What are the Home Loan Options for Nurses Relocating?

Moving closer to family often means buying in a location where you haven't built equity yet.

Registered nurses and midwives considering a move home or to a regional area to be near family face specific finance questions. Will your deposit be enough in a different property market? Can you access the same lending features you'd use in a metro area? Which lenders offer the flexibility to buy without accumulating months of additional savings? The answers depend on how your registration, income, and property location align with the frameworks lenders have built specifically for healthcare professionals.

How LMI Waivers Work for Nurses and Midwives Buying Closer to Family

Lenders like Westpac, St.George, and Bank of Melbourne waive LMI for registered nurses and midwives borrowing up to 90 percent LVR, provided you meet a minimum annual income of $90,000. The waiver applies to purchases in metro and regional areas, and it removes the one-off insurance premium that would otherwise add thousands to your loan amount. People First Bank offers a similar waiver through its Essential Services Professionals Package, covering loans up to $1,200,000 at 90 percent LVR with no LMI.

A nurse earning $95,000 annually and purchasing closer to family in a regional centre could borrow with a 10 percent deposit rather than waiting to save 20 percent. If the property is valued at $650,000, the deposit required would be $65,000. Without the waiver, LMI on a loan of $585,000 at 90 percent LVR could add $15,000 to $20,000 to the amount borrowed. The waiver removes that cost entirely, reducing both the loan balance and the interest accrued over time.

Not all lenders extend waivers to nurses. Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Bankwest exclude registered nurses from their professional LMI waiver offerings. This makes lender selection a material part of the planning process when buying with a deposit below 20 percent. Home Loans for Nurses are structured to match the income patterns and shift schedules common across the profession, and lender policies vary significantly.

Portable Loans and the Question of Job Mobility

A portable loan allows you to transfer your existing home loan to a new property without reapplying or paying discharge fees. If you're relocating to be closer to family and leaving your current home behind, portability becomes relevant when you plan to sell the original property and use the equity toward the new purchase. Not all lenders offer portability, and not all loan products within a lender's range include it as a feature.

Portability works when the loan amount remains the same or decreases. If you need to borrow more for the new property, you'll apply for a top-up, which is treated as new lending and assessed under current serviceability rules. If you're moving from a metro area to a regional location where property values are lower, portability may allow you to carry the loan across without triggering a full refinance. If values are higher in the new location, the top-up component will be subject to assessment at current rates and lending criteria.

Some lenders cap the number of times a loan can be ported or restrict portability to owner-occupied properties. If you're converting your current home to an investment property and purchasing a new home closer to family, the loan structure changes, and portability may not apply. Clarify portability terms before assuming the feature will be available when you move.

Using the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme in Regional Areas

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is available to first home buyers purchasing in metro and regional areas, with a Housing Australia guarantee covering up to 15 percent of the property value. This reduces the combined deposit and guarantee to 20 percent, removing the need for LMI. Regional property price caps are higher in some states than the metro caps, which creates an opening for nurses and midwives buying in areas with lower median values.

In New South Wales, the regional cap is $1,500,000 for regional centres including Central Coast, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, and Mid North Coast. In Queensland, the regional cap is $1,000,000 for Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. In Victoria, the regional cap is $950,000 for Geelong. These caps apply to the purchase price and the lender's assessed value, and both must sit at or below the threshold.

A midwife returning to a regional centre in New South Wales to be closer to family could purchase a property valued at $700,000 with a 5 percent deposit of $35,000, assuming the property falls within one of the designated regional centres and the midwife meets the first home buyer criteria. The scheme does not impose income caps, and applications are made through participating lenders rather than directly to Housing Australia. The scheme cannot be combined with Help to Buy, but it can generally be used alongside state and territory stamp duty concessions where eligibility criteria are met.

Split Rate Structures When Rates Are Uncertain

A split rate loan divides the borrowed amount between a fixed rate portion and a variable rate portion. This structure is relevant when you're relocating and uncertain about how long you'll hold the property or whether rates will shift materially in the next few years. Fixing part of the loan locks in repayments on that portion, while the variable portion retains flexibility for extra repayments and access to an offset account.

Split loans allow you to set the proportion. A 50-50 split is common, but you can structure it as 60 percent variable and 40 percent fixed, or any other combination that aligns with your repayment approach. If you're moving closer to family and expect irregular income from agency shifts or additional private work, keeping a larger portion variable gives you access to redraw and offset features that reduce interest paid over time.

Fixed portions typically lock you in for one to five years. Break costs apply if you exit the fixed portion early, and those costs are calculated based on the difference between the rate you're locked into and the rate the lender can lend that money out at when you break. If you're relocating and there's a chance you'll sell or refinance within two years, a shorter fixed term or a higher variable portion reduces the risk of paying break costs. Mortgage Broker for Nurses services include modelling split rate scenarios based on your expected tenure in the property and your capacity to make additional repayments.

State and Territory Stamp Duty Concessions for Buyers Relocating

Stamp duty relief varies by state and applies differently depending on whether you're a first home buyer, whether the property is new or established, and whether the purchase price falls within the relevant threshold. If you're relocating closer to family and purchasing in a different state, the concessions available in your new location may differ materially from what applied where you previously lived.

In Victoria, first home buyers receive a full stamp duty exemption on properties valued up to $600,000 and a sliding concession on properties between $600,001 and $750,000. The exemption applies to both new and established homes, provided the buyer moves in within 12 months of settlement and resides there for at least 12 continuous months. A nurse relocating from Queensland to Victoria to be closer to family could access this exemption if they meet the first home buyer criteria, even if they previously rented in Queensland.

In Queensland, first home buyers of new homes receive a full transfer duty concession with no price cap for contracts signed from 1 May 2025. The concession reduces duty to nil on the residential land component. First home buyers of established homes receive a reduced duty amount through the first home concession, with a maximum deduction of $17,350 for properties valued up to $709,999. The concession phases out at $800,000. For agreements entered into from 1 August 2026, at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or specified foreign retiree.

In South Australia, stamp duty relief applies to new homes and vacant land only. No relief is available on established homes for first home buyers in SA. This makes the type of property you're purchasing a determining factor in whether you'll pay duty. If you're relocating to be closer to family in Adelaide and purchasing an established home, you'll pay standard stamp duty rates regardless of first home buyer status.

How Offset Accounts Reduce Interest When Income Is Variable

An offset account is a transaction account linked to your home loan. The balance in the offset account reduces the loan balance on which interest is calculated, without locking funds away or requiring you to make extra repayments into the loan itself. For nurses and midwives with variable income from shift work, agency roles, or overtime, an offset account provides a holding place for funds that may be needed in the short term while still reducing interest paid on the loan.

If you're relocating closer to family and your household income includes a partner's salary or irregular income from additional shifts, an offset account allows you to deposit that income as it's earned and reduce interest daily. The interest saving is equivalent to the interest rate on the loan, applied to the offset balance. If your loan balance is $500,000 at a variable rate of 6.2 percent and you hold an average offset balance of $30,000, you save approximately $1,860 per year in interest.

Offset accounts are typically available on variable rate loans and the variable portion of split rate loans. They are less common on fixed rate loans, and where they are offered on fixed products, the offset functionality is often partial rather than full. A full offset reduces interest on a dollar-for-dollar basis. A partial offset reduces interest on a percentage of the balance held in the account, typically 40 to 60 percent. When comparing loan products for a relocation purchase, confirm whether the offset is full or partial and whether any monthly account fees apply.

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