Registered nurses and midwives can access home loans with deposits as low as 5% without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, a concession available from select lenders who recognise your occupation as low credit risk.
This article unpacks the deposit options available to you, the trade-offs between saving more versus entering the market sooner, and the specific policy settings that determine whether you'll qualify for an LMI waiver or government guarantee.
How Much Deposit Do You Actually Need?
Most lenders expect a 20% deposit to avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance, but nurses and midwives working in registered AHPRA roles can borrow at 90% LVR without paying this premium at Westpac, St.George, and Bank of Melbourne, provided your income exceeds $90,000 per annum. People First Bank offers the same 90% LVR threshold through its Essential Services Professionals Package for registered nurses, with a loan cap of $1,200,000.
If your income sits below $90,000 or you're purchasing above the waiver loan limits, the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme becomes the most direct pathway. Eligible first home buyers can purchase with a deposit of as little as 5% of the property value, with Housing Australia providing a guarantee to the participating lender of up to 15% of the property value. The scheme carries no income cap, but property price caps vary by state and location.
Consider a registered nurse earning $85,000 annually looking to purchase in Blacktown. At the suburb's current median, a 10% deposit would require approximately $117,500 in genuine savings, plus settlement costs. Under the 5% Deposit Scheme, the same buyer could enter the market with roughly $58,750, reducing the savings timeline by more than two years assuming weekly savings capacity of $500.
LMI Waivers: Which Lenders Include Nurses?
Westpac, St.George, and Bank of Melbourne list registered nurses and midwives as eligible for an LMI waiver at 90% LVR with a minimum income threshold of $90,000 per annum and a maximum loan amount of $5 million per borrower. People First Bank's Essential Services Professionals Package provides no LMI up to 90% LVR for loans up to $1,200,000.
CBA and Bankwest explicitly exclude nurses from their medical professional LMI waiver programs. The CBA CommBroker document states that nurses are excluded from the Professionals Offer LMI and LDP waiver. Bankwest's policy states that physiotherapists, psychologists, and nurses are excluded from the medical LMI waiver offering.
This is where a mortgage broker for nurses becomes critical. Not every lender offers the same concessions, and submitting your application to a lender that doesn't recognise your profession costs time and creates unnecessary credit file inquiries.
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The 5% Deposit Scheme vs LMI Waivers: Which One Suits You?
If you're earning above $90,000 and purchasing within the waiver loan limits, the LMI waiver route through Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, or People First Bank gives you broader lender choice and no property price cap. If your income is below that threshold or you're buying in a higher-priced suburb that exceeds the LMI waiver loan caps, the 5% Deposit Scheme opens the market without requiring you to wait for a pay rise.
Property price caps from 1 October 2025 are $1,500,000 in NSW capital cities and regional centres and $800,000 in other NSW areas. In Victoria, the cap is $950,000 in capital cities and regional centres and $650,000 in other areas. These caps apply to both the purchase price and the lender's assessed value, so if the valuation comes in below contract price, you'll need to make up the difference or renegotiate.
LMI waivers have no property price cap in that sense, but lenders still apply standard serviceability buffers. APRA requires all ADIs to assess new borrowers' capacity to service a home loan at an interest rate that is at least 3.0 percentage points above the loan product rate. At current variable rates, that buffer means you're being assessed at a rate well above 7%, which constrains borrowing capacity regardless of whether you're paying LMI.
Does Saving a Bigger Deposit Always Make Sense?
Not if property prices are rising faster than your savings rate. In suburbs like Kogarah, where the house median sits around the current entry point for hospital-adjacent property in Sydney's south, a 12-month delay to save an additional 5% deposit could be offset by price growth exceeding your additional savings. The same calculation applies in reverse during a correction.
The second factor is opportunity cost. If you're paying $680 per week in rent while saving for a larger deposit, that's $35,360 per year in non-recoverable housing costs. Moving into ownership sooner, even at a higher LVR, redirects that cash flow toward principal reduction and builds equity from day one.
The trade-off is interest cost. Borrowing $540,000 at 90% LVR versus $480,000 at 80% LVR on the same property adds approximately $60,000 to the loan balance. Depending on your loan structure, that difference accrues interest for the life of the loan unless you make additional repayments or refinance.
What About Guarantor Loans?
If a parent or family member owns property outright or with significant equity, a guarantor loan allows you to borrow up to 100% of the purchase price without paying LMI. The guarantor provides security over a portion of their property to cover the shortfall between your deposit and the 80% LVR threshold.
This works when your income supports the full loan repayment but your deposit is the limiting factor. The guarantor is not responsible for your repayments unless you default, but their property is at risk to the extent of the guarantee, typically 20% of your purchase price plus costs.
Most lenders allow you to release the guarantor once you've reduced the loan balance below 80% LVR, either through repayments or capital growth. In a rising market, that release can happen within two to three years. In a flat or falling market, it may take longer.
AHPRA Registration and Income Verification
Most lenders require borrowers seeking an LMI waiver on the basis of their healthcare profession to hold current registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Acceptable registration types across lenders generally include general, specialist, provisional, and limited registration where the limitation relates to postgraduate training or supervised practice. Student registration and non-practising registration are not accepted.
Income verification follows standard PAYG assessment for most nurses, but if you're employed directly by a hospital in NSW, St.George and Bank of Melbourne include hospital-employed nurses as eligible for their Emergency Services Policy, under which overtime and allowances can be assessed at 100% of their value, subject to conditions. That can lift your borrowing capacity materially if shift penalties and overtime form a consistent part of your pay.
First Home Buyer Grants and Stamp Duty Concessions
The NSW FHOG is $10,000 for new builds or substantially renovated homes only, with a purchase price cap of $600,000 or a combined land and build cap of $750,000. A full transfer duty exemption applies to new and established homes valued up to $800,000 in NSW, with a sliding concession on properties valued between $800,001 and $1,000,000.
In Queensland, the FHOG is $15,000 for new homes valued under $750,000 for contracts signed from 1 July 2026. Full transfer duty concession applies with no price cap for new homes in Queensland for contracts signed on or after 1 May 2025. The removal of the price cap makes Queensland one of the most accessible states for nurses purchasing new builds, particularly in growth corridors near hospitals like Chermside or the PA Hospital precinct.
Both the 5% Deposit Scheme and LMI waivers can generally be used alongside state and territory grants and stamp duty concessions, though you'll need to confirm eligibility for each program separately. The first home buyer loans page covers the combined use of these concessions in detail.
What Happens If You Don't Meet the Income Threshold?
If your income sits below $90,000 and you're purchasing as a solo applicant, the LMI waiver route closes unless you're applying jointly with a partner whose combined income meets the threshold. The 5% Deposit Scheme has no income cap, so it becomes the default pathway.
Alternatively, if you're currently in a graduate or transition-to-practice program and expect your income to exceed $90,000 within 12 months, waiting to apply may open the LMI waiver option. Lenders assess your income at the time of application, not projected future income, so timing your application after a pay rise or progression to a higher classification can materially change which products you qualify for.
Some lenders will consider rental income from investment properties or boarder income when assessing serviceability, but those income sources are typically shaded at 80% or less of their gross value. If you're relying on secondary income to meet the $90,000 threshold, clarify the lender's policy before proceeding.
Should You Fix, Split, or Stay Variable?
Your deposit size doesn't determine your rate structure, but it does determine your flexibility. If you're borrowing at 90% LVR and want to refinance within two years, you'll need equity growth or principal repayment to avoid paying LMI at the new lender unless that lender also offers an LMI waiver for nurses.
A split rate structure gives you partial rate certainty while keeping a portion of the loan on variable terms for offset access and additional repayments. If you're using the 5% Deposit Scheme, check whether your participating lender allows split loans under the guarantee. Not all lenders offer the same level of rate structure flexibility within government-backed programs.
Refinancing after your fixed term expires is standard practice, but if you've borrowed at high LVR and property values have softened, you may be locked in until you reach 80% LVR at the new lender or until values recover. That's a risk factor to price in when deciding how much deposit to put down.
Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We'll walk through the deposit pathways available to you based on your income, location, and timeline, and structure the application to the lender that gives you the clearest path to settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can nurses get a home loan with a 5% deposit?
Yes. Registered nurses and midwives can access the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme with no income cap, or use an LMI waiver at select lenders if earning above $90,000 annually. Both pathways allow you to purchase with a 10% deposit or less without paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance.
Which lenders offer LMI waivers for nurses?
Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, and People First Bank offer LMI waivers to registered nurses and midwives at 90% LVR, subject to a minimum income of $90,000 per annum. CBA and Bankwest explicitly exclude nurses from their medical professional waiver programs.
What deposit do I need if I earn less than $90,000?
If your income is below $90,000, the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is the most direct pathway. You can purchase with a 5% deposit with no income cap, provided the property price sits within the applicable state or territory cap.
Can I combine the 5% Deposit Scheme with stamp duty concessions?
Yes. State and territory stamp duty concessions and first home owner grants can generally be used alongside the 5% Deposit Scheme, though you must meet the eligibility criteria for each program separately.
Do I need AHPRA registration to access an LMI waiver?
Yes. Most lenders require current AHPRA registration to qualify for an LMI waiver. Acceptable registration types include general, specialist, provisional, and limited registration related to postgraduate training. Student and non-practising registration are not accepted.
