ACT Becomes First Jurisdiction to Abolish Stamp Duty for All First Home Buyers

First home buyers in Canberra will no longer pay stamp duty on any home, at any price, after the ACT Government used its 2026–27 Budget, handed down on 10 June 2026, to abolish the tax for the group entirely.

The government says the change, which takes effect on 1 July 2026, makes the ACT the first jurisdiction in Australia to abolish stamp duty for all first home buyers. It delivers on an ACT Labor election commitment.

No caps, no income test

Until now, relief for first home buyers was delivered through the Home Buyer Concession Scheme, which was limited to properties valued up to $1,020,000 and to households under income thresholds of $250,000 to $273,000, depending on the number of dependants. Both limits disappear from 1 July.

Expanded exemptions will also apply to pensioners, eligible NDIS participants and all home buyers who have not owned property in the last five years. Pensioners will receive a full remission when downsizing, and the Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme’s 12-month waiting period is removed for Gold Card holders, according to Grant Thornton’s budget summary.

According to the government, the Home Buyer Concession Scheme has assisted more than 25,000 home purchases since 2019, with an average tax saving of about $16,000.

Backing the missing middle

The budget pairs the first home buyer change with a tax package designed to encourage townhouses, terraces and low-rise apartments, the so-called missing middle between detached houses and high-rise towers.

• No stamp duty on new unit-titled homes bought by owner-occupiers.
• The off-the-plan concession for owner-occupiers continues and is extended to turn-key units, newly built but not sold off the plan.
• The Lease Variation Charge is halved, for a limited time, for eligible missing middle developments.
• The Canberra House Pattern Book offers pre-approved low-rise designs for $1,000, allowing projects to proceed without a development application.

The measures accompany the government’s Missing Middle planning reforms, which from 1 July 2026 will allow townhouses, terraces and low-rise apartments on RZ1 suburban blocks, supported by a new design guide.

A milestone in a long reform

The abolition marks a major milestone in the ACT’s tax reform program, now in its 14th year, which has gradually shifted the Territory away from stamp duty. The budget also raises the duty-free threshold for commercial property to $2.1 million and expands the Disability Duty Concession Scheme so eligible buyers pay no duty regardless of property value.

The relief comes as the Territory remains in deficit. Grant Thornton’s summary of the budget papers shows a forecast deficit of $501.7 million for 2025–26 and $323.4 million for 2026–27, with a return to surplus projected in 2028–29.

What it means for buyers

Chief Minister Andrew Barr described stamp duty as one of the biggest upfront hurdles to entering the housing market, and said the changes also give older Canberrans more flexibility to downsize. Treasurer Chris Steel said owner-occupiers buying a new unit-titled missing middle home would pay no stamp duty at all.

The biggest change will be felt by first home buyers looking above the old $1.02 million cap, and by higher-income households previously excluded by the income test, who until now did not qualify for the full concession. From 1 July 2026, the price of the home and the income of the buyer no longer matter.