Canstar's 2026 First Home Buyer Awards
About the First Home Buyer Awards
Buying a first home is one of the biggest financial commitments most Australians will ever make, and the lender you choose can shape the entire experience. Canstar's Bank of the Year – First Home Buyer Award recognises the institutions delivering the most value to first home buyers through a combination of competitive home loan pricing, strong deposit and savings products, and features and services to support buyers at five key stages of their journey:
- Planning to buy their first home (including saving for a deposit)
- Applying for and settling their first home loan
- Managing their home loan
- Getting assistance on their home loan
- Closing their home loan
By assessing pricing and features together across the whole buying journey, the award provides an independent benchmark to help first home buyers compare providers with confidence.
2026 Winners
First Home Buyers
NSW
NT
QLD
SA
VIC
WA
Numbers crunched
The market this year
The standout development in the past 12 months was the expansion of the First Home Guarantee Scheme, now called the 5% Deposit Scheme, which came into effect from 1 October 2025. Income thresholds and participant limits were removed, while property price caps – which vary by state and region – were increased. In Queensland, the cap is now $1,000,000 in capital cities and regional centres and $700,000 elsewhere, while in New South Wales those caps are $1,500,000 and $800,000 respectively.
On top of the expansion, five more providers in this year's assessment were approved participants than in the previous award cycle. ANZ joined during the year, meaning all four major banks now participate. Although, several prominent lenders, including ING, Macquarie Bank, and AMP Bank, remain outside the scheme.
Across the home loans assessed, the average variable interest rate on loans with an 80% LVR was 6.71% at the time of assessment, while the most competitive rate observed was 5.84%. First home buyers made 30,241 new loan commitments for dwellings in the March quarter, down 4.3% on the prior December quarter.
Consolidation continued across the customer-owned banking sector, with several providers involved in mergers or brand transitions. G&C Mutual merged with Unity Bank in March 2025, retaining the Unity Bank brand. Illawarra Credit Union merged with Community First Bank, and the Illawarra brand was retired on 1 April 2026. Heritage Bank and People's Choice, which merged in 2023, brought their combined business under a single new brand – People First Bank – on 5 May 2026. Finally, Australian Mutual Bank merged with Teachers Mutual Bank Limited on 1 May 2026, joining the Teachers Mutual Bank group of brands.
"When you're taking out your first home loan, it helps to know what to look for," says Canstar Lead Research Analyst, Tom Pownall. "Features like fee-free extra repayments and an offset account can help you pay down your loan faster and reduce the interest you pay over its life. It's also worth looking beyond the bank you've grown up with. Shopping around could help you find a competitive rate, features that suit you, and a digital experience that makes managing your loan easy through the lender's app or online banking. Often, all it takes is a look."
About the Winners
Bank of the Year – First Home Buyers
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Bank has retained the Bank of the Year Award – First Home Buyers for a second consecutive year. The bank delivered consistently strong performance across the assessment, supported by its competitive Digi and Simple variable home loans, which combine competitive pricing with valuable features like offset accounts, redraw facilities, and flexible repayment options. Its fixed rate loans also performed strongly across the terms assessed. Beyond its product offering, Commonwealth Bank led when it came to support services and application and settlement features, with speedy application times, minimal fees, entirely online ID verification, and both in-branch and mobile lender availability.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – NSW
Unity Bank
Unity Bank has won the award for NSW in 2026, having been found to deliver outstanding value through a highly competitive combination of pricing and features specifically tailored to first home buyers. Its First Home Buyer Loan offers up to five offset accounts, unlimited redraw and additional repayments, while charging no establishment or ongoing monthly fees. Combined with some of the most competitive interest rates assessed, the product achieved excellent overall results. Unity Bank also performed strongly when assessed on its ability to support those planning to enter the market, offering competitive savings and deposit products that could help customers prepare for home ownership before taking out a loan.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – NT
People First Bank
People First Bank, formed through the merger of People's Choice and Heritage Bank, has been recognised as the Customer Owned Bank of the Year Award – First Home Buyers Northern Territory. The bank delivered competitive variable and fixed rate home loans, while also achieving excellent results when assessed against the planning to buy, applying and settling, and home loan support stages of the customer journey.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – QLD
Queensland Country Bank
Queensland Country Bank has won the Customer Owned Bank of the Year Award – First Home Buyers Queensland for the fourth consecutive year. With a strong focus on serving Queensland customers through its network of 29 branches, the bank combines competitive home loan pricing with a comprehensive range of features. Its packaged variable home loan performed particularly well, offering offset facilities, redraw access, and flexible repayment options. Together with its strong service proposition, Queensland Country Bank continues to deliver consistent value for first home buyers across the state.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – SA
Beyond Bank
Beyond Bank won the Customer Owned Bank of the Year Award - First Home Buyers for South Australia this year. By providing access to the 5% Deposit Scheme and offering mortgages with loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) higher than 80% for first home buyers, Beyond Bank demonstrates a strong commitment to supporting homeownership. It achieved top scores when assessed on support offered to those planning to purchase their first home, those applying for and settling their first home loan, and those discharging their home loan. Its broad range of home loan products, including a dedicated First Home Buyer Package, further strengthened its value to consumers.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – VIC
Unity Bank
Unity Bank is the new Customer Owned Bank of the Year Award – First Home Buyers Victoria recipient, driven by the strength of its First Home Buyer Loan. The bank complements its product offering with flexible application channels, allowing customers to complete the entire home loan application process online and over the phone. Following its 2025 merger with G&C Mutual, Unity Bank also expanded its branch presence in Victoria, strengthening its ability to support customers while maintaining a competitive and feature-rich offering.
Customer Owned Bank of the Year – WA
Unity Bank
Unity Bank is a new award winner in WA this year, reflecting the strength of its competitive home loan products and comprehensive resources tailored for first home buyers. Its lending products combine competitive pricing with a strong range of features, and customers can complete the entire home loan application process online or over the phone. Although its Western Australian branch network is concentrated in Perth, Unity Bank provides strong digital and over-the-phone services for borrowers across the state. Its 2025 merger with G&C Mutual further strengthened the organisation, creating a combined entity with approximately $3.8 billion in assets.
How we chose the winners
Scored across the full customer journey
Our assessment follows the typical first home buyer journey, evaluating providers across five key stages:
- Planning to buy: 5% – Considers how a lender helps first home buyers to save a deposit and research their property purchase.
- Applying for and settling a home loan: 15% – Looks at application channels, guarantor and deposit options, availability of branches, and participation in government schemes.
- Managing a home loan: 70% – Weighs up home loan costs, management options, and features.
- Home loan support: 5% – Considers how a lender supports borrowers over the life of a home loan.
- Closing a home loan: 5% – Looks at the process of discharging a loan.
Banks and customer-owned banks are assessed separately. Banks are evaluated nationally to reflect their broad availability, while customer-owned banks are assessed within each state and territory to recognise their regional focus and geographic specialisation.
The assessment considers variable rate, one- and two-year fixed rate, and three-year fixed rate home loans, with the greatest weighting applied to variable rate products. For 2026, the representative loan amount was $560,000, with LVRs of 80% and 90% evaluated across each loan type.
To ensure winners deliver sustained value rather than only short-term promotional pricing, eligible home loans are assessed at multiple observation points over a six-month period, providing a more representative and robust measure of pricing competitiveness over time.
For the full detail of our approach, see our methodology.
Who we looked at
We assess banks and customer-owned banks separately, reflecting their different business models. Banks are evaluated nationally to reflect their broad availability, while customer-owned banks are assessed within each state and territory to recognise their regional focus and geographic specialisation.
To be eligible, an institution must offer variable rate, three-year fixed, and either one- or two-year fixed rate mortgage products to borrowers with LVRs of 80% and 90%, as well as a savings account. For state-based awards, institutions must also have at least one customer-facing branch or mobile lender in the applicable state or territory.
What to keep in mind
The right lender for your first home loan will depend on the size of your deposit, the property you're buying, and the support you'll lean on along the way. Here are a few things worth weighing up as you compare:
- Check whether the lender participates in the 5% Deposit Scheme: The expanded scheme can help eligible first home buyers purchase with a smaller deposit and avoid lenders mortgage insurance, but not every provider participates. Property price caps also vary by state and region, so it's worth confirming both scheme participation and the cap that applies where you're buying.
- Look beyond the headline interest rate: Features such as offset accounts, redraw facilities, and the ability to make extra repayments can make a real difference over the life of a loan, as can low or waived establishment and ongoing fees. A slightly higher rate paired with the right features may suit your circumstances better than the home loan with the lowest advertised rate.
- Consider how you want to bank: Some lenders let you complete the entire application online or over the phone, while others rely on a branch or mobile lender network. Customer-owned banks are often concentrated in particular states or regions, so it's worth checking that a provider can support you in the way you prefer, wherever you are.
- Think about the whole journey, not just the purchase: The strongest performers support first home buyers well before and after settlement, with competitive savings products to help you build a deposit and features for managing the loan once you're in. Matching a provider to your full journey can pay off over time.
What this award is and isn't
What it is:
- A like-for-like comparison: All eligible providers are assessed under the same methodology and benchmarked against their peers, with banks compared on a national basis and customer-owned banks compared in state and territory groups.
- A comprehensive assessment: The result reflects competitiveness across home loan pricing, deposit and savings products, digital capabilities, and features and services, assessed across the five stages of the first home buyer journey, rather than the strength of any single product in isolation.
- Focused on consistency: Eligible home loans are assessed at multiple observation points over a six-month period, recognising providers that deliver sustained value rather than only short-term promotional pricing.
What it isn't:
- Personal financial advice: The award is prepared using comprehensive general criteria and does not take your individual circumstances, objectives, or needs into account.
- A guarantee of future performance: Canstar acknowledges past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance, and a provider's products, rates, fees, and services can change at any time.
- A list of every provider in Australia: While we endeavour to include the majority of the market, some providers or products that do not meet the eligibility criteria may not be included, and not every feature relevant to you is compared.
FAQs
Who decides the winners for Canstar's Star Ratings and Awards?
Canstar's expert researchers review the overall value offered by a provider for its products in a financial services category. We consider metrics such as price and costs against features and functionality, with all of the competitors in a category compared using Canstar's unique research methodology. The products or providers recognised as winners are those that offer the highest overall value proposition.
What other awards does Canstar give?
In addition to Canstar's Star Ratings that appear in our comparison tables, Canstar gives Outstanding Value Awards that identify providers with high-performing products. Separately, Canstar's Customer Satisfaction Awards reveal how content customers are with a particular financial institution or insurance provider.
What are Canstar's Outstanding Value Awards?
Canstar recognises financial institutions with annual Awards for outstanding value across a wide range of product categories. These Awards are given to the providers whose products are the strongest overall performers in our Star Ratings over the award period.
What are Canstar's Customer Satisfaction Awards?
Canstar's Customer Satisfaction Awards are for providers, recognising institutions with the most satisfied customers overall based on consumer surveys.
How does Canstar work out award-winning brands and providers?
Canstar compares over a thousand brands and products across multiple finance and household services categories, including banking, insurances, superannuation as well as energy and mobile. Each of Canstar's Star Ratings and Awards uses a unique methodology that is brought together by our expert Research team, with products analysed based on price and features. You can find out more about how Canstar's value-based rating system works.
Who do I contact for a media enquiry about Canstar's Star Ratings?
For media enquiries, commentary or analysis about Canstar's Star Ratings and Awards, including our Outstanding Value Awards or Customer Satisfaction Awards, please contact our Corporate Affairs team.