Loan to be offered direct to customer before broker channel rollout at customer-owned bank
Teachers Mutual Bank Limited (TMBL) will give members access to the Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme from today, becoming one of a small number of lenders approved to deliver the shared-equity program as Housing Australia works to widen the scheme's lender panel through 2026.
The loans will only be offered direct to TMBL customers before a rollout through the broker channel in early October.
It is understood that TMBL wants to get its systems and processes in place before scaling the offering through the broker channel.
The Help to Buy Scheme is considerably more complex than the 5% Deposit Scheme because of the government's equity stake in the loans.
Help to Buy lets eligible buyers purchase a home with a deposit as low as 2%, with the Commonwealth taking an equity stake of up to 30% on an existing property or up to 40% on a new build, and no requirement to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) on the government's share.
Administered by Housing Australia, the scheme has been open to applicants since 5 December 2025 and is capped at 10,000 places a year.
TMBL's entry follows a major expansion announced earlier this month, with Housing Australia confirming 10,000 new places for the 2026-27 financial year and taxable income limits rising to $103,000 for single applicants and $165,000 for joint and single-parent applicants.
The national rollout was completed when the scheme expanded into Tasmania in June 2026.
Since launch, applications through the scheme's original two lenders – Commonwealth Bank and Bank Australia – passed 7,200, with more than 4,800 buyers having already settled or found a home.
Victoria has recorded the strongest uptake ahead of New South Wales and Queensland, and almost seven in 10 applications have come from single applicants, including single parents.
TMBL chief customer officer Greg Johnson (pictured) said the bank was proud to be chosen to deliver the program.
"For 60 years, we've been helping Australians achieve their financial goals and we're pleased to partner with the Government to make home ownership more accessible for more Australians – particularly essential workers who play such an important role in our communities," Johnson said. "We are already part of the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and this program provides another pathway for our members to buy a home sooner."
The addition also comes as TMBL completes its integration with Australian Mutual Bank, which took effect from 1 May, creating a combined mutual with roughly 280,000 members and $14.2 billion in assets under the Teachers Mutual Bank Limited name.
