General Advice Warning. This article contains general information only and does not consider your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is not personal financial product, tax, credit, or legal advice. Examples and figures are illustrative only — individual outcomes vary. Before acting on any information, seek personal advice from a qualified adviser.
Australian banks treat medical professionals differently from every other borrower — and most doctors don't realise by how much.
A typical first-home buyer earning $150,000 a year and borrowing 90% of a property's value will commonly pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) in the order of $15,000 to $25,000 on a $1 million purchase (actual figures depend on lender, LVR, and loan size). That's money paid to an insurance company to protect the lender, not the borrower. For doctors meeting eligibility criteria, that LMI premium is frequently waived by many lenders — up to 95% LVR, in some cases higher. Subject to lender criteria and credit assessment.
This article explains who qualifies, at what LVR, with which documentation, and the three traps that catch even experienced doctors when they apply on their own or through a generalist broker.
What LMI normally is — and why the doctor waiver exists
Lenders Mortgage Insurance is a one-off premium charged when a borrower's loan exceeds 80% of the property's value. The premium can be paid upfront or capitalised into the loan. It exists because lenders consider high-LVR loans risky — if the borrower defaults and the property is sold at a loss, the insurer pays the lender, not the borrower.
LMI is essentially a penalty for not having a 20% deposit.
For medical professionals, that penalty is waived because the statistical evidence is unambiguous: doctors default at rates significantly below the general population, have stable income trajectories that grow over a career rather than fluctuate, and almost always recover financially from temporary setbacks. Lenders compete for this borrower segment because they're profitable, low-risk, and long-tenured. Multiple lenders publicly advertise the waiver; many extend it further than they publish.
Which medical specialties qualify
Lender policies vary, but eligibility falls into three tiers.
Tier 1 — Universally accepted (almost every major Australian lender). Medical practitioners registered with AHPRA in any of: General Practice, Anaesthetics, Cardiology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynaecology, Haematology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Intensive Care, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology (ENT), Paediatrics, Pathology, Plastic Surgery, Psychiatry, Radiology, Renal Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Rheumatology, Sports Medicine, Urology, Vascular Surgery.
Tier 2 — Accepted by most lenders. Dentists, Optometrists, Veterinarians, Pharmacists (employed or practice-owning), Chiropractors, Osteopaths (with restrictions on LVR for some lenders).
Tier 3 — Accepted by some specialist lenders. Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Registered Nurses (with seniority requirements), Paramedics, Allied health professionals. The LVR ceiling is usually lower (90% rather than 95%) and conditions vary widely.
If a specialty isn't on a particular lender's accepted list, that doesn't mean no lender will approve — it means the right broker is required to identify the lenders who will.
LVR by career stage
A doctor's career stage matters as much as the specialty.
Junior doctors (interns, residents, PGY1–PGY3). A small number of lenders offer 100% LVR financing for first home purchases — meaning the doctor borrows the full purchase price plus stamp duty, with no deposit required beyond proof of genuine savings (typically $10,000–$20,000). Subject to lender criteria, credit assessment, and individual eligibility. This is among the most generous policies in the Australian lending market and is currently available, where eligibility is met, only to medical professionals.
Registrars and trainees. 95% LVR with no LMI is widely available. Lenders treat training income as stable provided the registrar has completed the first year of the training program.
Specialists — employed (Staff Specialist, VMO). 95% LVR no LMI. Some lenders extend to 97% with conditions.
Specialists — private practice (sole trader or company). 95% LVR no LMI, typically requiring one to two years of tax returns. A subset of lenders accept twelve months of practice income for established specialists transitioning from a salaried role.
Investment property purchases. Until recently 90% was the ceiling for most lenders. Several have now extended the 95% LVR no LMI policy to investment purchases — a significant uplift for doctors building a portfolio.
Commercial premises (consulting rooms, surgery, day hospital). Typically 80% LVR maximum, though specialist lenders offer 85–90% for established medical practices. SMSF acquisition of commercial premises follows different rules again, with 65–80% LVR depending on structure.
How income is assessed (the part most brokers get wrong)
A generalist broker treats a doctor's payslip like any other PAYG income. A medico-specialist broker knows that:
- Locum and contractor income is accepted by most medical lenders even on short tenure (some accept three months of regular work). General lenders typically require two years.
- Bonus and on-call income can be added at 100% by some lenders, shaded to 80% by others.
- Practice profits from a company or trust structure can be assessed on the most recent financial year alone by lenders comfortable with medical income — not the two-year average general lenders apply.
- Combined PAYG hospital and private billings are added together by medical lenders, where general lenders sometimes accept only one source.
For a specialist earning $250,000 PAYG plus $150,000 in private billings, the difference between a generalist's calculation and a medico-specialist's calculation can be material — sometimes in the range of several hundred thousand dollars of additional capacity. Actual outcomes depend on the lender, the specific income mix, the borrower's expenses, dependants, and current credit policy.
Documentation required
The standard medico application requires:
- AHPRA registration (current, with the specialty endorsement clearly noted)
- Employment contract or letter from current employer
- Most recent two payslips and PAYG summary
- For self-employed: most recent two years of personal and business tax returns, financial statements, and BAS statements
- Standard identification and asset documentation
For 100% LVR junior doctor applications, additional documentation includes proof of genuine savings (typically a savings account history) and confirmation of ongoing employment.
Three common mistakes
Mistake one — going to the everyday banker. Most retail bank staff have never processed a medico waiver application. They read the published policy ("LMI waiver available for doctors") and stop there. The published policy is the floor, not the ceiling. The actual exception levels available through medical broker channels are significantly more generous than what appears on the public website.
Mistake two — borrowing at 95% without considering the offset strategy. A doctor with a $200,000 deposit and a $1 million purchase can structure the loan two ways: borrow $950,000 at 95% LVR (deposit becomes the buffer), or borrow $800,000 at 80% LVR with the remaining $200,000 sitting in an offset account. The second option produces identical net interest payments but maintains liquidity. In some scenarios it's better. The right call depends on the doctor's broader strategy — not the bank's preference.
Mistake three — not coordinating with structure. Borrowing in the wrong name (personal vs trust vs SMSF) can permanently lock in tax inefficiencies. The correct sequence is: optimise the business structure first; then arrange the borrowing in alignment with that structure. Reversing the order — borrowing first and then trying to restructure — often costs five figures in stamp duty and legal fees to unwind.
How to find out what you actually qualify for
The published policies on lender websites are deliberately conservative. The real ceiling is set by a combination of the doctor's specialty, career stage, income type, deposit position, and the broker relationship with the lender's medical-segment underwriters.
MNM Group's borrowing capacity calculator models the medico waiver explicitly and produces an indicative range in under two minutes. For a precise figure with current lender policies, a thirty-minute conversation with a medico specialist broker will produce a written pre-approval estimate.
A note on lender names
This article describes industry-wide policy patterns. Specific lenders are not named because their published policies, internal exception levels, and acceptance lists change frequently — often without notice. A current comparison is best obtained through a broker who works in the medico segment daily and has current relationships with each lender's medical underwriter.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute personal financial product advice or a credit recommendation. Borrowing capacity and LMI waiver eligibility depend on individual circumstances and current lender policies. MNM Group Financial Services Pty Ltd · ABN 52 934 978 906 · AFSL 503737.