Mortgage Broker for Nurses

Nurse Loans works exclusively with nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals across Australia. We are not a generalist brokerage that occasionally handles a nursing application. Every loan we place is for someone working in healthcare, which means we already know which lenders recognise your income, which ones waive LMI for your profession, and which ones to avoid. The following is what sets us apart and why nurses consistently rate us five stars.

Which Lenders Waive LMI for Nurses

Most brokers do not know which lenders waive LMI specifically for registered nurses, because most lenders do not advertise this publicly. Nurse Loans knows that Westpac Group lenders, including Westpac, St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA, currently waive LMI for registered nurses and registered midwives borrowing up to 90% LVR, subject to a minimum annual income of $90,000 per year and a maximum loan amount of $5 million, with total lending with LMI waiver up to $7.5 million. People First Bank offers their Essential Services Professionals Package, also at up to 90% LVR with no minimum income threshold specified. BankVic offers LMI-free lending to eligible healthcare workers including nurses through their professional package.

Equally important is knowing which lenders do not offer these waivers. Commonwealth Bank's Professionals Offer explicitly excludes nurses from its eligible medical professionals list. NAB's LMI waiver policy does not list nurses as an eligible profession. Bankwest offers an LMI waiver for eligible professionals in the medical category, but does not specifically name registered nurses, and eligibility is confirmed through the Broker Portal on a case-by-case basis. Approaching any of these lenders without that knowledge costs you time, a credit enquiry, and potentially thousands of dollars in LMI that you never needed to pay. A mortgage broker for nurses who knows this upfront will direct your application to the right lender from the start. You can read more on our LMI waivers for nurses and no LMI loans for nurses pages.

How We Handle Shift Income, Overtime and Penalty Rate Assessment

Nursing income rarely looks like a standard salary. Shift penalties, overtime, allowances and casual loading are a normal part of how nurses are paid, and how lenders assess this variable income has a direct impact on your borrowing capacity.

Westpac Group lenders may assess overtime and allowances at 100% for hospital-employed nurses under their Emergency Services Policy, provided the applicant has been in their current role for a qualifying period. Suncorp may also assess overtime and allowances at 100% for essential services workers, including nurses, where the income can be confirmed as regular and ongoing and the applicant has been in their current employment for at least three months with probation passed, or has performed a similar role for at least 12 months. UBank may assess 100% of base salary, allowances and overtime income for eligible medical and health workers under specific occupation codes. Other lenders apply a 20% discount or exclude variable income entirely, which can reduce your borrowing capacity by tens of thousands of dollars.

Casual and agency nurses face further variation, with some lenders requiring 12 months of consistent employment history and others accepting six months. Suncorp may accept casual income earned continuously for six months or more at 100%. Bankwest validates casual income using year-to-date payslip figures, annualised over the period shown.

As a specialist nurse mortgage broker, Nurse Loans understands how each lender on our panel treats nursing income. We match your income structure to the lender whose assessment method gives you the strongest outcome, and we present your payslips and employment history in the format lenders need to see them.

Access to 70+ Lenders and 2,000+ Loan Products

Nurse Loans works across a panel of 70+ banks and lenders, giving you access to more than 2,000 loan products. Rather than being limited to a single institution's offering, our brokers compare the market to find the home loan for nurses that aligns with your deposit, income structure, property type and goals. Whether you are purchasing your first home, refinancing an existing loan, or building an investment portfolio, access to a wide lender panel means your application goes to the lender most likely to approve it on the right terms.

Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme may allow eligible first home buyers, including nurses and midwives, to purchase a property with a 5% deposit and no LMI. Eligible single parents and single legal guardians may be able to purchase with as little as a 2% deposit. From 1 October 2025, the Australian Government expanded the scheme by removing income caps and uncapping the number of available places. Property price caps still apply.

For nurses who do not meet the $90,000 income threshold for a lender LMI waiver, or who wish to borrow through a lender that does not offer one, this scheme may provide the most direct route to purchasing with a reduced deposit and no LMI. The scheme cannot be used together with the Help to Buy Scheme for the same purchase, but it may be combined with the First Home Owner Grant and stamp duty concessions. Visit our 5% Deposit Scheme for nurses page for a full breakdown.

Who We Help

We work with registered nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, enrolled nurses, clinical nurse specialists, aged care nurses, paediatric nurses, critical care nurses and community health nurses across Australia. Each of these roles has different income structures, employment patterns and lender eligibility profiles. Our brokers know the differences and position each application accordingly.

If you are self-employed, visit our self-employed loans for nurses page. If you are a midwife working in a caseload or continuity of care model, visit our self-employed loans for midwives page.

Generalist Broker vs Nurse Loans

A generalist broker works across every profession and property type, which means they are unlikely to know the handful of lenders that offer nurse-specific LMI waiver policies or the income thresholds that apply at each one. They may apply standard income discounting to your shift allowances and overtime, or exclude variable income altogether, reducing your borrowing capacity without you realising it. They may also submit your application to a lender that does not offer LMI waiver eligibility for nurses, costing you a credit enquiry and potentially thousands of dollars in LMI that a specialist broker would have helped you avoid.

At Nurse Loans, we already know which lenders waive LMI for registered nurses, what documentation they require, and how your income needs to be presented to qualify. We know which lenders count 100% of overtime and shift penalties for hospital-employed nurses, which lenders accept six months of casual employment history rather than twelve, and how AHPRA registration status affects your eligibility. We also understand which government schemes can be combined with nurse-specific lending policies to strengthen your position further. The result is an application that goes to the right lender, structured correctly from the start.

5-Star Reviews from Nurses Across Australia

Nurse Loans holds a five-star rating on Google. Our clients include registered nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners and allied health professionals from across Australia. The consistent feedback in our reviews reflects what nurses value most: a broker who communicates clearly, responds promptly, and understands the specific demands of working in healthcare. You can read what nurses say about working with us in the reviews section below.

Choosing the right loan is not just about the interest rate. The features attached to a loan can make a meaningful difference to how a nurse manages repayments around shift work, overtime periods, parental leave and career changes. Our brokers help you understand which features suit your income pattern and which lenders offer them without unnecessary fees.

Offset Accounts

An offset account is a transaction account linked to your home loan. The balance in the account is offset against your loan balance, reducing the interest you pay. For nurses on rotating rosters, this is one of the most practical features available. Higher-income pay cycles from night shifts, weekend penalties or overtime blocks can be parked in the offset account, reducing interest immediately without locking those funds away. If a quieter roster period follows, the money remains fully accessible. People First Bank offers fee-free multiple offset accounts on their Basic Variable Loan. Not every lender offers offset on every product, and some charge a monthly fee for the feature, so the lender you choose directly affects whether this feature is available and what it costs. Visit our home loans for nurses page to see how loan structures with offset accounts compare across lenders.

Redraw Facilities

A redraw facility allows you to access extra repayments you have already made on your loan. For nurses who make additional repayments during high-income periods, redraw provides a safety net if circumstances change. Minimum redraw amounts vary by lender. People First Bank sets a minimum of $1,000 per redraw. Some lenders charge a fee per transaction. The distinction between offset and redraw is particularly important for nurses with investment loans, as redrawing from an investment loan can affect the tax deductibility of interest. Our brokers can explain how this applies to your situation before you choose a loan structure.

Fixed and Variable Rate Options

A fixed rate loan locks in your interest rate for a set period, giving you certainty over your repayments. This can be useful for nurses who want predictable outgoings during a known period, such as parental leave, a move to part-time work, or a transition between employers. Extra repayments on fixed rate loans are typically capped. People First Bank caps additional repayments on their Fixed Home Loans, and break costs may apply if the loan is paid out early. A variable rate loan offers more flexibility, including the ability to make unlimited extra repayments and access features like offset accounts and redraw. Our brokers can help you weigh the trade-offs based on where you are in your career and what is ahead. Visit our refinancing page if you are currently on a fixed rate that is about to expire.

Split Loans

A split loan allows you to fix a portion of your loan for repayment certainty while keeping the remainder on a variable rate with access to offset or redraw. This structure suits nurses who want a predictable minimum repayment during a specific period while retaining the flexibility to make extra repayments on the variable portion during higher-income months. Most lenders on our panel offer a split loan option. Our brokers can model different split ratios based on your income and goals to find the structure that works for your situation.

Interest-Only Loans

An interest-only loan allows you to pay only the interest on your loan for a set period, which reduces your minimum repayment during that time. This structure is most commonly used by nurses purchasing investment properties (https://nurseloans.com.au/investment-loans-for-nurses/), where keeping repayments lower can support cash flow while the property is tenanted. Interest-only periods are commonly available for up to five years, although some lenders may offer longer periods on investment loans. After the interest-only period ends, the loan reverts to principal and interest repayments over the remaining term. Not all lenders allow interest-only repayments on owner-occupied loans, and some LMI waiver (https://nurseloans.com.au/lmi-waivers-for-nurses/) policies require principal and interest repayments. Westpac Group's LMI waiver for registered nurses requires principal and interest repayments, and Bankwest excludes interest-only repayments from its LMI waiver except during the construction phase of a build. Our brokers confirm which repayment types are compatible with any waiver or scheme you are eligible for.

Rate Lock

A rate lock allows you to secure an interest rate at the time of application, protecting you from rate increases while your loan is being processed. This can take several weeks depending on the lender and property type. People First Bank offers a rate lock facility at a fee of 0.15% of the total loan amount, valid for 90 days from the date of application. Not all lenders offer rate lock, and the fees and validity periods vary. For nurses purchasing off the plan or through the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, where settlement timelines can be longer, rate lock may be worth considering. Our brokers can confirm whether rate lock is available with your chosen lender and whether the fee represents value in your circumstances.

How Our Brokers Help You Choose

Each of these features interacts with the others and with the lender policies that apply to your profession. An offset account on a variable rate loan works differently from a redraw on a fixed rate loan. An interest-only period on an investment loan has different implications from a principal and interest loan with an LMI waiver. Our brokers do not just compare interest rates. We compare the full loan structure across 70+ lenders to find the combination of features, rate and lender policy that fits how you earn, how you spend, and what you are working toward. Use our borrowing capacity calculator for an initial estimate, or book an appointment to talk through your options.

Step 1: Free consultation about your nursing income and goals

We start by understanding your income structure in detail, including base salary, shift loadings, overtime, penalty rates, allowances and any salary packaging arrangements through your employer. We ask about your roster pattern, your employment type, your specialty area and whether you work across multiple employers, through an agency, or hold a casual contract. If you are a self-employed nurse, we discuss how that income is documented. This shapes every decision that follows, including which lenders we approach and how your application is presented.

Step 2: Confirm your LMI waiver and scheme eligibility

Before we assess borrowing capacity, we confirm whether you qualify for an LMI waiver as a registered nurse or midwife. Westpac Group lenders may waive LMI at up to 90% LVR for registered nurses and registered midwives earning a minimum of $90,000 per year. People First Bank may offer their Essential Services Professionals Package at up to 90% LVR, and Bankwest may offer a waiver for eligible medical professionals confirmed through the Broker Portal. We also check whether you qualify for the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, which from 1 October 2025 has no income caps and no limit on available places. Getting this right at the outset can save you tens of thousands of dollars and determines your deposit strategy.

Step 3: Assess your borrowing capacity using lenders that recognise nursing income

We calculate how much you can borrow using lenders that assess your nursing income accurately. Where possible, we place your application with lenders that assess overtime and allowances at 100% for hospital-employed nurses under policies such as the Westpac Group Emergency Services Policy, rather than lenders that discount this income to 80% or less. We also factor in HECS debt, existing commitments and living expenses so there are no surprises later. If your income includes casual, agency or part-time components, we identify which lenders take the most favourable view of that structure.

Step 4: Compare loan options and features across 70+ lenders

We research and compare home loans across our full lender panel, including fixed, variable, split and offset products. We look at the full loan structure, not just the interest rate, covering features like offset accounts, redraw facilities, rate lock and repayment flexibility. We present you with the options that suit your goals, explain the trade-offs of each clearly, and confirm which loans can be paired with any LMI waiver or government scheme you are eligible for.

Step 5: Prepare and lodge your pre-approval application

We prepare your complete application, including payslips that show your shift income breakdown with base salary, overtime and allowances itemised separately, your employment contract or agency agreement, AHPRA registration confirmation and all supporting documents. For nurses on rotating rosters or working across multiple wards or facilities, we ensure the payslips and income evidence presented reflect your actual earning pattern. A strong application from the outset reduces back-and-forth with lenders and speeds up pre-approval.

Step 6: Manage your formal application through to approval

Once you have found a property, we submit the formal application, manage all lender queries and keep you updated throughout. We handle the process so you are not chasing emails between shifts or during night duty.

Step 7: Settlement and beyond

We coordinate with your solicitor or conveyancer through to settlement. After settlement, we remain available for loan reviews, refinancing conversations and future property plans, including investment loans and expanding your property portfolio. We check in regularly to make sure your loan continues to work as hard as your income does.