Home loan on contractor income: PAYG, day rate or ABN?

Yes, your contractor income may count.

If you receive a PAYG payslip, some banks can look at the income much like an employee's wage. If you send invoices through an ABN, they will usually ask for business records instead. A short contract can still work when your earlier employment shows you have been doing the same type of job for years.

Julian had moved from permanent senior IT work into his first daily-rate contract through a PAYG recruitment agency. He was paid $1,100 a day and had more than 6 continuous years in senior technology roles.

The contract ran for 6 months. When he applied, he had worked 3 months and had 3 months left. His first bank put him in the self-employed box and asked for 2 years of contractor tax returns. He did not have them because he was paid through the agency's payroll.

I showed the new lender his signed contract, agency payslips and more than 6 years of earlier work in senior technology roles. That made it clear he was a PAYG agency contractor, not someone running a new business.

Julian's $1.05m loan was unconditionally approved on the $1.35m purchase. The first bank had asked for the wrong documents. Once we matched the application to the way he was actually paid, he could move forward.

Start with how you are paid. These details show whether to assess wages or business income.

1. Do you receive a payslip, or do you send an invoice?

2. Does the employer or agency take tax out of your pay?

3. Who pays your super?

4. Do you receive paid annual leave and sick leave?

5. Do you work for one employer, or run a business with your own clients?

If you are paid by a labour-hire or staffing agency as a casual, the casual employment guide explains the current history and income calculation rules.

Yes. A contract ending in 3 or 6 months is not an automatic decline. I look at how long you have done this type of work, whether earlier contracts were renewed and how much time you have had between jobs.

I compared 7 lenders for this guide. Some focus on how you are paid, some lean more heavily on your earlier work, and one may start with the income that has actually reached your account.

Lender reviews: Commonwealth Bank; ING; Macquarie; Westpac; St George; People First Bank.

Lender rules checked 31 July 2026. A general starting-point view of the 7 lenders named above, not a ranking, a recommendation or credit advice. Lending policy changes without notice, and any loan is subject to the lender's own credit assessment and approval of your full application.

Julian had only 3 months in his current contract, but he had worked in senior technology for more than 6 years. That longer history was the part his first bank had missed.

A day rate is not an annual salary. The calculation needs to allow for unpaid leave, public holidays and gaps between projects.

At 48 working weeks, $1,100 a day over 5 days is $264k before the lender applies its own evidence and income method.

These estimates keep the other assumptions the same and change only the income figure.

That is about $150k of borrowing capacity between the highest and lowest income figures.

The 46-week income has been rounded to $250k for this borrowing-power example. It keeps the applicant and other assumptions the same. Expenses, debts, dependants, deposit and lender rules can change the result.

The difference between 52 weeks and 46 weeks is $33k of yearly income. A bank may instead use a 180-day average or your year-to-date pay. I use the figure we can prove from your contract and payment history, not whichever multiplication produces the biggest number.

Use the year-to-date calculator to total the income, then confirm which period the lender will use.

If you invoice through your own ABN and handle tax and super yourself, the bank will usually treat you as self-employed. It does not matter that the work looks similar to the PAYG job you had before. What matters is how you are paid now.

2 years remains a common starting point, but it is not universal:

I also looked at 5 lenders with shorter business-history options. Most lenders still want at least 2 years of tax returns. There can be exceptions when you did the same job in the same industry as a PAYG employee before becoming self-employed.

Macquarie’s 1 year option is limited to eligible professional specialisations, with a loan of up to 80% of the property value (the loan-to-value ratio, or LVR). It requires at least 12 months of trading and income evidence from the current business. Checked on 17 September 2026 against Macquarie’s credit guidelines, version 14.1 dated 10 September 2026.

Lender reviews: NAB; Macquarie; Commonwealth Bank; Firstmac.

Lender rules checked 31 July 2026. A general starting-point view of the 5 lenders named above, not a ranking, a recommendation or credit advice. Lending policy changes without notice, and any loan is subject to the lender's own credit assessment and approval of your full application.

Some of these lenders only offer these options for specific industries. Speak with our team for more information, and for full financial year, BAS and add-back treatment, use the self-employed home loan guide.

Begin with the contract, payslip or invoice. Confirm who handles tax and super, whether paid leave applies, time in the current arrangement and earlier work in the same field.

A renewal letter can explain the current plan, but it does not guarantee future income. I would rather use accurate wording and a complete history than ask an employer or agency to promise something outside the contract.

I compare what may work today with what would improve if you waited for the next payslip, renewal or completed financial year.

If the issue is simply a new role, use the new job guide. For the broader document and job history checks, see the home loan job requirements guide or the income and employment guide.

Send me the contract, payslip or invoice and the history you want the lender to recognise.

When these rules were checked: The lender rules on this page were checked from 28 to 31 July 2026. Lenders can change their rules and assess the contract, income, deposit, credit history and property individually.

Hunter Galloway. Australian Credit Licence 389328. Credit Representative 476903. This page contains general information and is not a credit assessment, tax, employment or legal advice, or a promise of approval.

Client examples are based on real situations. Names and identifying details have been changed.

Content reviewed on 17 September 2026. Dates beside the lender rules show when they were checked. Confirm the requirements for your application before applying.