

A temporary resident can buy an established home jointly with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. As joint tenants with their spouse or de facto partner, they can generally still proceed.

The restriction is aimed at foreign investors, not at families where one partner already belongs to the Australian property system. The exception has precise conditions, which is why the contract and the ownership structure need to be set up correctly from the start.

Rule 2: surcharge duty is charged per owner, not per couple

AFAD in Queensland, and its equivalents interstate, applies to the share of the property the foreign person acquires. A couple is not assessed as a single unit.

If the foreign partner takes 50% of the title, the surcharge applies to that 50%. If they take none of it, there is generally nothing for the surcharge to apply to. Most couples never realise they are making this decision.

Rule 3: you can be on the loan without being on the title

The bank assesses who repays the loan. The duty office assesses who owns the house. Those do not have to be the same names.

Lenders deal with non-owner borrowers and spousal guarantee arrangements every day. It is unremarkable inside a credit department and almost unknown outside one.

How the Structure Actually Works

The pathway Craig and his wife used has three moving parts, and all three have to line up.

1. Title in the eligible partner’s name. The citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ-citizen partner becomes the sole registered owner. No foreign person acquires an interest. So the state surcharge generally does not arise, and the federal established-home restriction is not triggered.
2. Both incomes on the loan. The temporary-resident partner joins the lending side, as a co-borrower or under a guarantee structure depending on the lender. This lets the couple’s full household income support the borrowing capacity. Without this, many couples could not service the loan on one income alone.
3. A lender whose policy allows it. This is the catch. Some lenders will not accept a borrower who is not also an owner. Others accept it only under specific structures, with their own requirements around independent legal advice for the non-owner party. Lender selection decides whether this structure is available to you at all. It pairs closely with the visa-specific credit policies in our visa home loan guide and our New Zealand citizen home loan guide.

There is a fourth part that sits outside the loan entirely: ownership rights. A partner who is on the loan but not the title is legally responsible for the debt without holding a registered interest in the asset.

Family law recognises contributions in a relationship-property dispute, but registered ownership and a repayment obligation are not the same thing. That gap is exactly the part of this structure that needs a solicitor, not a broker, to advise on. We flag it in every one of these conversations.

When It’s NOT the Right Move

• Relationship-property risk. Sole title concentrates legal ownership in one partner. If the relationship ends, the non-owner partner is relying on family-law processes rather than a registered interest. For some couples that risk is worth more than the duty saving.
• PR is close. If the temporary-resident partner is around six months from permanent residency, waiting can beat structuring. Once PR is granted, the surcharge and the FIRB requirement generally fall away. The couple can then buy in both names, with none of the trade-offs above.
• CGT and land tax differences. Sole ownership changes how any future capital gain is assessed and can affect land tax thresholds, especially if the property later becomes an investment. What the structure saves in duty it can partly return in tax down the track, and that question is squarely accountant territory.
• Lender limits. The lenders that accept a non-owner borrower may not suit the rest of your scenario, such as deposit size, income type or property. If so, the structure may cost more in loan terms than it saves in duty.

What Foreign Purchaser Duty Looks Like by State

The surcharge exists in every mainland state, but the rate and the exemptions vary. Figures below are as at July 2026 and apply to the foreign person’s share of the purchase, on top of ordinary stamp duty.

What the title decision is worth in Queensland

Because AFAD is charged per owner, the same purchase produces very different bills depending on the foreign partner’s share. Illustrative QLD figures at 8%, as at July 2026:

Illustrative only: 8% of the foreign partner’s 50% share of the price, before any other duty or concession. Ordinary stamp duty applies in every scenario.

The fastest way to see your own numbers is to run them through our foreign buyer duty calculator. Compare the two totals, both partners on title versus one. For most couples that single comparison settles the question.

Where to From Here

The order of operations matters. Doing it in reverse is how couples end up locked into a contract with the wrong names on it.

1. Confirm the federal position first: does the purchase need approval, or does the spouse exception apply? Our FIRB guide walks through it.
2. Model the state duty both ways, with and without the foreign partner on title. Then check the visa partner’s standing with the visa buying eligibility checker.
3. Then find the lender whose policy accepts the structure you want.

If you want the lending side mapped out, we can help. That means which lenders accept a non-owner borrower, what your combined incomes support, and what the two title options cost you end to end. Get a free assessment or call 1300 088 065, and we will work through it with you.

Information as at July 2026. Lender and government policies change without notice and are assessed case-by-case. This is general information, not credit or legal advice.