It depends what you mean. You can withdraw voluntary contributions for a first home through the First Home Super Saver scheme, up to $50,000 in total. Your SMSF can buy an investment property with cash. Your super fund cannot buy a house for you to live in, and never could.
Current as at September 2026.
Quick answer: it depends what you mean. If you mean “can I pull money out of my super for a deposit on a home I’ll live in”, yes, within limits, through the First Home Super Saver Scheme, and only for voluntary contributions you’ve made. If you mean “can my self-managed super fund buy a house as an investment”, yes with cash, but since 10 August 2026 the fund can no longer borrow to do it. If you mean “can my super fund buy a house for me to live in”, no, and it never could.
Here they are in order.
Can you use super for a first home deposit?
The First Home Super Saver Scheme lets you make voluntary contributions into super and later withdraw them, plus associated earnings, to buy your first home. The ATO administers it.
The limits, from the ATO’s page on release amounts:
- $15,000 of eligible contributions in any one financial year.
- $50,000 of eligible contributions in total across all years.
- You get back 100% of non-concessional (after-tax) contributions and 85% of concessional (salary sacrifice or deductible) contributions, plus deemed earnings.
The ATO’s worked example: Jill salary sacrifices $1,500 a month from July 2020 to October 2024, which gives her $50,000 of eligible contributions across the years, and her maximum release amount comes to $47,690 (85% of the $50,000 plus $5,190 of associated earnings).
Two things people get wrong. First, it’s only voluntary contributions. Your employer’s compulsory super stays where it is. Second, timing: the ATO requires you to request a FHSS determination before ownership of the property transfers to you. Request it late and the money isn’t available.
Is it worth it? The scheme exists because contributing before tax and withdrawing at a concessional rate can beat saving the same money in a bank account. Whether it suits you depends on your tax rate and how long you have, and that’s a conversation with your accountant or a financial adviser, not us. What we can do is factor the released amount into your deposit and borrowing capacity.
Since 1 October 2025 the Home Guarantee Scheme has also let eligible first home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, with no income cap and a $1.5 million price cap in NSW. FHSS money released to you counts as part of your deposit like any other savings.
Can your SMSF buy an investment property?
A self-managed super fund can own residential property as an investment. What changed on 10 August 2026 is borrowing.
Before that date, an SMSF could take out a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA) to buy a house or unit, putting in part of the price from the fund and borrowing the rest. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 26 June, closed that for new arrangements. From 10 August a new LRBA can only be used to buy business real property.
So the fund can still buy a house, but it has to pay for it without a new loan. If the fund has $800,000 in cash it can buy an $800,000 property (less costs and a liquidity buffer). If it has $300,000, it can’t borrow the other $500,000 any more.
What’s unaffected, per the ATO: existing residential LRBAs continue, they can be refinanced, and any contract exchanged before 10 August is protected even if it settles later.
Book a time with a Loan Lounge broker — no cost, no obligation.
And the rules that always applied still do. The fund buys for retirement purposes only (the sole purpose test). A related-party lease is an in-house asset, capped at 5% of the fund’s assets, which a house exceeds in almost any fund, so in practice nobody related to a member can live in it or rent it. It can’t be bought from a member or relative (the business real property exception is about property used wholly and exclusively in a business, which a family home isn’t). Investments in or with related parties are capped at 5% of fund assets.
Can your SMSF buy a house for you to live in?
No. This is the one people most want and it’s the one that’s never been allowed. The sole purpose test requires the fund to be maintained solely to provide retirement benefits. A house you or a relative live in, before retirement, is a present-day benefit. The ATO’s investment restrictions are explicit that fund assets can’t be used by members or related parties.
That includes “we’ll pay the fund market rent”. Residential property leased to a related party is an in-house asset and falls under the 5% cap, which for a house is a breach in almost every fund.
The exception is business real property. If you run a business, your fund can buy the premises the business operates from and lease them to the business at market rent. That’s specifically allowed and it’s the case the borrowing rules still support. But it’s a shop or an office, not a home.
Where does a broker fit?
For question 1, we take the FHSS release amount as part of your deposit and work out what you can borrow, under which lender’s policy, and whether the Home Guarantee Scheme applies. We’ve been writing first home buyer loans since 2015 and the doctors and nurses page on our site has the LMI figures for one profession group as an example of what avoiding LMI is worth (up to $29,500 on a $750,000 loan in NSW at 95% LVR).
For question 2, if your fund has an existing LRBA we can look at refinancing it. If your fund wants to buy without borrowing, you don’t need a broker. If you run a business and want to understand whether the fund could borrow for premises, that’s the conversation to have.
For question 3, we’ll tell you no, and point you to your accountant for what the fund can do instead.
Call 02 9037 2825 or book a time with one of the brokers.
This is general information and doesn’t take your circumstances into account. Superannuation decisions carry tax and compliance consequences. Get advice from a licensed financial adviser and your accountant before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions: Can You Use Your Super to Buy a House?
How much super can I withdraw for a first home?
Under the FHSS scheme, up to $50,000 of eligible voluntary contributions in total (maximum $15,000 per financial year), plus associated earnings. Compulsory employer contributions can’t be withdrawn.
Can my SMSF borrow to buy a house?
Not under a new arrangement entered on or after 10 August 2026. Existing loans continue and can be refinanced. New borrowing is limited to business real property.
Can I live in a house my SMSF owns?
No. Neither can a relative. The fund’s assets are for retirement benefits only.
Related reading
- SMSF Lending Isn’t What Your Bank Says It Is
- SMSF Loans Explained: How They Actually Work After 10 August 2026
- Buying Property With Superannuation: Rules and Risks
- More on SMSF lending
Book a broker or find a broker near you. Or call the Burwood office on 02 9037 2825.
General information only. This article does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and is not financial product, tax or legal advice. Lending criteria, fees and rates vary by lender and change without notice. Loan Lounge, Australian Credit Licence 515608.