In our experience, the biggest surprise for buyers moving between states isn't the price of homes — it's how differently the government costs stack up. Two identical purchases can cost thousands more to complete in one state than another, almost entirely because of stamp duty and the concessions that do (or don't) apply.
State-by-state
NSW — the headline
FHB concession: $0 duty up to $800K, sliding to $1M. The slide is steep — by $999K you're paying ~$39K. Above $1M, no concession. Title fees: flat $182.73 transfer + $182.73 mortgage registration (FY2026–27) — cheapest in the country. Vacant land: $0 to $350K, taper to $450K.
Worked example — $700K established home in Western Sydney, 5% deposit, First Home Guarantee:
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (FHBAS, ≤ $800K) | $0 |
| Title transfer + mortgage registration | ~$365 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$6,965 |
| Deposit (5%) | $35,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$41,965 |
About 1% on top. Without FHBAS, duty alone would add ~$25,700.
QLD — the headline
FHB concession (existing): $0 duty up to $700K, sliding to $800K. FHB concession (new build): $0 duty, no price cap for contracts from 1 May 2025. First Home Owner Grant: $30K for new homes ≤ $750K — continued for contracts from 1 July 2026. From 1 August 2026: transfer duty home concessions require buyers to be Australian citizens, permanent residents or specified foreign retirees. Title fees: scale with price — $2,200–$3,000 at $500K–$1M (highest of the three states). Above $800K: the first home concession stops, but the general home concession still applies to owner-occupiers and is worth up to $7,175, so the step at the threshold is about $1,735 rather than the whole concession.
Worked example — $600K established home in Brisbane, 10% deposit, First Home Guarantee:
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (FHB concession ≤ $700K) | $0 |
| Transfer registration (Titles QLD) | ~$2,470 |
| Mortgage registration | ~$230 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$9,300 |
| Deposit (10%) | $60,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$69,300 |
About 1.5% on top. Buying new in QLD? Contracts from 1 May 2025: $0 duty, no price cap, plus the $30K grant for new homes ≤ $750K — among the most subsidised purchases in the country.
VIC — the headline
FHB concession: $0 duty up to $600K, sliding to $750K — the lowest threshold of the three states. Title fees: $101.50 + $2.34 per $1,000 (electronic) — $600K ≈ $1,505. Off-the-plan concession: extended to 21 April 2027 (contracts signed before that date). Vacant land: $0 to $400K, taper to $500K. Above $750K: no concession applies, so you pay the full rate. That is about $40,070 at $750K, rising by $6 for every extra $100. It is not a cliff edge: duty either side of $750K differs by cents, not thousands.
Worked example — $650K established home in Melbourne, 10% deposit, First Home Guarantee (between the $600K full exemption and the $750K concession cut-off):
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Transfer duty (sliding concession at $650K) | ~$11,300 |
| Title transfer registration | ~$1,623 |
| Mortgage registration | ~$126 |
| Conveyancing + disbursements | $1,800 |
| Building & pest inspection | $600 |
| LMI | $0 (First Home Guarantee) |
| Home & contents insurance (year 1) | $1,500 |
| Council rates adjustment | $700 |
| Moving + connections | $2,000 |
| Total upfront extras | ~$19,650 |
| Deposit (10%) | $65,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | ~$84,650 |
About 3% on top — duty is most of it. VIC's $600K threshold bites hard. At $600K exactly, duty would be $0 and extras would be ~$8,500 (~1.4%).
