Doctor home loans in Sydney and New South Wales

Start with how you are paid

A lender's first question is how your income reaches you, because each answer comes with its own rules. For a Sydney doctor, that is usually one of four ways:

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• Salaried in a hospital. Interns, residents, registrars and staff specialists employed by a local health district or specialty network, by an affiliated health organisation such as St Vincent's, or by a private hospital. Lenders work mainly from your payslip.

• GP registrar in a training practice. Usually an employee of the practice, paid the greater of a minimum base rate or a share of your billings.

• Sole trader in a practice or rooms. Most fellowed GPs bill under their own ABN and pay the practice a service fee out of their billings. Many specialists do private work from rooms on the same basis, paying a service fee or a fixed rent.

• Practice owner. You own the practice, often through a company or trust, and the doctors and staff who work there are employed or contracted by it.

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Many doctors mix two of these, such as a staff specialist with rights of private practice, or a registrar picking up locum shifts. Lenders assess each income stream separately, and this guide covers each one.

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Salaried doctors: how lenders read a NSW Health payslip

Most doctors in Sydney's public hospitals are employed by a local health district or specialty network under the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State) Award. It covers the whole NSW public system, including affiliated health organisations such as St Vincent's, and sets base salary by stage and year of experience.

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Base salary is the part lenders find easiest. It is fixed by a public award, it doesn't move from one pay to the next, and almost every lender counts all of it. The extras on the payslip are where lenders may look at things differently.

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Base salary by stage

Rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025, as published by NSW Health:

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• Intern: $80,638

• Resident, years 1 to 4: $94,521 to $127,827

• Registrar, years 1 to 4: $117,745 to $147,664

• Senior registrar: $166,025

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Source: NSW Health Information Bulletin IB2026_007, published 20 January 2026. Staff specialists are paid under a separate arrangement and are not in this table.

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These are interim rates, paid while the doctors' awards are arbitrated before the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. Any increases to these rates will follow the Commission's final decision, which had not been handed down by early October 2026. Lenders generally want to see at least one payslip at the new rate before they use it, so until then they assess you on the interim rate your payslip shows.

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Overtime, on-call and allowances

On top of base pay, a registrar's payslip can carry overtime, on-call allowances, shift penalties and other allowances. Lenders read NSW Health overtime and on-call as ordinary overtime. Because doctors are essential workers, most lenders count all of it, but some shade it to 80%, and not every lender counts allowances in full. Most want to see at least three months of it on your payslips before they count it. The result is that two lenders can reach quite different borrowing figures from the same payslip.

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Rotations and contracts

Registrars in NSW training programs rotate between hospitals, sometimes into a different local health district. Lenders accept a move within the same district. A move to a different district depends on the lender: some accept it during an application and others don't.

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If a move changes your pay, the lender will want the change confirmed with an updated payslip and a new contract or employment letter. A change of income partway through an application can make things harder, but with enough supporting evidence it can usually be worked through, and some lenders handle it better than others.

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Lenders will also want to see your employment contract, to confirm the role is ongoing. A fixed-term contract in health counts as full-time employment, unless it is close to ending and the next contract hasn't been issued yet.

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Salary packaging

NSW Health staff can salary package part of their pay, which lowers the taxable figure on the payslip. How a lender treats it depends on the lender and on what you package.

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For a novated lease, some lenders treat the lease as a repayment and use your gross pay, while others use only your net pay. Voluntary packaging is simpler, and most lenders will let it be included in your income. If your borrowing is tight, the lender you choose can make the difference. Expect to be asked for your salary packaging statement, and sometimes a letter confirming the packaging is voluntary and can be cancelled at any time.

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GPs, specialists and doctors in private practice

When your income comes through your own ABN, lenders stop working from payslips and start working from tax returns. What counts is your taxable income, after the service fee and your own costs, not what you bill. Lenders can add some items back, such as depreciation, interest, one-off expenses and super above the guarantee rate.

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GP registrars

GP registrars are the exception. Under the National Terms and Conditions for the Employment of Registrars (NTCER), you are usually an employee of your training practice, paid the greater of a minimum base rate or a share of your billings. That income comes on a payslip, and most lenders count whichever of the two you are actually paid, though some will ask for supporting documents such as the practice's billing statements, a BAS or interim figures.

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Sole traders in a practice or rooms

This is how most fellowed GPs work. You bill patients and Medicare under your own provider number, and the practice keeps a service fee, usually a percentage of what you bill. Specialists doing private work from rooms are in the same position, whether they pay a service fee or rent. Lenders treat this as self-employed income and assess it from your tax returns and notices of assessment. When your income is rising, most use the latest year by itself rather than averaging it with the year before.

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Moving from a hospital salary into a practice doesn't always mean waiting a year for a tax return. Some medico lenders (lenders with their own policies for medical professionals) can assess you from about three months in. They will want the practice's monthly billing statements, backed up by your bank statements, and may look at your BAS and your service agreement. Depending on the lender and how much your income moves around, some also want interim financials from your accountant. Other lenders will wait for a full year's tax return.

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Practice owners

Most practices have several owners. In that case lenders generally work from your personal tax return: the income the practice pays or distributes to you. If you own a practice outright, through a company or trust, the lender may look at the company or trust financials as well. For a home loan, though, the income that counts is what reaches you. The practice's own profit matters mainly when the loan is for a commercial purpose, such as buying a practice or its goodwill.

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Where financials are needed, lenders usually want the most recent year's, and some will also consider interim figures and your BAS. Expect a check of your ATO account too: any tax debt generally has to be paid before you apply. Some medico lenders offer short-term low doc loans for doctors, but not all do.

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Private practice on top of a hospital salary

Many Sydney staff specialists earn both. A NSW staff specialist with rights of private practice works under one of five levels. At Level 1, you assign all your private billings to your employer and receive a private practice allowance on your payslip. At Levels 2 to 5, the hospital bills patients on your behalf, takes an infrastructure charge, and pays you monthly "drawing rights" out of your private practice account, up to a cap that rises with the level.

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Lenders treat that as two income streams. Your salary, and a Level 1 allowance, are read from your payslip like any other salary. Drawing rights are private practice income, and lenders assess them as self-employed income, in the same way as a sole trader's.

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Locum shifts on top of a salaried job work the same way. Medico lenders will usually consider that income, often after about three months. Other lenders may want financial statements and tax returns, as for any self-employed income.

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NSW schemes: what a doctor can and cannot use

NSW's first home settings are generous at the lower end of the market. None of the schemes below has an income test, which matters for doctors because medical pay rises quickly. The limits are on the price, and much of Sydney's housing sits above them.

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Transfer duty and the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme

Under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, a first home buyer pays no transfer duty on a home up to $800,000, new or established. Between $800,000 and $1,000,000 the duty is reduced on a sliding scale, and from $1,000,000 you pay the full amount. Vacant land has its own band: no duty up to $350,000 and a reduced amount to $450,000.

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The main conditions are that it is your first home, you move in within 12 months and live there for at least 12 months, and at least one buyer is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. NSW charges the same duty scale whether you live in the property or rent it out.

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• $800,000: $0 for a first home buyer, or $30,187 for everyone else.

• $850,000: $9,797 for a first home buyer, or $32,437 for everyone else.

• $900,000: $19,594 for a first home buyer, or $34,687 for everyone else.

• $950,000: $29,390 for a first home buyer, or $36,937 for everyone else.

• $1,000,000 or more: full duty for every buyer ($39,187 at $1,000,000).

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You can run your own figures, including the land registry fees, in the Xandii stamp duty calculator, and the stamp duty guide explains each state's rules.

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Source: Revenue NSW rates for 2026-27, as verified in the Xandii calculator on 16 September 2026. Figures are indicative; your conveyancer confirms the duty payable.

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First Home Owner (New Homes) Grant: $10,000

NSW pays $10,000 towards a new or substantially renovated first home worth up to $600,000, or up to $750,000 for land plus a new build. Established homes do not qualify.

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The 5% Deposit Scheme or a lender's LMI waiver

Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) is a one-off premium most lenders charge when you borrow more than 80% of a property's value. It protects the lender, not you, and in Sydney it can be a large amount.

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A Sydney doctor with a small deposit has two common ways around it. One is the Australian Government's 5% Deposit Scheme. Since 1 October 2025 it has had no income limit and no cap on places, and in Sydney it covers first homes up to $1,500,000 ($800,000 in most of regional NSW outside the named regional centres), with a deposit from 5% and no LMI. The other is the LMI waiver many lenders offer eligible medical professionals, which sometimes goes to larger loans than the Government cap allows and is open to buyers who have owned a home before. To qualify, lenders generally want you to hold current AHPRA registration and be working in your profession.

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For a doctor who qualifies, Xaviera uses the waiver rather than the 5% Deposit Scheme, and the reason is pricing. A 5% Deposit Scheme loan is generally priced as a 95% loan, while a medical LMI waiver usually gets the interest rate the lender gives loans under 80% of the property's value. If you already hold a loan and want to move it, see refinancing without LMI.

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Source: firsthomebuyers.gov.au price cap tool, read 1 October 2026.

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The Sydney market in numbers

Cotality describes Sydney as leading the current housing correction. Values fell 1.4% in September and 4.9% over the September quarter, and are now 8.6% below their February peak. Cotality's index to 30 September 2026:

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• Houses: median $1,466,060, down 8.2% over 12 months (down 5.6% over the quarter).

• Units: median $867,597, down 3.8% over 12 months (down 3.0% over the quarter).

• All dwellings: median $1,198,596, down 7.0% over 12 months (down 4.9% over the quarter).

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Source: Cotality Home Value Index, October 2026 release, results at 30 September 2026.

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A few things follow. The median house, at about $1.47 million, is just under the $1,500,000 cap on the 5% Deposit Scheme. It is also well past the $1,000,000 point where the first home duty concession ends, so a first home buyer at that price pays full duty of about $61,900. At the median unit price, a first home buyer pays around $13,200 in duty instead of about $33,200, a saving of about $20,000.

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In a falling market the bank's valuation matters too. If it comes in under the contract price, your loan-to-value ratio rises, which can change whether an LMI waiver or the Government scheme applies.

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Worked example: a Sydney registrar's first home

This is an illustration built from the figures above, not a quote. Say Dr Chen is a single second-year registrar at Westmead on a base salary of $127,827. Last financial year overtime and on-call added about $25,000, so his taxable income was around $153,000. He wants an established two-bedroom unit for $850,000 and has never owned a home.

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• First Home Owner Grant: not available, because the unit is established.

• Transfer duty: $9,797 under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme, instead of $32,437. A saving of $22,640.

• Deposit and LMI: the price is under the $1,500,000 Sydney cap, so the 5% Deposit Scheme would allow a $42,500 deposit with no LMI. But with current AHPRA registration he may qualify for a lender's medical LMI waiver instead, which usually comes with better pricing, so that is where Xaviera would start.

• How much he can borrow: this depends heavily on how the lender treats his $25,000 of overtime, on top of the interim base rate his payslip shows today. Most lenders would count all of it, but some shade it to 80%. On Xaviera's figures, the gap between those lenders is about $30,000 to $37,000 of borrowing power.

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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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Dr Chen's cash needed would be roughly the deposit, the $9,797 of duty, land registry fees and conveyancing, before any moving costs. Move the price to $1,000,000 and the picture changes sharply: the duty concession falls away, duty rises to $39,187, and the deposit grows with the price.

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Worked example: a GP in a Sydney practice

Again, this is an illustration, not a quote. Say Dr Harris is a fellowed GP who has worked as a sole trader in a Sydney practice for four years. Last financial year she billed $400,000 and paid the practice a 35% service fee of $140,000. After her own costs, such as insurance and registration fees, her taxable income was about $230,000, up from $185,000 the year before. She wants an established house for $1,600,000 and has never owned a home.

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• Her income: a lender starts from the $230,000 on her latest tax return, not the $400,000 she billed, then adds back items such as depreciation. Because her income is rising, most lenders use that latest year on its own rather than an average of the two years, which would be $207,500.

• Transfer duty: $69,287 at the full rate. Above $1,000,000 there is no first home concession.

• Deposit and LMI: the price is over the $1,500,000 Sydney cap, so the 5% Deposit Scheme is out. A lender's medical LMI waiver is the way to buy with less than a 20% deposit and no LMI.

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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 two income statements or tax returns, and notices of assessment, if your overtime and allowances matter to the application.

• Your salary packaging statement, if you package.

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If you have private practice income or own a practice:

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• Your last two years of personal tax returns and notices of assessment.

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

• Your service agreement and recent billing statements, if you work in someone else's practice or rooms, plus your bank statements and BAS.

• An ATO account statement showing no outstanding tax debt.

• If you are new to private practice: interim figures from your accountant, if the lender asks for them.

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Talk it through with Xaviera

Xaviera has spent the last seven years broking with medical professionals, and knows how lenders read a NSW Health payslip at each stage of training, and how they read a GP's or specialist's private practice income. A short call is the quickest way to see which lenders suit your pay and which schemes you can use.