Police officers and fire and emergency services personnel who trained in the past five years can now apply for a Keystart home loan with a 2% deposit and no lender’s mortgage insurance, after the State Government expanded eligibility for its Skilled Start Home Loan on Monday.
Skilled Start launched in December and was limited to people who had started or finished a formal apprenticeship, graduated from TAFE or university with a Certificate III or higher, or begun work in an eligible building and construction occupation within the past five years. The expansion adds a pathway for frontline workers who earn their qualification at an academy rather than a campus.
Who qualifies now
Eligibility covers anyone who completed training at the WA Police Academy or with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in the past five years and is still employed in that field. Graduates of equivalent Australian policing and emergency services agencies qualify too, including Australian Federal Police officers, as long as they hold a paid operational role and are living in Western Australia or planning to move here.
Recruits and trainees are also included — basically anyone in a paid recruit or trainee program through either academy can apply while still in training.
There are limits on who counts as frontline, though. Volunteer, honorary, and unpaid emergency services members are not eligible under this pathway. Neither are non-operational staff working in areas such as HR, finance, ICT, or administration, although those workers may still qualify through the existing Certificate III route.
“Our police, fire and emergency services personnel dedicate their lives and careers to keeping Western Australians safe, and we’re proud to support them with more opportunities to achieve home ownership,” Police Minister Reece Whitby said.
Skilled Start requires a deposit of 2% or $2,000.00, whichever is higher, charges no lender’s mortgage insurance, and applies a one percentage point discount to Keystart’s standard variable interest rate. Buyers who build pay $400.00 a month during construction and can put the first home owner grant towards their deposit.
“Through Keystart, more early career frontline workers can access a Skilled Start Home Loan, and get into a home of their own with just a 2 per cent deposit and lower ongoing repayments,” Treasurer Rita Saffioti said.
What’s the catch?
Skilled Start caps the purchase price at $700,000 for an established property and $750,000 for a new home, an off-the-plan purchase, or a home under construction. Perth’s median house price was $938,000 for the 12 months to June, based on REIWA figures, which puts the median Perth house beyond what this loan will fund.
The expansion targets people at the very start of their careers. The Western Australian Police Union has been pointing at the other end of the service.
Union President Simone Taplin told 6PR Mornings in June that recruitment matters, but that retention is where the pressure sits. “We’ve had at least 50 retirements and 80 resignations in the last few months, so replenishing those and actually remunerating our police officers to make sure that they are career police officers is something that we need to look at,” she said.
