Professional home loans
A number of lenders treat certain professions differently, most visibly by waiving lenders mortgage insurance at loan-to-value ratios where everyone else pays it. The lists of eligible occupations differ between lenders and are revised periodically, which is why the useful question is never "do professionals get a discount" but "which lender's current policy covers your registration".
What a professional policy actually gives you
Usually three things. Borrowing at a higher loan-to-value ratio than standard policy allows, commonly up to around 90 to 95 per cent depending on the lender and the profession. Lenders mortgage insurance waived at that ratio, which on a Sydney purchase can be tens of thousands of dollars. And package pricing with fee concessions, which matters less but is not nothing.
The saving is real and it is worth checking before you spend two more years saving toward a twenty per cent deposit that you may not need.
Why we will not publish a policy table
Eligible occupation lists, maximum ratios and income thresholds are set by each lender, are revised without notice, and differ in ways that matter, whether a practising certificate is required, whether registrars qualify, whether the benefit extends to allied health or stops at medicine.
A table on a website goes stale quietly and someone makes a decision on it. We check your specific position against each lender's current written policy instead, and nothing on this site should be read as a promise that any lender will waive anything.
By profession
Each page covers how the income is assessed, where concessions may apply and what tends to complicate the file.
Doctors
The strongest professional policies in the market, and complex medical income read properly.
OpenHealthcare professionals
Nurses, midwives, paramedics and allied health, where shift penalties are the real question.
OpenAccountants
Where the structure that suits your tax reduces the income a lender can see.
OpenLawyers
Bonus-weighted packages, the move to partnership, and debt-to-income ceilings on large loans.
OpenContractors and consultants
PAYG contract, sole trader and company contractor are three different assessments.
OpenLMI waivers explained
How the waiver works, what it saves, and where the eligibility lines actually sit.
OpenWhat we would need to check for you
The same four questions decide almost every professional file, whatever the occupation.
Lists reference specific qualifications, memberships and sometimes years post-qualification or a current practising certificate. Confirmed against each lender's current written policy, never assumed from a colleague's experience two years ago.
Base, bonus, commission, private billings, partnership distributions, rostered penalties and company profit are each read differently, and the treatment gap between lenders on layered income is frequently larger than any rate difference.
Above certain debt-to-income multiples lenders tighten sharply and draw the lines in different places. On professional incomes this is often the binding constraint rather than the deposit. Large loans and high DTI.
Not always. A lender offering a waiver may not offer the sharpest rate, and over a long hold the rate can matter more than the insurance saved. The comparison is worth running in dollars before committing either way.
Saving toward twenty per cent?
If your profession qualifies, you may not need to. Charles can check your registration against current policies before you spend another year saving.
Professional lending questions
Which professions qualify for LMI waivers?
Medical practitioners appear on the most lists and generally receive the strongest terms. Beyond medicine, various lenders extend concessions to legal, accounting and some other professions, and the coverage differs meaningfully between them. Because these lists are revised periodically, the only reliable answer is a check against current policy for your specific registration.
How much does a waiver actually save?
On a Sydney purchase at a high loan-to-value ratio it is commonly tens of thousands of dollars, because insurance premiums rise steeply as the deposit shrinks. The LMI calculator gives an indicative figure for your price and deposit, and the real saving is confirmed against the specific lender's position.
Is a waiver always the best option?
No, and it is worth testing rather than assuming. The lenders offering waivers are not always the lenders offering the sharpest pricing, and over a loan held for many years the rate difference can exceed the insurance saved. Both routes should be priced in dollars over your realistic holding period.
My profession is not listed on your site. Does that mean no?
Not at all. We have written pages for the professions where the lending questions are genuinely distinct, rather than for every occupation that appears on a list somewhere. If yours is not here, the check is the same and takes one conversation. Writing a page about it only makes sense if there is something useful to say beyond the occupation name.
Do I need a practising certificate?
For several policies it is how the lender verifies the occupation criteria are met, so it can matter. Where you hold a qualification but do not currently practise, the professional benefit may not apply and the file is assessed on ordinary policy. It is worth establishing early rather than at application.
Related guides and tools
General information only, not credit or financial advice. Professional lending policies, eligible occupation lists and loan-to-value thresholds are set by individual lenders and change over time. Nothing on this page is a statement of any lender's current policy or a promise that lenders mortgage insurance will be waived. Eligibility is confirmed against current policy in a full assessment.
Find out what your profession is worth.
Twenty minutes with Charles: whether current policies cover your registration, what a waiver would save, and whether it is the cheapest route for you. Free, no credit check.
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