Off The Plan Stamp Duty Concession South East Melbourne, What Buyers Need to Know
If you're buying an apartment or townhouse off the plan in South East Melbourne, the contract price isn't necessarily what you'll pay stamp duty on. Victoria's temporary off-the-plan duty concession lets eligible buyers deduct construction costs from the dutiable value, which can bring a unit that looks like it sits above the duty threshold down to a figure that attracts a concession or nothing at all.
That matters here more than most places. Every approved suburb in South East Melbourne has a house median above the $950,000 scheme cap, so for most buyers the realistic purchase is a unit. Unit medians across the area run from $470,000 in Ripponlea to $1,247,500 in Brighton, with a large portion of the market sitting in the $500,000 to $740,000 band. Whether the concession applies to your purchase depends on the contract date, the property type, and what the construction costs actually are.
EverLend helps buyers across South East Melbourne work through exactly these questions, comparing across 60+ lenders and structuring purchases to make the most of the duty position. The apartment home loan side of things and the duty treatment usually need to be worked through together, because the net dutiable value affects how much cash you need at settlement.
Key takeaways
- The temporary concession applies to strata apartments and townhouses only.
- Contracts must be signed before 21 April 2027 to qualify.
- Investors, companies and trusts are all eligible — not just owner-occupiers.
What is the off-the-plan stamp duty concession in South East Melbourne?
The off-the-plan duty concession lets a buyer reduce the dutiable value of their purchase by deducting construction costs incurred on or after the contract date. Instead of paying duty on the full contract price, you pay it on the contract price minus those construction costs — which can shift a property from no concession into the full-exemption band or the sliding-scale concession band.
We see buyers regularly assume the concession applies to the whole purchase price. It doesn't — it reduces the dutiable value by the construction costs incurred after contract, which is a very different calculation, and getting it wrong leads to a nasty surprise at settlement.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
How does the temporary strata concession actually work?
Victoria runs two off-the-plan concessions side by side. The standard concession has existed for years and applies to owner-occupiers and first home buyers. The temporary strata concession — introduced for contracts from 21 October 2024 — is broader: it covers investors, companies and trusts as well, with no ownership-type restriction and no price cap.
The mechanism is the same for both. The SRO determines the dutiable value by taking the contract price and deducting construction costs the developer incurs on or after the contract date. The result is the figure duty is assessed on — not the price you agreed to pay.
What the temporary concession covers
The temporary concession applies only to apartments, units or townhouses in a strata subdivision with common property. House-and-land packages, standalone houses and properties without common property are excluded. The contract must be entered on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027 — that end date has been confirmed by the SRO following an extension from the original deadline.
How the duty thresholds interact with the reduced value
Once the construction costs are deducted, the reduced dutiable value is assessed against the standard first-home-buyer thresholds: full exemption at $600,000 or under, a sliding-scale concession from $600,001 to $750,000, and full duty above $750,000. For non-first-home buyers and investors the concession reduces the value before duty is calculated at the standard rates. Direct buyers to the SRO duty calculator for their exact figure — never estimate a dollar duty amount.
Source: State Revenue Office Victoria.
Who qualifies for the off-the-plan concession in Victoria?
The temporary strata concession is open to all buyers — owner-occupiers, investors, companies, trusts and first home buyers. There is no citizenship or residency condition attached to the temporary concession itself, though foreign buyers still pay the Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty of 8% on top of standard duty regardless.
What you need to qualify:
- › Property type: must be an apartment, unit or townhouse in a strata plan with common property — not a house and land package or a standalone dwelling.
- › Contract date: signed on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027.
- › Construction costs: incurred by the developer on or after the contract date — the developer provides the breakdown, not the buyer.
- › Buyer type: any buyer — no restriction on investors, companies or trusts under the temporary concession.
- › First home buyer addition: if you also qualify as a first home buyer, the standard first-home duty thresholds apply to the reduced value — these work alongside the concession, not instead of it.
What does the concession mean for deposit and borrowing in South East Melbourne?
CoreLogic data shows unit medians across the approved South East Melbourne suburbs ranging from $470,000 in Ripponlea and $500,000 in Prahran through to $935,000 in Bentleigh and $1,200,000 in both Brighton and Hampton. The concession changes the cash you need at settlement, which in turn affects how you structure the loan.
A unit priced at $720,000 with substantial construction costs still to be incurred could see its dutiable value fall into the $600,000 exemption band, saving a first home buyer the duty they would otherwise pay on the contract price. For an investor buying the same unit, the reduced dutiable value means a lower duty bill calculated at the standard rate. Either way, the net cash required at settlement is lower, which affects what deposit the lender needs to see.
It's worth noting that the $950,000 First Home Guarantee cap applies across every approved suburb in the area — and every house median in South East Melbourne sits above that cap. Off-the-plan units are where most of the cap-eligible stock sits, which is why the duty concession and the scheme often need to be assessed together.
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, June 2026) and Housing Australia.
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How does this interact with the First Home Owner Grant and other schemes?
The temporary strata concession sits alongside, not instead of, the other schemes available to South East Melbourne buyers. A first home buyer purchasing an off-the-plan unit may be able to access several at once, though the eligibility conditions differ.
The options worth weighing:
- › First Home Owner Grant:$10,000 · new homes only · contract price $750,000 or under · must move in within 12 months · citizen or permanent resident required
- › First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit · no LMI · no income test · South East Melbourne price cap $950,000 · first home buyers only
- › First-home duty exemption: full exemption to $600,000 dutiable value · sliding concession to $750,000 · applied to the REDUCED value after the construction cost deduction
- › Temporary strata concession: all buyer types · reduces dutiable value by post-contract construction costs · no price cap · contracts before 21 April 2027
The FHOG's $750,000 contract price cap is the tightest constraint. An off-the-plan unit with a contract price of $720,000 may qualify; one at $800,000 does not, regardless of what the construction cost deduction brings the dutiable value down to. The grant's cap is on the contract price, while the duty concession works on the dutiable value — they operate on different figures.
Source: State Revenue Office Victoria and Housing Australia.
When does the off-the-plan concession not make sense?
The concession is genuinely useful — but there are situations where it delivers less than buyers expect, and a few where the purchase structure undermines it entirely. If the development is already substantially complete by the time you sign, the remaining construction costs are small, and the reduction to the dutiable value is modest. A finished or near-finished off-the-plan apartment close to completion may attract very little deduction.
Similarly, if the contract price puts the property well above $750,000 and the construction costs are not large enough to bring it into the concession band, the concession exists but saves nothing on duty — it only reduces the calculation base for standard rates. That is still a saving, but buyers sometimes expect to eliminate the duty entirely when the numbers don't support it.
The concession is also irrelevant for house-and-land packages and standalone new builds without common property, which surprises some buyers given those are also off-the-plan purchases. If the property you're buying doesn't sit in a strata plan with common property, the temporary concession doesn't apply — only the standard owner-occupier or first-home concession may.
How do mortgage brokers help off-the-plan buyers in South East Melbourne, step by step?
The lender choice matters as much as the duty treatment on an off-the-plan purchase. Some lenders are more comfortable with the extended settlement timelines that come with developments under construction, and their valuation approach at completion can differ materially from what the purchase price suggests.
Step 1: Talk to us
We start by working through the duty position and the financing structure together — the two need to be assessed at the same time, since the net dutiable value affects the cash you'll need at settlement.
Step 2: Assess your position and the development
We look at your income, deposit, existing commitments and the development itself — its completion timeline, the developer's track record, and how lenders on our panel are treating that postcode and building type.
Step 3: Match the right lender and pre-approval
We identify which lenders on the panel are most comfortable with the property type and timeline, structure the pre-approval, and flag any conditions that could affect the formal approval when the build nears completion.
Step 4: Support through to settlement
Off-the-plan settlements can move quickly once a completion notice arrives. We manage the finance side — formal approval, valuation, and the final settlement steps — so you're not caught unprepared when the date is called.
Where I'd push back with a buyer is on valuation risk at completion. Off-the-plan contracts lock in a price today, but the lender values the property when it's finished. If values have softened, the shortfall comes out of the buyer's pocket. We'd usually want to see enough buffer in the deposit to absorb a valuation that comes in below contract.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
What can go wrong when buyers rely on the off-the-plan concession?
Where buyers lose ground:
- › Misreading the contract date window: the temporary concession requires a contract signed before 21 April 2027. Buyers who assume any off-the-plan purchase qualifies, regardless of when they signed, can find themselves outside the window — especially if a development relaunched after an earlier contract fell over.
- › Treating the concession as guaranteed savings: the actual deduction depends on construction costs the developer incurs after contract date. Until those costs are certified, the saving is an estimate — not a promise — and it should not be built into a borrowing calculation as a fixed number.
- › Underestimating the valuation risk: lenders value the property at completion, not at the contract date. A market that moves during the build can produce a valuation below the purchase price, and the buyer covers any shortfall in cash. The concession doesn't change that exposure.
- › Missing the FHOG cap on contract price: the First Home Owner Grant cap of $750,000 applies to the contract price, not the reduced dutiable value. A buyer who structures the purchase around the duty saving, without checking the grant cap, can lose the $10,000 grant on a purchase that otherwise qualifies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the off-the-plan stamp duty concession apply to investors in South East Melbourne?
Yes, the temporary strata concession introduced for contracts from October 2024 is open to investors, companies and trusts — not just owner-occupiers. The contract must be signed before 21 April 2027 and the property must be in a strata plan with common property.
Does the concession apply to house-and-land packages in South East Melbourne?
No. The temporary strata concession is limited to apartments, units and townhouses in a strata subdivision with common property. House-and-land packages and standalone new dwellings without common property are excluded from this concession.
Can off-the-plan buyers in South East Melbourne combine the duty concession with the First Home Owner Grant?
Yes, where both apply. The FHOG's $750,000 cap is assessed on the contract price, not the reduced dutiable value, so the purchase must come in under $750,000 at contract regardless of the concession's effect on duty.
Is the First Home Guarantee available for off-the-plan unit purchases in South East Melbourne?
Yes, for first home buyers purchasing within the $950,000 price cap, which covers most off-the-plan units in the area. The Guarantee allows a 5% deposit with no LMI and no income test, and can be used alongside the duty concession.
What happens to my finance approval if completion is delayed on an off-the-plan purchase?
Pre-approvals lapse over time, so a delayed completion typically requires a fresh application closer to settlement. Lender policy, your income position and interest rates may all have changed — which is why we manage the timeline actively, not just at the start.
Should off-the-plan buyers in South East Melbourne use a mortgage broker or go directly to a bank?
A mortgage broker, every time. Lenders differ significantly in how they treat off-the-plan contracts, extended settlement periods and the valuations that come in at completion — a broker who knows which lenders are most comfortable with these purchases can make a material difference to the outcome.
Your Next Steps
Off-the-plan purchases in South East Melbourne sit at the intersection of duty law, lending policy and development risk — three things that need to be assessed together, not in sequence. Whether you're a first home buyer trying to make the numbers work or an investor weighing the concession against the settlement risks, the right structure depends on the specifics of the development and your own financial position.
The right lender for an off-the-plan purchase depends on your situation, and that's a conversation worth having. Talk to the EverLend team or call 03 7036 3356, and we'll compare your options across 60+ lenders.
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External Resources
EverLend · South East Melbourne · Ever Lend Pty Ltd (ACN 625 080 515), 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.
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