Five more lenders to offer Australian Government Home Guarantee Scheme from 1 July 2022
From 1 July 2022, five more lenders will offer the Australian Government's Home Guarantee Scheme (currently known as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme) that helps more eligible Australians buy a home. The lenders are Credit Union SA, Illawarra Credit Union, IMB Ltd (trading as IMB Bank), Newcastle Permanent Building Society and Unity Bank Limited.
The lenders have been appointed to the Scheme's non-major bank lender panel, following a competitive procurement process run by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC). They join a panel of 25 non-major and 2 major bank lenders already offering the Scheme to eligible home buyers including first home buyers and single parents.
The Scheme is an Australian Government initiative to support eligible home buyers to become homeowners sooner. NHFIC administers the Scheme on behalf of the Government and has appointed the new non-major bank lenders to complement and strengthen the existing panel, improve the reach and accessibility of the Scheme, and support more eligible home buyers to achieve their home ownership goals.
The newly appointed lenders will offer the Scheme from 1 July 2022. In the year ahead, NHFIC anticipates making 50,000 new places available through the Scheme to eligible home buyers.
The Scheme has experienced strong demand since it was launched in 2020, helping more than 61,000 Australians buy or build a home, with a significant proportion being women and key workers (figures as at 31 May 2022).