If you're raising kids on one income and trying to get back into property, the Family Home Guarantee was designed for your situation. It lets eligible single parents and legal guardians buy with as little as a 2% deposit, and the government guarantees up to 18% of the purchase price so you don't pay lenders mortgage insurance. You don't need to be a first home buyer, which is the part most people miss.

In Logan, QLD, where house medians across the City of Logan range from around $720,000 in suburbs like Woodridge to over $835,000 in Loganholme, a 2% deposit is a very different entry point from the 20% most single parents assume they need. Units open up even more of the market, with medians from $441,000 in Logan Central to $658,500 in Loganholme, and most sit comfortably under the scheme's $1,000,000 price cap.

Our team helps single parents and guardians across Logan, QLD work out where they actually stand, comparing across 60+ lenders. The first home loan side of this involves a few moving parts, and knowing which lenders participate in the scheme matters as much as the deposit itself.

What is the Family Home Guarantee and does it suit single parents in Logan?

The Family Home Guarantee is the Single Parent Stream of the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme. It lets you buy with a 2% deposit and the federal government guarantees the remaining gap to 20%, so no lenders mortgage insurance is charged. For a single parent in Logan, that means the deposit on a $750,000 home falls from $150,000 to $15,000. The catch is you have to be genuinely single, the property must fall under the $1,000,000 Logan price cap, and you need to apply through a participating lender.

How does the Family Home Guarantee actually work in Logan, QLD?

When you apply through a participating lender, Housing Australia assesses your eligibility and issues a guarantee certificate. The lender then treats you as though you had a 20% deposit, which removes the LMI requirement entirely. You still borrow the full 98% of the purchase price and repay it normally. The government guarantee sits behind the loan and is called on only in the event of default, which means it costs you nothing to access. The guarantee runs for the life of the loan and does not need to be repaid separately.

Logan sits entirely within Greater Brisbane, which means the capital-city price cap of $1,000,000 applies uniformly across all 45 approved suburbs in the area. There is no cap boundary within Logan itself. CoreLogic data shows that most house and unit medians across the City of Logan fall well under that threshold, with houses ranging from $720,000 in Woodridge to $835,000 in Loganholme and units from $441,000 in Logan Central to $658,500 in Loganholme. Premium and acreage suburbs sit above the cap, but the majority of purchasable stock in the region is cap-eligible.

Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026) and Housing Australia.

What eligibility criteria apply to the Family Home Guarantee?

The scheme is narrower than it looks on paper. Every condition below needs to be met before a lender can issue the guarantee.

What lenders check:

• › Genuinely single: you must be a single natural person. Separated but not divorced does not qualify, and neither does a de facto relationship that has ended recently if a shared financial interest remains.
• › At least one dependent: you must have at least one dependent child living with you. The child must be a natural, adopted or legally recognised dependant under 16, or under 22 and in full-time study.
• › Citizenship: you must be an Australian citizen. Permanent residents are not eligible for the Family Home Guarantee.
• › Owner-occupied purchase: the property must be your principal place of residence. You cannot use this guarantee to buy an investment property.
• › No current property ownership: you cannot currently own any other residential property, in Australia or overseas. Past ownership is permitted, which is what makes it available to people re-entering the market after a separation.
• › Minimum deposit: you need at least 2% of the purchase price as genuine savings. Some lenders are stricter on what counts as genuine savings, so this is worth checking before you choose which lender to apply through.

How much can single parents borrow under the Family Home Guarantee in Logan?

Borrowing capacity under the scheme is assessed the same way as any other home loan. The guarantee changes your deposit requirement, not what a lender will lend you based on your income and expenses. APRA requires lenders to assess your application at approximately 3% above the actual loan rate, which means the number that matters is whether your income can service the loan at around 9%, not at the rate you'll actually pay.

Child support, Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B, and Centrelink income are accepted by some lenders as additional income, which is where lender choice makes a real difference for single parents. A lender that counts all three at full value may assess you for substantially more than one that excludes FTB or caps Centrelink. On a property in Woodridge, Kingston or Logan Central, how a lender reads your income structure is often the deciding factor.

The $1,000,000 price cap covers houses in most Logan suburbs and units across the board. Where a house median exceeds the cap, which applies in suburbs like Cornubia, Shailer Park and Springwood, a unit or townhouse in the same suburb is typically still cap-eligible.

Get in touch Need help buying your first home? We're a local team who understand how lenders actually assess your situation, not just your rate. We'll compare your options across 60+ lenders to find the right fit. Chat to Our Team Call 1800 774 756

What other government schemes can single parents use alongside the Family Home Guarantee?

The schemes worth knowing about:

• › Queensland First Home Owner Grant:$30,000 on a new home valued under $750,000. Available alongside the Family Home Guarantee if you're a first home buyer purchasing a new build. No income test, no means test.
• › Queensland transfer duty concession:$0 on a new home regardless of price (from 1 May 2025). On an established home, full exemption applies up to $700,000 with a sliding concession to $800,000. Above $800,000 standard duty applies. Requires Australian citizenship or permanent residency from 1 August 2026.
• › Help to Buy (federal shared equity): cannot be combined with the Family Home Guarantee. Help to Buy has income caps of $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants as of 1 July 2026, and its own $1,000,000 Logan price cap. It is a separate pathway, not an add-on.
• › Queensland Boost to Buy: the state shared-equity scheme exists but the SEQ allocation including Logan was exhausted in Round 1 and Round 2 was heavily reserved for regional areas. Treat availability as constrained and confirm current status before relying on it.

The FHOG and duty concession can stack on top of the Family Home Guarantee where the purchase is a new home and the buyer meets the first-home condition. That combination is genuinely powerful for a single parent building or buying a new property under $750,000.

Source: Queensland Revenue Office and Housing Australia.

How does a mortgage broker improve outcomes for single parents using this scheme?

The lender choice decides the outcome here more than the scheme itself does. Three policy differences move the result for single parents, and they aren't published side by side anywhere.

• › Centrelink and FTB inclusion: some participating lenders count Family Tax Benefit and Centrelink income at full value; others shade it or exclude it entirely, which changes your assessed income and your maximum loan size.
• › Child support treatment: lenders differ on whether child support counts as income (it needs 12 months of consistent receipt and a court order or formal assessment), and on whether it is also counted as a liability against the payer.
• › Participating lender panel: not every lender on a broker's panel participates in the Family Home Guarantee scheme. Comparing across those that do, on the income treatment above, is where the real work sits.

Identifying which of the participating lenders on our panel treats your income structure most favourably is what comparing across 60+ lenders is actually for in this situation.

When does the Family Home Guarantee not make sense?

If your deposit is already close to 20%, using the guarantee to buy at 2% and borrow 98% of the purchase price will cost you more in interest over the life of the loan than the LMI you'd save. The guarantee avoids LMI but it doesn't reduce your loan, and a larger loan at the same rate means more interest paid across 25 or 30 years. If you have eight to ten percent saved, it's worth running the numbers on whether paying LMI and borrowing less is actually cheaper.

The scheme is also less useful if you're buying above $1,000,000, since the guarantee doesn't apply above that price cap in Logan. And if you're not genuinely single, meaning you're separated but haven't finalised your legal or financial arrangements, most lenders won't proceed regardless of what the scheme allows on paper. Getting the legal status sorted before applying saves a lot of wasted time.

How to apply for the Family Home Guarantee in Logan, QLD, step by step

Step 1: Talk to us

We check whether you meet the scheme conditions, work out which participating lenders suit your income structure, and confirm the price cap applies to the suburb you're targeting.

Step 2: Confirm eligibility and gather your documents

You'll need proof of citizenship, evidence of dependent children, proof of single status, and your income documents including any FTB entitlement letters, child support orders and payslips or tax returns.

Step 3: Apply through the right participating lender

We submit the application through the lender on our panel whose income treatment gives you the strongest position, and Housing Australia issues the guarantee certificate alongside the conditional approval.

Step 4: From approval through to settlement

Once the guarantee is in place the loan proceeds like a standard purchase. We stay across the timeline, coordinate with your solicitor on Queensland contract conditions, and make sure nothing holds up settlement.

What approval challenges do single parents face with this scheme?

Where applications run into difficulty:

• › Unresolved separation: lenders require clear evidence of single status. An ongoing de facto arrangement, shared finances or a separation that hasn't been legally documented stalls most applications regardless of the guarantee.
• › Income inconsistency: if your employment has changed recently, including a return from parental leave or a shift from casual to permanent, lenders typically want to see the new income pattern settle before counting it fully. Timing the application around this matters.
• › Child support as a liability: a payer's child support obligation is counted as an ongoing commitment by most lenders, which reduces their assessed borrowing capacity. If that applies to your situation, it needs to be factored in before you choose a purchase price.
• › Genuine savings requirement: the 2% deposit needs to be genuine savings, and lenders differ on what qualifies. A gift from a family member, a tax return, or proceeds from a recently sold asset may or may not count depending on the lender and how recently it was received.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Family Home Guarantee require me to be a first home buyer?

No. The Family Home Guarantee does not require first home buyer status. You can have owned property before, which makes it available to single parents re-entering the market after a separation or divorce.

What is the price cap for the Family Home Guarantee in Logan, QLD?

The cap is $1,000,000 across all Logan suburbs. Logan sits entirely within Greater Brisbane, so the capital-city cap applies uniformly, with no variation between suburbs within the area.

Can I combine the Family Home Guarantee with the Queensland First Home Owner Grant?

Yes, if you're a first home buyer purchasing a new home valued under $750,000. The $30,000 FHOG and the $0 transfer duty on new homes can both apply alongside the guarantee in that scenario.

Can I use the Family Home Guarantee to buy an investment property?

No. The property must be your principal place of residence. The scheme is owner-occupied only and cannot be used to purchase a rental property or investment.

Is it better to use the Family Home Guarantee or Help to Buy as a single parent?

They can't be combined, so you choose one. Help to Buy gives the government a share of the property and has income caps of $103,000 for singles. The Family Home Guarantee has no income cap and no equity share, but requires a larger loan. Which suits you depends on your income and how long you plan to hold the property.

Should I use a mortgage broker or go directly to a participating lender?

A mortgage broker, every time. Participating lenders differ significantly in how they treat Centrelink income, FTB and child support, and applying to the wrong one costs you both a declined result and an enquiry on your credit file.

Your Next Steps

For single parents in Logan, QLD, the Family Home Guarantee changes the deposit equation significantly. Whether you're buying for the first time or coming back to property ownership after a separation, the scheme is worth understanding in detail before you set a budget or choose a suburb to target.

Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your situation under the Family Home Guarantee? Contact the Cube Loans team or call 1800 774 756. We'll canvas our 60+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.

About the author Nevada Matthews Mortgage Broker and Co-Owner, Cube Loans Nevada Matthews is a mortgage broker and co-owner of Cube Loans, helping first home buyers, investors and business owners across Loganholme and the wider Logan region. He started broking in 2019 and was named New Broker of the Year (QLD) in 2023, and operates under Cube Central Pty Ltd (Credit Representative 472851), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192. Meet Nevada → LinkedIn

Cube Loans, Loganholme and Logan, QLD, Cube Central Pty Ltd, Credit Representative 472851, authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192, General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.