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For many Australians, buying a first home is one of life’s biggest financial milestones — and, historically, one of the hardest to plan for. Fortunately, the Australian government continues to roll out and expand support programs aimed at reducing the barriers, especially on the deposit and financing front. On top of that, being able to run your own financial models in Excel gives you clarity and control over your home-buying journey.

Below, are the key government schemes available through the Australian Federal Government, and how to use Excel (and sharpen those skills by using Excel) to model your repayments, savings, and affordability.

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Government Supports for First Home Buyers in Australia

According to First Home Buyers, the government currently offers (or is rolling out) three major schemes: the

1. First Home Super Saver Scheme, the
2. 5% Deposit Scheme, and the upcoming
3. Help to Buy Scheme.

1. First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS)

Under this scheme, you can make voluntary additional contributions into your superannuation fund (up to certain caps), and later withdraw those contributions (plus associated earnings) to purchase or build your first home. The idea is that super contributions benefit from favourable tax treatment, so this helps your savings grow more efficiently.

2. 5% Deposit Scheme

This scheme allows eligible first home buyers to purchase a home with as little as a 5% deposit (or 2% for single parents) without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). There are no income caps, and the scheme is open to existing and new homes, subject to regional price caps.

This is a powerful benefit, because LMI often adds thousands of dollars upfront.

3. Help to Buy Scheme (Coming Soon)

The Help to Buy scheme is intended to “bridge the gap” for people who have saved what they can, but still lack enough deposit to fully purchase a property. Under the scheme, the government may contribute a share (for example, 30–40%) to your home purchase. You continue to live in and own the home; you eventually repay the government share (e.g. when you sell or refinance).

This scheme is still being rolled out, so keep an eye on eligibility rules and launch dates.

These schemes represent a meaningful shift: lower deposit thresholds, reduced or no LMI, and more pathways into home ownership.

Why Doing Your Own Financial Modeling Matters

Even with generous government support, purchasing a home is a long-term financial commitment. You’ll want to understand:

• What your monthly mortgage repayments will be (principal + interest)
• How much deposit you’ll need and when you can reach that target
• The effect of additional contributions, interest rate changes, etc.
• Whether you’ll be eligible for a given scheme
• The impact of fees, stamp duty, insurance, and other ongoing costs

By building your own models in Microsoft Excel, you can flex scenarios — e.g. “What if I save an extra $200 per month?” or “What does my repayment look like if interest rises by 1%?” Excel lets you explore such “what-ifs” with transparency.

If you don’t yet feel confident in Excel, get the FREE Excel Beginners course samples, enrol into the Complete Excel Course or pick individual Excel courses based on what you want to learn. These Microsoft Office courses are hugely useful not just for home buying, but for everyday financial planning.

Sample Excel Models and Formulas

Here are a few useful templates / ideas you can build in Excel:

A. Mortgage Repayment Calculator (PMT function)

Excel’s PMT function is ideal for computing fixed periodic payments. The Excel formula is:

=PMT(rate, nper, pv, [fv], [type])

• rate = periodic interest rate (annual interest rate / number of periods)
• nper = total number of periods (e.g. number of monthly payments)
• pv = present value (loan amount)
• fv = future value (often 0 for a fully amortising loan)
• type = when payments are due (0 = end of period, 1 = beginning)

For example, say you borrow $500,000 at 5% annual interest over 30 years (360 monthly payments). The monthly rate is 5%/12 = 0.4167%. In Excel:

=PMT(0.05/12, 360, -500000)

This yields your monthly repayment.

You can also layer scenarios: e.g. add a column where rate = 0.06/12 to simulate a 6% interest rate and compare.

B. Savings / Deposit Accumulation

You might use the FV function to see how your deposit grows with monthly deposits:

=FV(rate, nper, pmt, [pv], [type])

• pmt is what you contribute each period (negative if outflow)
• pv is initial balance
• If you want to see how long it takes to reach a deposit target, you can use NPER.

For example, to see how many months it takes to reach $40,000 with monthly savings of $700 and a 3% interest rate (compounded monthly):

=NPER(0.03/12, -700, 0, 40000)

That gives you an estimate (in months).

C. Scenario & Sensitivity Tables

Once you have basic models, use data tables or scenario manager to vary inputs (interest rate, deposit contributions, loan term) and see outcomes across scenarios. You could also build charts to visualize repayment vs principal vs interest over time.

D. Scheme Eligibility / Savings Comparisons

You might build a side-by-side comparison: “With 5% Deposit Scheme (no LMI)” vs “Conventional loan + LMI” vs “Under Help to Buy” — and compute net cost differences. Or compute after-tax benefit of using the FHSSS (super contributions) to save faster.

By organizing your Excel file with clearly labelled input cells (deposit rate, interest, term), and output tables/charts, you can re-use it across different properties or over time.

How Case Studies in our Excel Courses Can Help

While Excel is powerful, many people don’t know how to fully take advantage (e.g. building amortisation schedules, using advanced functions, automating via formulas). That’s where guided training helps. Our Excel courses include modules on:

• Basic to advanced Excel (functions, pivot tables, scenario tools)
• Financial modelling (loan, cash flow)
• Practical office admin tasks with real life case studies

By enrolling into one of our Excel or bookkeeping courses, you’ll gain confidence to actually understand the formulas listed above and build your own home-buying models without relying solely on online calculators or external advisors.

Putting It All Together: A Step-by-Step Plan

Here’s a suggested process you could follow:

1. Review eligibility
   Check your state’s rules and whether you qualify for the 5% Deposit Scheme, FHSSS, or (when open) Help to Buy.
2. Gather inputs
   Estimate the target home price in your area, deposit amount, expected interest rate, loan term, your monthly disposable savings, and other costs (stamp duty, closing costs, insurance).
3. Build or use an Excel model
   Use PMT, FV, NPER, scenario tables, charts to simulate:
   • Required monthly repayments
   • Savings growth to hit deposit
   • Sensitivity to interest rate increases
   • Comparison of using government schemes vs conventional route
4. Iterate and test “what ifs”
   What if you saved an extra $100/month? What if interest rates rise by 1%? What if you extend the loan by 5 years? Excel makes it easy to test.
5. Refine and act
   Once your model shows a viable path, finalize your strategy: lock in savings rates, apply for scheme, engage lender, etc.
6. Continuous tracking
   Periodically revisit your Excel file to compare actuals vs projections, adjust for changing interest rates or personal finances.

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