A true $0 deposit home loan barely exists in Australia in 2026. Lenders stopped writing them after the global financial crisis. What does exist are three realistic paths to buying with little or no cash upfront: a guarantor, who can cover 100% of the purchase price plus costs; the Queensland Government's 2% deposit Boost to Buy scheme; and the 5% deposit First Home Guarantee. This guide walks through each one.
Can you really get a home loan with no deposit in Australia?
Not in the old sense. Before 2008, some lenders offered 100% or even 105% loans with no savings required. Those products are gone. Every lender assessing a standard application today wants a deposit, and most want proof of genuine savings, usually 5% of the purchase price held in your own account for at least three months.
That said, "no deposit" is achievable through structure, not through a lender waiving the requirement. A guarantor can put up equity instead of you putting up cash. A government scheme can fill the gap between what you have saved and what the lender needs. Some lenders will also accept a strong rental payment history in place of genuine savings, which helps buyers who have never had spare cash to put aside but have paid rent on time for years.
How does a guarantor get you to zero deposit?
A family guarantee lets a parent or close family member use the equity in their own home as extra security for your loan, instead of you saving a cash deposit. The guarantor does not hand over money. The bank takes a limited mortgage over a portion of their property alongside your new home.
Structured correctly, this can cover 100% of the purchase price, plus stamp duty, legal fees and other buying costs, so you genuinely need close to nothing in savings. Because the guarantor's equity keeps your effective loan-to-value ratio under 80%, you also avoid lenders mortgage insurance, which is one of the biggest single costs a low-deposit buyer normally pays.
The catch is real. The guarantor is legally liable if you cannot make repayments and the bank cannot recover its money from you. Most lenders and family agreements now include a plan to release the guarantor once you have built enough equity, usually within two to five years. We cover the mechanics fully in our guide to /guides/guarantor-home-loans.
What about the 2% and 5% deposit schemes?
Two government schemes do most of the heavy lifting for Queensland buyers right now.
Boost to Buy, run by Queensland Treasury, needs as little as a 2% deposit. The government takes an equity share in your home in return, up to 30% for a new build and 25% for an existing home. The property price cap is $1 million, and household income caps apply: $155,000 for a single applicant and $232,000 for a couple. Round 2 of the scheme is currently open. Full detail is in our /guides/boost-to-buy-qld guide.
The First Home Guarantee needs a 5% deposit and charges no lenders mortgage insurance, because the federal government guarantees the gap instead. Income caps were removed in October 2025, so eligibility now comes down to price caps and the usual first home buyer criteria: $1,000,000 for Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and $700,000 for the rest of Queensland.
Two more pieces are worth stacking on top. The Queensland First Home Owner Grant pays $30,000 for a new home up to $750,000, for contracts signed by 30 June 2026, and that grant can go straight toward your deposit. Eligible first home buyers also pay zero stamp duty on new builds. See /grants for the full breakdown and /services/first-home-buyers for how these fit together for a first purchase.
What income do I need for a low-deposit loan?
Two separate tests apply. The first is savings. Most lenders want 5% genuine savings, held in your own account for three months before you apply, though some lenders will accept a clean rent history of six to twelve months instead. This matters for the guarantor and standard low-deposit paths, since Boost to Buy and the First Home Guarantee have their own deposit rules that sit outside normal genuine savings policy.
The second test is income against repayments, which the lender checks at a buffer rate above the actual interest rate to make sure you can absorb a rate rise. On a larger loan, that repayment buffer bites harder, so a bigger loan for the same deposit needs stronger income to pass. If you want a clear read on your own numbers before you start looking at homes, book a /pre-approval appointment. It costs nothing and gives you a real price ceiling.
What are the risks of buying with no deposit?
Borrowing more against the same property carries more risk, whichever path gets you there.
Negative equity is the main one. If prices fall after you buy, a 95% or 98% loan can leave you owing more than the home is worth, which matters if you need to sell or refinance in the first few years. A 20% deposit buyer has a much bigger buffer.
A larger loan also means larger repayments for the same house, which stretches your budget further and leaves less room if rates rise or your income changes. With a guarantor arrangement, the guarantor carries real legal exposure until they are released, and family relationships can suffer if repayments are missed. The government agency MoneySmart, at https://moneysmart.gov.au, has a clear breakdown of guarantor risk and is worth reading before anyone signs. If you go the standard low-deposit route without a guarantor or a scheme, you will usually pay lenders mortgage insurance too; see /lenders-mortgage-insurance for how that is calculated.
Which path fits which buyer?
| Path | Deposit required | LMI | Equity given up | Who it suits | |---|---|---|---|---| | Guarantor loan | As low as 0% | None, if under 80% effective LVR | None to the bank; guarantor carries liability | Buyers with a family member able and willing to offer equity | | Boost to Buy (QLD) | 2% minimum | None | Up to 30% new build, 25% existing, to the government | Buyers under the income caps without a guarantor available | | First Home Guarantee | 5% | None | None | First home buyers within price caps, no guarantor needed | | Standard 20% deposit | 20% | None | None | Buyers with strong savings who want full ownership and no scheme conditions |
Worked example: a $550,000 home in Redbank Plains
Take a $550,000 house in Redbank Plains, a realistic price point for first home buyers in that corridor.
With a guarantor, you could borrow the full $550,000 plus an allowance for stamp duty and legal costs, needing close to nothing in cash, with the guarantor's property covering the shortfall as security. No LMI applies.
With Boost to Buy on a new build, a 2% deposit is $11,000. The government contributes up to 30% equity, around $165,000, and you borrow the remaining amount, roughly $374,000, subject to the $1 million price cap and income caps.
With the First Home Guarantee, a 5% deposit is $27,500. You borrow the remaining $522,500 with no LMI, provided the price sits under the relevant cap for the area. If it is a new build and you qualify for the $30,000 QLD grant, that can be applied straight to your deposit, cutting the cash you actually need to find.
With a standard 20% deposit, you would need $110,000 in savings before the bank even looks at your application, borrowing $440,000.
The gap between these paths is not the loan amount. It is how much cash you personally need to find, and what you give up, whether that is a guarantor's exposure, a slice of equity to the government, or years of extra saving.
Want to know which low-deposit path fits you? Book a no-obligation consultation with Tom Smith at Kookaburra Finance, Springfield Central. We're FBAA members, accredited with 60+ lenders, and there's no cost to you. Get started at /contact.