Clarification regarding FHSS - Sign a contract to purchase or construct a home in Australia

 Author: KaraATO(Community Support)Community Support

24 Apr 2026

Hi @ThunderShadow,

Submitting that release request is more towards the end of the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme process. There’s a general order to how it works:

• Confirm your eligible to apply.
• Check that your:
  • Nominated superfund will agree to releasing certain contributions under the FHSS scheme, and
  • Contributions are eligible to use.
• Request determination and check all details are correct before submitting.
• Request the amounts be released to your nominated bank account, and
• Sign your contract to buy a home and let us know.

It’s best to read through our FHSS scheme web content as well as the General Notice 2024/1 FHSS for examples and further explanations. A key thing I want to point out is that you must request a FHSS determination before signing any property contract that gives you an interest in the property.

Specifically, for off‑the‑plan purchases:

• The contract might be only for the land, or it might include both the land and the build.
• These might settle at different times, so it’s important to think about when each part will settle, not just when you sign the contract.
• Example 10 on the General Notice 2024/1 is a good example to look at.

I’ll further explain the parts you bolded, that comes under ‘after you have requested a release’ section on the General Notice 2024/1 FHSS scheme: 

• If you have outstanding debt with either us or any other Commonwealth agency (excluding student loans like HECS and HELP), we’ll use the release money to pay those debts before paying anything to you.
• The day you submit a release request you have 12 months (and a further 12 months may be approved, meaning you get 24 months total) to legally sign a contract to purchase an established home or a land and home package.
• If you don’t legally purchase a home in either capacity within the allowed timeframe then you need to put that release amount back into your super account and notify us.

I also wanted to highlight the notification time limits you need to be aware of:

• When you legally sign a contract to buy an existing or new home, you have 90 days from the date of signing to let us know.
• If you decide to re‑contribute the released amount back into your super fund, you must notify us by the last day of the 12‑month or 24‑month period that applies after you submitted your release request.

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