Buying a home in the ACT

ACT at a glance

Each line links to the page it comes from. A dagger (†) marks a fact that was taken from an official search result and has not yet been confirmed on the agency's page from this build environment; open the link before relying on it.

Stamp duty

What it's called

Conveyance duty (stamp duty), collected by the ACT Revenue Office Source

Official calculator

Conveyance duty calculator, ACT Revenue Office Source

How the rate works

Sliding scale on the dutiable amount. Eligible owner-occupiers pay a lower rate up to $1,455,000; the lowest bracket, to $260,000, is $0.28 per $100 from 1 July 2025 Source

Full 2026-27 bracket table

Not confirmed from this environment; open the ACT Revenue Office non-commercial conveyance duty page for every bracket and the rate above $1,455,000 † Source

When the bands change

Set at each ACT Budget and applied from 1 July; the 2026-27 changes to duty and home buyer assistance took effect on 1 July 2026 Source

First home, established

No duty for eligible buyers under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme from 1 July 2026; no price cap and no income threshold Source

First home, new or off the plan

Same as established under the Home Buyer Concession Scheme; owner-occupiers buying an off-the-plan unit also pay no duty from 1 July 2026, with no value limit Source

First home, vacant land

The Home Buyer Concession Scheme covers a home or residential land; no duty for eligible buyers from 1 July 2026 Source

Other concessions

Off-the-plan unit exemption for owner-occupiers; a new exemption for completed new unit-titled homes; the Pensioner Duty Concession with no value limit from 1 July 2026 Source

Off-the-plan units

No duty for owner-occupier off-the-plan unit contracts exchanged from 1 July 2026, at any value; earlier caps were $1,020,000 (1 July 2025) and $1,000,000 (1 July 2024) † Source

Pensioner Duty Concession

For eligible pensioners moving home: no conveyance duty from 1 July 2026 (the value limit was removed); the concession or the deferral scheme can be claimed once, not both Source

New unit not sold off the plan

Announced in the 2026-27 Budget for owner-occupiers buying a newly built unit-titled home not sold off the plan; the conditions were not confirmed from this environment Source

Cooling-off and contracts

Cooling-off period

Five working days: it begins when the contract is made and ends at 5 pm on the fifth working day after that day Source

Cost of using it

The buyer forfeits 0.25% of the purchase price to the seller † Source

When it does not apply

Buyer is a corporation; sale by tender or auction; a contract made on auction day after a pass-in with a buyer recorded in the bidders record; or the buyer waives it Source

Waiving or shortening it

Can be shortened (section 12(5)) or waived (section 13) by a lawyer's certificate under section 17 that explains the effect to the buyer † Source

What the seller must disclose

Attached to the contract: the crown lease, title extract, plan, any encumbrance, conveyancing inquiry documents, the EER statement and a building and compliance inspection report Source

Deposit

The private-treaty deposit convention was not confirmed from this environment; open the Access Canberra Reality Check guide † Source

Settlement

The typical settlement period was not confirmed from this environment; open the Access Canberra Reality Check guide † Source

Crown lease

Residential land is held on a crown lease, usually for 99 years; the lease is what is sold, and it can be sold once the building it requires is complete Source

Unit title certificate

A section 119 certificate from the owners corporation must be included with the contract for a unit in a registered units plan † Source

Energy efficiency rating

An EER statement goes with the sale contract and the star rating, out of 6, must appear in every sale advertisement Source

Grants and schemes

First Home Owner Grant

Ceased on 1 July 2019; replaced by the Home Buyer Concession Scheme Source

State schemes open

Home Buyer Concession Scheme (duty exemption, no cap, no income test from 1 July 2026); Shared Equity Scheme for public housing tenants; Affordable Home Purchase Scheme Source

Closed or ended

First Home Owner Grant payments ceased on 1 July 2019 Source

5% Deposit Scheme

Unlimited places and no income cap from 1 October 2025; the ACT price cap was not confirmed from this environment (an undated Housing Australia snippet says $750,000) Source

Help to Buy

Applications from 5 December 2025 where the enabling legislation applies; the ACT position and price cap were not confirmed from this environment Source

Shared Equity Scheme

Public housing tenants buy 70% of their Housing ACT home with an IMB Bank loan; Housing ACT holds 30%, repaid as a share of market value at 5 and 15 years Source

Affordable Home Purchase Scheme

Suburban Land Agency scheme on land sold with affordable housing requirements (Belconnen, Woden and Gungahlin town centres, Whitlam); eligibility and prices not confirmed Source

Land Rent Scheme

Not confirmed from this environment; open the ACT Revenue Office home buyer assistance page Source

Auctions and price guides

Price guides

Agents Act 2003 s 88 (false representations to sellers or buyers) and s 89 (requirement to substantiate selling price estimates); the agency agreement must state the agent's estimate of the selling price or range (Agents Regulation 2003). No range-width rule and no Statement of Information equivalent; the penalties are still to be read Source

Underquoting

No offence called underquoting, but the Agents Act 2003 ss 88-89 make a false price representation and an unsubstantiated selling price estimate offences; Access Canberra licenses agents under the Act and has run an auctions inspection program. Penalties still to be read Source

Reforms in train

No price-guide or auction reform was found in the official search results as at 6 September 2026; open the Access Canberra real estate page to check † Source

Vendor bids

Allowed: the auctioneer must identify a seller bid as a seller bid when it is made, and anyone publishing the result must say when a pass-in figure was a seller bid. The number permitted was not read Source

Bidder registration

Required: the seller's agent keeps a bidders record with proof of identity, whether the person bids for someone else, that principal's details and a bidder number Source

Cooling-off at auction

None for a sale by auction, or for a contract made on auction day after a pass-in by a buyer recorded in the bidders record Source

Dummy bids

The auctioneer must not acknowledge a bid at a public auction of residential property if no bid was made Source

Buyer's agents at auction

An agent bidding for a buyer must not go past the maximum or agreed price without the express consent of the buyer or someone the buyer has authorised † Source

The buying process

Licence check

Access Canberra public registers of licensed real estate agents: one for licences issued before 1 July 2022 and one for licences issued after † Source

Who can do the conveyancing

A solicitor or legal practitioner: the Suburban Land Agency says a solicitor assesses and signs the contract (one can be found through the ACT Law Society), and Access Canberra says only a legal practitioner or financial institution can use e-conveyancing under the ECNL (ACT) Participation Rules 2021 Source

Electronic settlement

Every transferee completes an online Buyer Verification Declaration on ACTLIS and quotes its reference on the transfer; e-conveyancing runs on PEXA, used only by a legal practitioner or financial institution under the ECNL (ACT) Participation Rules 2021 Source

Complaints

Fair Trading is the first point of contact; complaints about regulated individuals, businesses or industries are lodged online or by phone on 13 22 81; Access Canberra aims to resolve less-complex complaints within 30 days Source

Assistant agents

Access Canberra registers assistant agents under the Agents Act 2003; every assistant agent must be registered and employed by a licensed agent Source

Official buyer checklist

The planning directorate's checklist for buying land or an existing house in the ACT: plan the finances, a wish list, research land and house options, rights when buying off the plan or into strata, Suburban Land Agency releases, know the block and what is nearby Source