A shed no longer blocks Queensland's first-home concession

Queensland Parliament has passed the Home Ownership and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026. It lets a first home buyer keep the vacant land concession when an existing shed sits on the block. The Treasurer announced it on 13 October.

For Brisbane builders and agents selling house-and-land, the second change matters more. A technicality in how a property passed from developer to builder will no longer disqualify first buyers of new homes.

Why it matters

Two small rules were catching buyers who did nothing wrong.

The first is the shed. Under the existing rules, a buyer of vacant land can lose the first-home concession if a structure stands on it. The bill changes that. A buyer is eligible if an existing shed sits on otherwise vacant land, according to the Treasurer’s statement.

The second hits new builds. The statement says the bill simplifies technicalities that could disqualify a first home buyer of a newly built home because of how the property moved between a developer and a builder. It does not describe the exact structures affected.

Treasurer and Minister for Home Ownership David Janetzki said the reforms apply “some common sense” so buyers are not deprived of a fair outcome by a technicality. That is the government’s framing. The statement also casts the change in a political contest over housing.

The bill also tidies old revenue legislation. It fixes drafting anomalies and removes obsolete processes. It also treats current and former Defence Force personnel consistently for vehicle registration duty relief.

The numbers

The statement gives no concession dollar amounts, so we have not estimated any. It does give the wider pipeline figures, all attributed to the Treasurer.

• More than 52,500 homes are under construction in Queensland, per the latest quarterly ABS data. The statement calls it the fourth consecutive record quarter.
• Homes under construction are up more than 35% in two years. The statement says that is the largest rise of any state.
• By June, more than 3,500 first home buyers had benefited from abolished stamp duty on new homes, saving more than $66 million.
• A KPMG report cited in the statement puts home ownership at 64.9% in 2025, up from 63.9% in 2021.
• The statement says the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund has unlocked 166,000 homes.

We have not tested these figures against the ABS release. They come from the ministerial statement alone. The statement does not name the quarter behind the 52,500 count.

What’s next

The statement does not say when the changes start. It does not say what is in force now versus later. Passing Parliament is not the same as taking effect, so check the commencement date before you advise a buyer.

Buyers and sellers with contracts already signed should wait for that date. Builders marketing house-and-land packages should hold off on promising the new treatment until the Queensland Revenue Office updates its guidance.

Developers with vacant lots carrying an existing shed should note the change. It may widen the pool of eligible buyers for those sites. We will report the commencement date when it is published.

For more on the state’s housing pipeline, see our Queensland hub.