Professional home loans
How occupation-based waivers work across all fields.
Home Loans for Doctors, Dentists and Vets
Medical is the oldest and most generous LMI waiver category in Australian lending. Here is how far it actually goes.
Most lenders that offer occupation-based LMI waivers start with medical. Eligible practitioners can typically borrow a high proportion of the property value without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which on a large loan is a very substantial saving. The catch is that eligibility lists, maximum loan-to-value ratios and loan ceilings differ sharply between lenders, and the waiver product is not always the cheapest loan overall.
The medical waiver exists because the numbers support it: long training, restricted entry, stable employment and historically very low arrears. Lenders have offered it longest to this group and generally offer the most generous terms.
What follows is how it works and where it stops. For the wider picture across professions, see professional home loans.
Who is usually included
Panels vary, but the categories most commonly recognised are:
- General practitioners and specialists
- Surgeons and anaesthetists
- Dentists, orthodontists and oral surgeons
- Veterinarians
- Optometrists and pharmacists, with some lenders
- Registrars and, with a smaller set of lenders, interns and residents
Two points that catch people out. Some lenders require current registration with the relevant board and a minimum period since qualifying, so very early-career applicants are sometimes excluded. And some lenders treat the categories differently — a dentist may get different terms from a GP at the same institution.
What the waiver is worth to a medical borrower
Two things make this category unusually valuable.
Loan sizes are large. LMI is priced as a percentage of the loan, so the premium avoided on a substantial medical mortgage is considerably larger than on an average one. This is where the waiver earns its reputation.
Income rises steeply. A registrar three years from consultancy has a very different future income to their current payslip. Buying earlier, rather than saving to 20% first, often produces a materially better outcome — provided the repayment is affordable now, not just later.
The honest caveat. A waiver lets you borrow more with less. That is not automatically a good idea. Borrowing near the ceiling on a registrar income, with a large HECS balance and hospital rotations that may relocate you, deserves a harder look than the waiver alone suggests. See home loans with a HECS debt.
What lenders will ask for
- Evidence of registration with AHPRA or the relevant board.
- Proof of profession — typically a membership number, employment contract or practice details.
- Income evidence, which is more involved if you are self-employed through a practice or a service entity. See self-employed home loans.
- The usual identification, deposit evidence and liabilities, exactly as any borrower provides.
If you work through a company or trust, or your income mixes salary, private billings and on-call, the structure matters more than the total. That is a case for having it assessed properly rather than using an online calculator.
Where it gets complicated
Practice purchases and commercial lending. Buying into a practice is commercial lending, not home lending, and it runs on different rules. It can often be arranged alongside a home loan. See commercial property finance.
Contract and locum income. Locum work is common in medicine and lenders treat it inconsistently. Some accept it readily with a track record; others discount it heavily. See contractor home loans.
Moving between hospitals. Frequent relocation is normal in training and does not usually disqualify you, but it is worth flagging up front rather than having an assessor discover it.
Is the waiver actually the cheapest option?
Not always, and this is the question worth asking before committing.
A lender offering the waiver may price its rate above one that does not. Over a long loan that difference can exceed the premium you avoided. The right comparison is total cost over the years you will realistically hold the loan, not the headline saving.
Run both through the loan comparison calculator, or send us the two and we will price them. If the waiver loses, we will tell you.
Common questions
With some lenders yes, with others not until a certain point after qualifying. It is one of the clearest cases where lender choice decides the answer, so it is worth checking rather than assuming you are too early.
Often yes, though maximum loan-to-value ratios are usually lower for investment purchases and some lenders restrict the waiver to owner-occupied lending. Terms differ enough to be worth confirming per lender.
With some lenders. These sit at the edge of the medical category and are recognised by a narrower set of institutions than doctors and dentists, so it depends more heavily on which lender the application goes to.
No, but it reduces borrowing capacity while it exists, because compulsory repayments come out of assessable income. Medical HECS balances are often large, so it is worth modelling before you set a price range.
Sometimes, but it complicates things and not every lender allows it. If practice structures are involved, get the structure confirmed before you go to market on a property.
Find out what the medical waiver is worth on your loan
Tell us your role, roughly what you are borrowing and your deposit. We will come back with which lenders waive LMI for you and whether the waiver actually wins.
Related
Home loans with a HECS debt
What a large HECS balance does to borrowing power.
What is LMI?
The premium explained, and the four ways to avoid it.