In this guide
Saving the deposit to buy your first home has always been a tall order, but with house prices at record highs and cost-of-living pressures continuing to rise, getting into the housing market has become even more of a challenge.
The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme developed by the Australian Government could be part of the solution for some first home buyers, but it is important you are aware of the rules and limits on the amount you can withdraw.
The scheme allows you to save money towards your first home within your super account, where tax concessions and a generous rate of interest can add to your savings. Your super contributions for the FHSS scheme can be either voluntary concessional (before-tax) and voluntary non-concessional (after-tax) contributions.
To encourage take-up of the scheme, changes have been made that simplify the process to access your money when you’re ready to purchase a home (see section What has changed? below).
What you can withdraw
Voluntary contributions you have made since 1 July 2017 to a taxed super fund are eligible to be included in the scheme, even if you didn’t originally intend to use them as savings towards a home. If you’re a member of one of the rare untaxed super funds, you can open an account in another fund to make contributions you would like to withdraw for your first home.
