Queensland Boost to Buy: a smaller mortgage now for a slice of your home later

So what is the catch?

The catch is that the government comes along for the ride. Boost to Buy is the Queensland Government's shared equity scheme: it puts up to 30% of the price of a new home, or 25% of an established one, towards the purchase, and in return it owns that share of your home's value. Paying the bank down does not pay the government out. You settle its share at the value on the day, when you sell, refinance it out or buy it back in chunks.

One more thing before you read on: we cannot arrange a Boost to Buy loan or lodge the application for you. Unity Bank is currently the only approved lender and you apply to it directly. What we can do is show you how the scheme compares with the low deposit options we can arrange, so you know which one to pursue.

For Boost to Buy, SEQ means Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan-Beaudesert, Moreton Bay and Sunshine Coast. Everywhere else in Queensland falls under the regional allocation. What matters is where the home is, not where you live now, and you must buy in the region of your provisional approval. Treasury's regional definitions spell it out, and Treasury's main page shows current availability.

If you are buying in Brisbane, leave Boost to Buy out of your budget while those places are unavailable. Our first home buyer grants guide covers the options that are open now.

The contribution is up to 30% of the price for a new home or 25% for an existing one. You need at least a 2% deposit and a home priced at $1m or less. The maximum is not automatic. Treasury explains the scheme here.

This is shared equity. You do not pay interest on the government's money, but its dollar value moves with your home. Your bank mortgage is separate and works like any other.

It is worth being clear on how this differs from the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, because people mix them up. The 5% scheme gives the lender a guarantee so eligible buyers can borrow with a small deposit and no LMI. It does not pay part of the price and takes no share of your home; you repay the whole loan. You cannot use both on the same purchase.

Boost to Buy shrinks the mortgage through shared equity rather than through an LMI waiver, and Unity's Boost to Buy page says no LMI is required; check its current rate and fees.

If family could help instead, our guarantor versus 5% Deposit Scheme guide and our low deposit home loans guide cover those routes. Official 5% scheme details.

The main Boost to Buy eligibility tests are:

• Australian citizen or permanent resident, aged 18 or over.
• Neither you nor your spouse owns or has ever owned property in Australia.
• Taxable income for the 2025-26 financial year of up to $155k for a single adult, or $232k for 2 adults applying together or a single adult with dependants.
• At least 2% in demonstrated savings, not counting the First Home Owner Grant, plus the cash for buying costs.
• A home you will own and live in. Vacant land, off the plan and auction purchases are out.

For a newly built home, the occupancy or final inspection certificate must exist before you sign. Unity also has to approve the loan, and passing the scheme rules does not tell you how much it will lend. If you are buying new, check the Queensland First Home Owner Grant separately. A grant or duty concession can help, but it does not replace the 2% savings requirement.

Example figures only, not a client result or a loan quote. Assume a $700k established home in an eligible regional location, valued at $700k. Each option is subject to approval and its own rules.

Repayments assume 6% a year, principal and interest (repayments that pay down the debt as well as the interest) over 30 years, rounded to the nearest dollar. That is an assumed rate, not Unity's rate or a prediction, and the figures leave out fees, buying costs, grants and any LMI on the ordinary loan.

On these assumptions Boost to Buy cuts the bank loan by $154k against the 5% scheme and the monthly repayment by about $923. The deposit gap is just as stark: $14k towards the price versus $35k. That is the attraction.

The cost is the 25% the government keeps, which is where the 3 traps below come in. The ordinary loan needs a lot more savings and LMI may apply; the 5% scheme avoids LMI but leaves you with the biggest mortgage of the 3. The federal price caps for the 5% scheme are also different from Boost to Buy's flat $1m: Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast get $1m, the rest of regional Queensland is $700k, so check the exact postcode and valuation.

Run your own price and loan through our mortgage calculator, then add rates, insurance, maintenance and any body corporate levy. A smaller mortgage does not shrink those bills.

Here is the part that catches people. None of these is hidden; they are all in the scheme rules. They are just not what a first home buyer expects.

Your mortgage repayments reduce what you owe the bank. They do nothing to the government's percentage.

To reduce that share you make a separate payment, and it generally has to cut the share by at least 5 percentage points at a time unless you are paying out the lot. A full buy back, or going below 5%, is restricted in the first 2 years, and you need a current acceptable valuation each time.

As an example, at an assumed $800k valuation, buying back 5 percentage points costs $40k before any associated costs, and 25% becomes 20%. You might fund that from savings or an approved loan increase; borrowing to do it swaps part of the government's share for bank debt, so compare the repayments first.

The remaining share falls due when you repay the mortgage in full or reach its original end date, whichever comes first, and extending the loan term later does not move that deadline. Treasury's repayment rules and section 5.1 of the information statement have the detail.

Say the government holds 25% and, after the minimum holding period, you sell for $840k with a matching valuation. Its share is $210k, even though it put in $175k.

Now say you sell for $820k but the valuation said $840k. The share is still $210k, not $205k, because the payout is based on the higher of the latest valuation and the sale price (sections 4.2 and 6.0 of the information statement). If the sale proceeds do not cover it, you fund the shortfall yourself, and a shortfall can stop the mortgage being released for settlement.

The scheme shares the downside too: at a $630k sale and valuation the share is $157.5k. It does not protect your own deposit from a loss, and the mortgage and selling costs still have to be cleared.

A $175k contribution on a $700k price is 25%. If the lender values the home at $670k, it is about 26.12%, because the percentage is set on the lower of price and valuation. Check the percentage in your final approval letter, not just the dollar figure.

Before you ever list the home, ask for a payout estimate covering both the bank loan and the government's share, then allow for selling costs. Unity's scheme FAQs require at least 30 days' notice to the lender before you engage an agent, and selling within 2 years needs prior written government consent.

Boost to Buy is harder to fit around a move, a big renovation or an investment purchase. While you are in it:

• You cannot rent out the whole home or buy another property.
• Refinancing is limited to approved lenders.
• You cannot increase the mortgage just to fund renovations.
• The government shares in any value your own improvements add.

Check the ongoing obligations before you apply, not after.

You also have to tell the government when your income goes over the threshold. Sitting at least 25% above it for 2 consecutive years triggers an assessment of whether you can borrow enough to repay some or all of the equity. It depends on the lender approving the extra borrowing; it is not an automatic order to sell because your pay went up. Read the income review process.

So the questions to answer before you apply are simple ones. Do you expect to stay? Is your income likely to jump? How would you eventually fund the buy back?

If you can see yourself relocating in a few years, the flexibility of a bigger mortgage may be worth more to you than the lowest repayment today.

1. Check availability for your region on Unity Bank's Boost to Buy page and book an appointment with Unity directly.
2. Get provisional scheme approval before you sign a purchase contract.
3. You then have 6 months to find an eligible property in your approved region. Final approval still depends on the property and the loan assessment. Treasury's application process sets out the documents and deadlines.
4. Before you sign, have your solicitor check the finance and settlement terms the scheme requires.

Since we cannot sit in the meeting with you, take this list:

• The current rate and comparison rate.
• The application, ongoing and discharge fees.
• What a buy back costs in valuation and legal fees each time.
• How the valuation process works at purchase and at exit.
• What happens to the government's share if you refinance.
• What the income review would mean for you if your pay went up.

We cannot lodge this one for you. If Boost to Buy is not available where you are buying, or the long term conditions do not suit, our first home buyer loan guide covers the low deposit options we can arrange.