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Being new residents to Australia we applied for the first time buyers grant as part of our mortgage application.

The First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme was introduced on 1 July 2000 to offset the effect of the GST on home ownership. It is a national scheme funded by the states and territories and administered under their own legislation.

Under the scheme, a one-off grant of up to $7000 is payable to first home owners that satisfy all the eligibility criteria. Although it’s not a massive amount and certainly won’t help you buy the house of your dreams ever little bit helps right?

The First Home Owner Grant form was issued by our bank as part of the mass of documents that needed to be completed as part of our Mortgage application.

Being honest it’s a bit of a pig to fill in. The questions aren’t to hard, but you need to provide a number of documents with the form which you need to get certified.

Thankfully, here in Western Australia, Pharmacists can certify documents so finding a local chemist with a pharmacist shouldn’t prove to difficult. Many Pharmacists (including the one we used) don’t charge to certify documents although some may request a ‘donation’ to one of the local charities. Also, having got to Australia in the first place you should all be experts in the form filling and certification process. Continue Reading

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