When to Save 5% and When to Save 20% as a Nurse

The deposit required to buy a home as a nurse depends on whether you meet the income threshold for an LMI waiver, whether you qualify for a government scheme, and whether the lender you're working with includes nurses in their healthcare professional category.

Most home loans for nurses require a 20% deposit to avoid paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, but registered nurses and midwives can access waivers that reduce the deposit to 10% at certain lenders, and first home buyers can borrow with as little as 5% or even 2% under federal schemes.

LMI Waivers for Nurses: 10% Deposit at Westpac and St.George

Westpac, St.George, and Bank of Melbourne offer LMI waivers to registered nurses and registered midwives at a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 90%, meaning you need a 10% deposit instead of 20%. A minimum annual income of $90,000 is required to access this waiver, and you must hold current AHPRA registration.

Consider a registered nurse earning $95,000 annually who wants to purchase a unit near Blacktown Hospital. At a 10% deposit under an LMI waiver, they would need to save the deposit amount plus settlement costs, without paying the additional LMI premium that would otherwise apply. The same nurse borrowing at 90% LVR without the waiver would pay an LMI premium that could run into the thousands, either upfront or capitalised into the loan.

People First Bank offers a similar waiver through its Essential Services Professionals Package, with no LMI up to 90% LVR for loans up to $1,200,000. Midwives are not separately listed in the People First Bank source material, and eligibility should be confirmed directly with the lender.

Why Commonwealth Bank and NAB Exclude Nurses

Commonwealth Bank and Bankwest explicitly exclude nurses from their medical professional LMI waiver offers. NAB's waiver policy covers anaesthetists, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and other listed professions, but nurses and midwives do not appear on the eligible list.

This means a nurse applying for a home loan pre-approval through these lenders will be assessed under standard LMI rules, requiring either a 20% deposit or payment of the LMI premium if borrowing above 80% LVR. The exclusion is not a reflection of creditworthiness or income stability, it is simply a lender policy decision about which professions qualify for the waiver framework.

We regularly see nurses assume all major banks offer the same waiver terms, and the realisation that CBA and NAB do not include nurses in their medico category can shift the entire deposit timeline. A mortgage broker for nurses will direct you to the lenders where your registration and income unlock the waiver, rather than the lenders where it does not.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme allows eligible first home buyers to purchase with a deposit of as little as 5% of the property value, with Housing Australia providing a guarantee of up to 15% to the participating lender. No income caps apply, and no annual place limits apply from 1 October 2025.

For a nurse purchasing a unit in Parramatta, the property price cap is $1,500,000 in capital cities and regional centres across NSW. Both the purchase price and the lender's assessed value must sit at or below the cap. The scheme cannot be combined with Help to Buy, but it can generally be used alongside state stamp duty concessions.

Applications are made through participating lenders, not directly to Housing Australia. The panel includes 3 major banks and 28 non-major lenders at the time of the scheme's expansion in October 2025, and both variable and fixed rate structures may be available depending on the lender.

Help to Buy: 2% Deposit with Government Equity

The Help to Buy scheme allows the Australian Government to contribute up to 40% of the purchase price for a new home and up to 30% for an existing home in exchange for a proportional equity stake. A minimum 2% deposit is required.

From 1 July 2026, income limits are $103,000 for individual applicants and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents, shown on the ATO Notice of Assessment for the previous financial year. Property price caps vary by location and are available via the postcode search tool at firsthomebuyers.gov.au.

Up to 10,000 places are available in the 2026-27 financial year. Applications are made through participating lenders. Help to Buy cannot be combined with the 5% Deposit Scheme, though state and territory grants and stamp duty concessions can generally be used alongside both schemes, with restrictions varying by jurisdiction.

Using the First Home Super Saver Scheme to Build Your Deposit

The First Home Super Saver Scheme allows first home buyers to make voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions into superannuation and apply to release eligible amounts toward a home deposit. Up to $15,000 of personal contributions from any one financial year can be released, with a total cap of $50,000.

Concessional contributions are taxed at 15% rather than at marginal income tax rates, which means a nurse on a marginal tax rate above 30% can save tax on the contributions while building the deposit inside super. You need to obtain a determination from the ATO before signing a purchase contract, so the timing of the release needs to be planned in advance.

This scheme works particularly well when combined with an LMI waiver or the 5% Deposit Scheme, because the total deposit required is lower and the FHSS contribution limit of $50,000 can cover a larger proportion of what you need to save.

Income Thresholds and Loan Amount Caps Across Lenders

The two lenders that expressly include registered nurses and registered midwives in their LMI waiver frameworks both set a minimum annual income threshold of $90,000 and a maximum LVR of 90%. Maximum loan amounts at Westpac, St.George, and Bank of Melbourne are $5 million per borrower, with total LMI-waiver lending capped at $7.5 million.

People First Bank sets a maximum loan amount of $1,200,000 for eligible registered nurses under its Essential Services Professionals Package, with an LVR at or below 90%.

For most nurses purchasing a first home or upgrading to a larger property, the loan amount caps are not the binding constraint. The income threshold is the point that determines access. A nurse earning $85,000 annually would not meet the $90,000 minimum at Westpac or St.George, and would either need to increase their income through additional shifts or overtime, add a co-borrower, or save a 20% deposit to avoid LMI at a lender without the waiver.

When a 20% Deposit Still Makes Sense

Even when you qualify for an LMI waiver or a government scheme, a 20% deposit can make sense if you want to maximise your borrowing capacity, reduce your repayment amount, or access a wider range of loan products.

Borrowing at 80% LVR rather than 90% LVR reduces the loan amount by 10% of the property value, which reduces the interest payable over the life of the loan and lowers the monthly repayment. It also means you start with more equity in the property, which can be useful if you plan to access that equity later for renovations, investment, or debt consolidation.

Some lenders offer their lowest interest rates and most flexible features to borrowers at 80% LVR or below, and a 20% deposit can open access to lenders outside the participating panels for the government schemes. If you are not a first home buyer, or if your income exceeds the Help to Buy threshold, a 20% deposit may be the most direct path to the loan structure you want.

Call one of our team or book an appointment at a time that works for you. We will confirm which lenders include nurses in their waiver policy, calculate the deposit you need based on the property price and the scheme you qualify for, and structure the application so your shift income and allowances are assessed at their full value.

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