Launching into SA’s property market

In short, the FHSS scheme lets you tap into the portion of your super that you personally contribute, to help cover the costs of a deposit on your new home.

If you’ve been contributing for a while, you may have enough already. If you’re not looking to buy for a few years, then now could be a good time to start and gain a tax concession.

When the time comes, you can withdraw up to $15,000 worth of contributions per year to a total of $50,000 plus the earnings while the funds were in your super.

Looking overall, South Australia’s First Home Owners Grant can help reduce the pain of buying your first home, but you still need to fund your deposit, which is where the FHSS scheme comes in.

You can save by making your own contributions to your super (over and above what your employer contributes for you).

A common method is salary sacrificing, where you ask your boss to pay an extra bit of your salary directly into your super, instead of to you each payday. It then gets taxed at only 15% instead of your higher, regular income tax rate.

Alternatively, you can also do it yourself, by transferring an amount and claiming a tax deduction with your return.

Note, there are caps on how much you can contribute each year.

1. Check you’re eligible for the FHSS – are you 18 years old or over and a first home buyer? There’s no Australian citizenship or residency requirement to apply.
2. Check that your super fund allows you to withdraw under the FHSS (Spaceship Super does!)
3. Start out by contributing to your own super in any of the following ways:
   1. Contribute after-tax money to your super and then a claim tax deduction in your tax return.
   2. Salary sacrifice, by asking your employer’s payroll department to send some of your income directly to your super account instead of to you.
   3. Contribute after-tax money to your super account, without claiming a tax deduction.
   • Options a and b count towards your ‘concessional contributions’ annual cap of $30,000 (including your employer contributions) and come with tax savings.
   • Option c counts towards your ‘non-concessional’ annual cap of $120,000.
   • There’s a $15,000 cap on how much you can save via the FHSS each year. 
4. Think financial years. Your annual limits reset on 1 July every year. 
5. When it comes time to start looking for a home, you apply for a FHSS Determination and a release from the ATO.
   Make sure you get the determination before you sign a contract, so you know how much you’re able to withdraw as a deposit.
   Much of the information will be pre-filled, but it will be handy to have a record of your contributions on hand just to check.
6. Buy your property!
   You can make a release request either before or after signing a contract. If making a release request after signing a contract:

• For determinations made on or after September 15, 2024: Submit within 90 days of signing.
• For determinations made on or before September 14, 2024: Submit within 14 days of signing. The amount you withdraw via FHSS will be paid into your bank account. In most cases it will take between 15 and 20 business days. If you make a release request before signing a contract:
• You have up to 24 months (an initial 12 months with an automatic 12-month extension) to sign a contract. After signing a contract, you must notify the ATO:
• For determinations made on or after September 15, 2024: Notify within 90 days of signing.
• For determinations made on or before September 14, 2024: Notify within 28 days of signing.

7. If more than one person is buying the home, each person can use their own FHSS as long as they meet the criteria.
   Even if one person is not eligible, other eligible buyers can still apply for the FHSS.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is an Australian Government program designed to help eligible buyers purchase their first home with a deposit of as little as 5% (or 2% for single parents and legal guardians) instead of the 20% that many lenders require for a loan that doesn't have Lenders Mortgage Insurance attached.

The Commonwealth Government's Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is a way for eligible applicants to eliminate the expense of Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which can be as much as $10,000.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is generally the only way to avoid this insurance in South Australia, unless you're able to pay a higher deposit – often around 20%.

Generally, to meet the 2025 eligibility criteria for the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme in South Australia, you must meet these conditions:

• Over 18 years of age
• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• Live in the property
• Be buying your first home, or be a previous homeowner who hasn't owned or had an interest in a real property in Australia in the past ten years.

Only residential real estate qualifies, including:

• New or existing home, townhouse or apartment
• House + land packages
• Land plus a contract to build
• Off-the-plan property.

In Adelaide, the property must have a value of not more than $900,000 and in wider SA the maximum value is $500,000.

Keep in mind that only new homes or vacant land purchases are eligible for stamp duty relief.

Check out the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme website for full eligibility details.

Join Spaceship Super - One super account is all you need to save using FHSS