Home loans for allied health professionals

Which professions lenders include

There is no single definition of allied health for a home loan. Each lender keeps its own list of eligible professions. Physiotherapists, optometrists and pharmacists appear on the most lists. Psychologists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, radiographers and sonographers are included by some lenders and not others. So the first question for any lender is whether your profession is on its list at all.

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Professions registered with Ahpra

Ahpra and 15 National Boards register practitioners in 16 health professions. They include most of the allied health professions lenders name: chiropractic, medical radiation practice, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology. Lenders check the public register themselves, so you don't need to supply your registration details.

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Professions Ahpra doesn't register

Several allied health professions are self-regulated rather than registered under the national scheme, among them speech pathologists, audiologists, dietitians, exercise physiologists and social workers. Sonographers are accredited through the Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registry. Some lenders still include speech pathologists, audiologists and sonographers. With no Ahpra entry to check, those lenders ask for evidence of your standing with your professional body instead, such as Speech Pathology Australia's Certified Practising Speech Pathologist status. Dietitians, exercise physiologists and social workers are rarely on lenders' lists.

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Provisional registration

Pharmacy interns hold provisional registration while they complete their supervised practice, and so do provisional psychologists working through an internship or a postgraduate pathway. Most lenders want general registration before they offer an allied health waiver. You can still borrow on provisional registration, but expect to pay LMI above 80% of the value, or to use the 5% Deposit Scheme instead.

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Sources: Ahpra, What we do; ACT Health, About allied health; Services Australia, Register of Sonographers; Pharmacy Board of Australia, Internships; Psychology Board of Australia, Provisional registration. Read 16 October 2026.

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LMI waivers for allied health professionals

LMI normally applies when you borrow more than 80% of a property's value. On a $900,000 home bought with a 10% deposit, it adds about $20,400. A medico LMI waiver means the lender doesn't charge it to an eligible health professional. For allied health professionals, a waiver usually looks like this:

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Our guide to LMI waivers for medical professionals lists the lenders that offer a medico waiver.

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The income test

Where a lender sets a minimum income for an allied health waiver, it looks at the income you earn from your profession, not your household's, and other income such as rent doesn't count. If you and your partner both work in an eligible profession, some lenders let you add your incomes together to meet it. All of your pay from the profession counts, so regular penalty rates, overtime and allowances count toward it as well as your base salary. If you work part-time, the test applies to what you actually earn, not to a full-time equivalent.

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The test matters most early in your career. In Queensland Health, for example, most allied health graduates start at the HP3 level, which runs from $83,824 to $124,314 a year from 1 September 2026. A new graduate's base salary can sit below a $90,000 test; a few years in, base salary alone clears it.

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Sources: Queensland Health, Allied health career structure; Health practitioners stream wage rates, rates from 1 September 2026 (page updated 9 October 2026). Read 16 October 2026.

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Pricing

A loan above 80% of the property's value usually attracts a higher interest rate. With a medico waiver, the loan generally gets the pricing lenders give loans below 80%. Pricing gaps change often, but on an $810,000 loan, every 0.10% of interest is about $810 a year in the early years.

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From Xaviera's files

We helped an optometrist buy his first home with a medico LMI waiver at 90% of the value. He paid no LMI and bought sooner than he had expected to, and the lender's medico package for allied health professionals got him a competitive interest rate.

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Above 90%

A small number of lenders take some allied health professions past 90%, but most stop there. If you have less than 10% saved, a waiver usually isn't the route; the section on the 5% Deposit Scheme below covers what is.

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How lenders read your pay

Salaried in a hospital, health service, pharmacy or practice

Many allied health professionals are employed by a public or private hospital, a health service, a community pharmacy or a private practice. Lenders work mainly from your payslip. Base salary is the easy part: it is set by an award, agreement or contract, it doesn't move from one pay to the next, and every lender counts all of it.

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Penalty rates and overtime are where a lender's policy for health professionals helps most. Regular penalty rates for evening and weekend shifts are counted as part of your base pay in most cases, if they are regular and your year-to-date pay is consistent with them. Overtime, the extra hours on top, gets the essential worker treatment: most lenders count all of it, some shade it to 80%, and most want at least three months of it on your payslips. Our guide to how lenders assess overtime and allowances covers on-call, allowances and the evidence lenders want.

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Part-time, casual and agency work

Part-time work is common in allied health, and permanent part-time pay is read much like full-time pay, on the hours in your contract. For casual and agency income, most lenders want to see about three months of it before they count it, though some will accept a shorter history if you have experience in the profession.

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Salary packaging

Public hospitals, not-for-profit hospitals and public ambulance services can package part of their staff's pay without fringe benefits tax, up to $17,000 a year in grossed-up value, plus up to $5,000 for meal entertainment. Staff of public benevolent institutions and health promotion charities have a $30,000 cap. Packaging lowers the taxable figure on your payslip. Most lenders include voluntary packaging in your assessed income. For a novated lease, some lenders treat the lease as a repayment and use your gross pay, while others use only your net pay. Expect to be asked for your salary packaging statement.

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Source: Australian Taxation Office, Fringe benefits tax: rates and thresholds, Table 5 (FBT years ending 31 March 2023 to 2027). Read 12 October 2026.

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Private practice: the income history lenders want

Contracting in someone else's practice

Many physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and podiatrists work as contractors in a practice they don't own. You see clients under your own ABN, the practice keeps a share of your fees or charges you a service fee, and you keep the rest. Your fees may come from clients, Medicare, the NDIS, private health funds or a mix of them; lenders read them all the same way. This is self-employed income, even when the practice pays you on a regular cycle. What counts is your taxable income after the practice's share and your own costs, not what you bill. Lenders can add some items back, such as depreciation and one-off expenses.

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The 12-month rule

This is the rule that most often decides when you can buy. As a general rule, lenders want at least 12 months under your ABN, with a year's financials prepared by your accountant, before they assess your private practice income. A shorter history can be considered case by case, but it isn't something to plan around.

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Expect a check of your ATO account too: any tax debt generally has to be paid before you apply.

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Timing a move into private practice

If you are salaried now and planning to go private, the order matters. A lender assesses the income you have when you apply, and your income needs to stay the same from pre-approval through to settlement. So if you want to buy in the next year, the simplest route is usually to buy first, settle, and then make the move. If you have already moved, plan on about 12 months of trading and a completed year of financials before you apply.

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Owning a practice or a pharmacy

If you own or part-own a practice or a pharmacy, often through a company or trust, lenders generally work from the income it pays or distributes to you, as shown on your personal tax return, and may look at the company or trust financials as well. For a home loan, the income that counts is what reaches you.

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When the 5% Deposit Scheme beats a waiver

Because most allied health waivers go to 90% of the value, the Government's 5% Deposit Scheme is worth a close look if you have less than 10% saved.

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The scheme lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI. Since 1 October 2025 it has had no income caps and no limit on places. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, a first home buyer or someone who hasn't owned a home or land in Australia in the last 10 years, and buying a home to live in, priced at or below the cap for its location. The capital city caps, which also cover some regional centres, are $1.5 million in Sydney, $1 million in Brisbane and Canberra, $950,000 in Melbourne, $900,000 in Adelaide, $850,000 in Perth, $750,000 in Darwin and $700,000 in Hobart.

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The trade-off is pricing. Most lenders price a 5% Deposit Scheme loan as a 95% loan, while a waiver loan generally gets the pricing lenders give loans below 80%. So, as a rule:

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• Less than 10% saved: the scheme is usually the way to avoid LMI, if you and the property qualify.

• 10% or more saved: a waiver is usually the better choice, if your profession is on the lender's list and you clear any income test. As well as the pricing, the loan is easier to change later, if you want to.

• Not eligible for either: a standard loan with LMI, or saving towards 20%.

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Source: firsthomebuyers.gov.au, Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme fact sheet (1 October 2025). Read 16 October 2026.

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Worked example: a physiotherapist and her partner

This is an illustration, not a quote. Say Sam is a physiotherapist six years into her career, employed by a public hospital on a base salary of $110,000. Her partner Alex is a teacher on $100,000. Neither has owned property. They have $90,000 for a deposit, with separate savings for stamp duty and costs, and want to buy a $900,000 house in a city where the 5% Deposit Scheme's cap is at least $900,000, such as Brisbane or Adelaide.

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What they can borrow. We ran their details through the Xandii home loan comparison tool. At 90% of the value, their indicative borrowing ranged from about $943,000 to about $1,069,000 across the 20 lenders priced, so every one of them could lend the $810,000 a 10% deposit needs. At 95%, two fewer lenders could price the loan, and 14 of the 18 that could gave a lower figure than at 90%, by up to about $91,000, because a 95% loan carries a higher rate. Even so, every lender that priced it could lend the $855,000 a 5% deposit needs. For Sam and Alex, the choice is about cost, not borrowing power.

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Four ways to use their deposit:

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1. 10% deposit, allied health waiver

2. 10% deposit, standard loan

3. 5% deposit, 5% Deposit Scheme

4. 5% deposit, standard loan

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• Route 1 depends on Sam. The lender must include physiotherapists, and Sam's $110,000 clears a $90,000 to $100,000 income test on its own. Sam needs to be on the loan; Alex's income counts toward what they can borrow, not toward the test. If Sam were a new graduate on about $84,000, she would fall short of most income tests, and route 1 would be off the table.

• Routes 1 and 3 both avoid LMI. Route 3 keeps $45,000 more of their savings in hand, but the loan is $45,000 larger and generally priced as a 95% loan. Route 1 costs more upfront and less over the life of the loan. With the full $90,000 saved, route 1 is where Xaviera would usually start; with less than that, route 3.

• Route 4 may not work at all. With most banks, 95% is the limit including LMI, so the premium can't be added to the loan. It would come out of the same savings as the deposit.

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LMI figures: indicative full-documentation premiums from a published lender premium table (May 2026), for a home you live in, before stamp duty on the premium; not a quote. Borrowing figures from the Xandii home loan comparison tool, 16 October 2026: two applicants, base salaries of $110,000 and $100,000, no dependants, no other debts, declared living expenses of $3,500 a month (each lender applies its own minimum), a 30-year loan on a home to live in at 90% and 95% of the value. Indicative only: they move with interest rates and lender policy, and are not an offer of credit.

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Worked example: a psychologist planning a move into private practice

Again, this is an illustration, not a quote. Say Kayla is a psychologist employed by a public mental health service on $120,000 a year. She is single, has $62,000 for a deposit plus savings for stamp duty and costs, and plans to leave in about four months to contract in a private practice, seeing clients under her own ABN. She wants to buy a $620,000 unit with a 10% deposit, so she needs a loan of $558,000.

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• If she buys first. On her salary, the Xandii tool put her indicative borrowing at about $526,000 to $603,000 across the 20 lenders priced, and 18 of them could lend her the $558,000. Psychologists are on some lenders' lists, and her salary clears a $90,000 to $100,000 income test, so with general registration she may be able to borrow 90% of the value without LMI. Her income has to stay the same from pre-approval to settlement, so she would want the purchase settled before her last day at the health service.

• If she moves first. Her salary stops, and her income becomes self-employed income. As an allied health professional she would generally need about 12 months under her ABN, and a year of financials from her accountant, before most lenders would assess it. She would be looking at buying about a year after the move.

• Her income once she is in private practice. What lenders count then is her taxable income after the practice's share and her own costs. It may end up higher than her salary, or lower in the first year while her client list builds.

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For Kayla, the order of the two decisions matters more than the choice of lender.

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You can see indicative borrowing figures across a range of lenders for your own details with the Xandii home loan comparison tool, then talk the result through with Xaviera.

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Figures from the Xandii home loan comparison tool, 16 October 2026: single applicant, base salary of $120,000, no dependants, no other debts, declared living expenses of $2,500 a month (each lender applies its own minimum), a 30-year loan on a home to live in at 90% of the value. Indicative only: they move with interest rates and lender policy, and are not an offer of credit.

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What to have ready

If you are salaried:

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• Your two most recent payslips.

• Your employment contract, and a new contract or employment letter if you are about to move or your current contract is ending.

• Your last income statement or tax return, and notice of assessment, if penalty rates, overtime or allowances matter to the application.

• Your salary packaging statement, if you package.

• If Ahpra doesn't register your profession: evidence of your membership or accreditation with your professional body.

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If you work under your own ABN or own a practice:

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• Your last two years of personal tax returns and notices of assessment, or at least a full year's financials prepared by your accountant if you are newer to it.

• Company or trust tax returns and the practice's financial statements, if you trade through one.

• Your contractor or service agreement with the practice, your recent BAS and your business bank statements.

• An ATO account statement showing no outstanding tax debt.

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Frequently asked questions

Can allied health professionals get an LMI waiver?

Yes, with some lenders. Physiotherapists, optometrists and pharmacists appear on the most lists, and psychologists, occupational therapists, podiatrists, chiropractors, osteopaths, radiographers and sonographers on some. Waivers usually go to 90% of the value, and some lenders set a minimum income.

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Is there a minimum income?

With some lenders, commonly about $90,000 to $100,000 a year; plenty set none. Lenders that set one count all of your pay from your profession, including regular penalty rates and overtime.

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Can I borrow 95% without LMI?

Rarely with a waiver: allied health waivers usually stop at 90% of the value. If you are a first home buyer with a 5% deposit, the Government's 5% Deposit Scheme is the usual way to avoid LMI, subject to its price caps.

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How long do I need to be in private practice before I can get a home loan?

As a general rule, at least 12 months under your ABN, with a year's financials prepared by your accountant. A shorter history can be considered case by case.

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My profession isn't registered with Ahpra. Can I still get a waiver?

Possibly. Some lenders include speech pathologists, audiologists and sonographers, and ask for evidence of your standing with your professional body. Dietitians, exercise physiologists and social workers are rarely included, so you would usually borrow on standard terms.

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Talk it through with Xaviera

Xaviera has spent the last seven years broking with medical professionals, and knows which lenders include your profession, which set an income test, and how each reads a payslip or a year of private practice. A short call is the quickest way to see whether a waiver, the 5% Deposit Scheme or a standard loan suits you.