ING Home Loan Review (Updated 2026)

Who is ING?

ING is a large, well-established digital lender: Australia’s best-known online bank, built around a straightforward variable package and the Orange Everyday banking ecosystem. It doesn’t run a branch network the way the major banks do; its offer is a clean app-based experience backed by an Australian-based call centre. For borrowers who fit its full-doc, clean-credit mould, it’s a strong option, and for borrowers on parental leave or with jointly held debt, it has policies most banks simply don’t match.

The top things ING home loans are good at

• A useful 100% offset on Orange Advantage, for borrowers already using or willing to use Orange Everyday as their everyday account.
• Return-to-work income assessment for parental leave: rather than assessing you on your current paid-parental-leave income, ING will often consider your return-to-work income, which can materially lift borrowing power for growing families.
• The Common Debt Reducer policy for jointly held personal loans and credit cards, a genuine servicing concession most big banks don’t offer.
• A relatively relaxed apartment policy: ING’s minimum unit size is smaller than many big-bank thresholds, so it can approve compact apartments others decline.
• High LVR on owner-occupier purchases: up to 95% in standard postcodes for a clean full-doc file.
• Solid investment appetite: up to 90% LVR on both P&I and interest-only investment lending.
• Cashback perks tied to Orange Everyday: including a utility-bill cashback and fee-free international transactions for eligible customers, on autopilot once it’s set up.

Where ING home loans fall short

• No professional LMI waivers at all: unlike CBA, Westpac, ANZ, NAB and Macquarie, ING doesn’t waive LMI for any profession. Above 80% LVR, LMI applies, no exceptions.
• Full-doc only for the self-employed, with one year’s financials capping the loan at 80% LVR or less. Business owners wanting to borrow higher on a single strong year need a different lender.
• Strict on adverse credit: bankruptcy, court action or unpaid defaults are all unacceptable, with paid defaults treated cautiously. Even a small historic paid default can be enough to trigger an automatic decline.
• No construction or vacant land lending at all, and no SMSF lending.
• The offset only works inside the ING ecosystem: it must link to an Orange Everyday account in the same name, so it’s not a bolt-on to another bank’s everyday account.
• Pre-approval can be a soft check only. Without a signed contract in hand, ING’s pre-approval often amounts to a credit check rather than a full income review. Worth confirming before you rely on it at auction.

The real edge: parental leave and joint-debt policies most banks don’t match

This is where ING stands out. Most banks assess borrowing capacity on your current, lower paid-parental-leave income, which can gut your borrowing power right when you need it most, buying a bigger home for a growing family. ING will generally consider your return-to-work income instead, even where you’re not going back to work for some time, subject to its policy and lending criteria at the time. For a borrower on leave, that’s a different conversation to the one most lenders will have with you.

The second standout is ING’s Common Debt Reducer. If you’re applying for a home loan but have a personal loan or credit card held jointly with a partner, most banks hit your application with the full repayment, even though you’re only responsible for a share of it. Where you can evidence the debt is serviced jointly, ING may assess only part of that repayment against you, which can unlock meaningful extra borrowing power for couples carrying shared liabilities.

Apartments, security and where ING draws the line

ING is comparatively relaxed on apartment size. Its minimum living area sits below many big-bank thresholds, so it can say yes to compact units that other lenders decline outright. That said, it’s far more cautious about what kind of building the apartment sits in. Resort-style, serviced, managed and short-term letting-pool security is tightly restricted, along with student accommodation, more than two dwellings on one title, and several title types. That means a good apartment in the wrong body corporate structure can still be an automatic no, regardless of size or location. See our example below.

What are the different ING home loan products?

ING’s home loan range is deliberately narrow. The right one depends on whether you’ll actually use the offset:

ING home loan rates

ING is well known for sharp pricing, but its rate tiers are LVR-based. A bigger deposit typically unlocks a better tier, and the Orange Advantage package carries a small discount on top. Because advertised rates move constantly and we don’t work from a live ING rate sheet, we don’t publish specific figures here, as they date quickly. What matters more for most borrowers is that ING has historically been more willing to sharpen pricing for new customers than to hold it for existing ones over time. That’s worth factoring into a longer-term decision, not just the number on day one.

Rather than chase a rate that changes week to week, the better move is a like-for-like comparison for your exact situation. Book a free assessment or call 1300 088 065 and we’ll pull live ING pricing alongside the 30+ lenders on our panel.

What documents does ING need for a home loan?

ING’s documentation is lighter than most banks’ for a straightforward PAYG file:

• Proof of identity: a photo ID such as an Australian driver’s licence or passport, plus Medicare where required.
• Income evidence: your two most recent payslips (under 60 days old) for PAYG applicants, plus a recent PAYG summary if you earn overtime, bonus or commission. Self-employed applicants need full-doc financials: at least two years for the strongest outcome, one year accepted at 80% LVR or under.
• Genuine savings evidence: required where your deposit is under 20%, showing at least 5% saved by you (not gifted) over a three-month period.
• Signed contract of sale and the standard application and Privacy Act forms completed by all borrowers.

Notably, ING generally doesn’t ask for three months of transaction statements the way most other banks do. It’s more focused on where your deposit came from and matching your payslips. The trade-off is that its automated credit checks are unforgiving, so a clean file matters more here than at a bank that manually reviews the edge cases.

How much can I borrow from ING?

As a rule of thumb, ING lends up to roughly 4–6× your gross household income, and up to 95% of the property value with LMI for a clean full-doc file. Your real number depends on your income, expenses, deposit and existing debts:

• Up to 95% LVR is possible on owner-occupier purchases with LMI, in standard postcodes for a clean full-doc file.
• Up to 90% LVR on investment lending, for both principal-and-interest and interest-only loans.
• Genuine savings of 5% are required above 90% LVR, held for at least three months. Gifts, the First Home Owner Grant and builder rebates don’t count.
• Serviceability is stress-tested: ING assesses repayments at a higher buffer rate and counts your real living expenses and liabilities, though the Common Debt Reducer can soften jointly held debt.

Some illustrative scenarios (estimates only, not a quote or approval):

Note: these are estimates only. For a tailored figure, use a borrowing power calculator or speak to a broker.

How long do ING home loans take to approve?

ING’s turnaround depends heavily on how complete your file is and how busy its promotional periods are:

1. 1Application & credit checkWithout a signed contract, ING typically runs a credit check and issues a conditional letter. Treat this as indicative only, not a full approval.
2. 2Full assessmentOnce you have a signed contract of sale, ING moves to a proper income and document review, generally within a couple of business days, though busy periods can stretch this to a week or two.
3. 3Formal approval & settlementFollows once the valuation and remaining documents are in. Settlement then typically takes around two to three weeks from formal approval.

If you have a tight finance clause (say, five business days), flag it with your broker early. ING can be a great fit on policy but isn’t always the fastest lender when application volumes are high, and lodging through a broker who packages the file correctly the first time is the single best way to keep it moving.

What else does ING offer?

• Utility bill cashback: a percentage cashback (capped annually) on eligible water, gas and electricity bills paid via Orange Everyday, credited straight to your account rather than as points.
• Fee-free international transactions for eligible Orange Everyday customers. Useful if you travel or shop from overseas retailers.
• Round-up savings: everyday purchases are rounded up and the difference swept automatically into your home loan.
• Green Upgrade Loan: a smaller add-on loan for solar, batteries, heat pumps and other energy-efficient upgrades, for existing ING customers.
• Commercial property loans: a lesser-known but competitive offering for owner-occupiers and investors buying business premises, with lower fees than many big banks.

What are ING home loan customers saying?

ING is a regular award winner on the industry side. It has repeatedly been recognised by major comparison sites for value and customer satisfaction. Individual customer experience is more mixed: borrowers tend to praise the app, the cashback perks and the pricing they get as new customers, while the most common frustration is that pricing isn’t always held for existing customers over time, meaning a periodic review or refinance conversation is often worthwhile. As with any bank, results vary. That’s one reason many borrowers prefer to lodge through a broker who keeps an eye on where they sit against the rest of the panel.

Who ING suits, and who it doesn’t

A client story from our desk

How does ING compare to other lenders?

ING is best judged on its specifics rather than its headline rate. Each lender type leads on a different niche. Here’s how it stacks up on the things that actually decide the outcome:

For a professional chasing an LMI waiver, NAB or Westpac will typically do more. For self-employed borrowers who can’t fully evidence two years of income, or anyone with a recent credit blemish, a specialist lender is usually a better match. And if you’re building rather than buying established, ING is off the table entirely.

Broker tips for applying with ING

• Bank everyday with Orange Everyday first if you want the offset to actually work. It won’t link to an account held elsewhere.
• On parental leave? Ask us to test the return-to-work income assessment before assuming your borrowing power is capped at your current pay.
• Carrying joint debt with a partner? The Common Debt Reducer can be worth checking before you assume a personal loan or credit card is fully counted against you.
• Self-employed with one year’s financials? Expect an 80% LVR ceiling. Plan your deposit around that before you apply.
• Check your credit file before lodging. ING’s tolerance for defaults, court action or past bankruptcy is close to zero, so it pays to know what’s on your file first.
• Buying a resort-style or letting-pool apartment? Check the body corporate bylaws and security policy with your broker before you fall in love with the unit.
• Don’t rely on a soft pre-approval if you don’t yet have a contract. Confirm with your broker exactly what ING has and hasn’t assessed.

Is an ING home loan right for you?

ING is a sharp choice for clean, full-doc borrowers who want a competitive digital lender, and for new parents and couples with joint debt, its policies can beat what a big bank will offer. But its gaps around professional waivers, adverse credit, construction lending and non-standard apartment security are just as real as its strengths. We’ll compare ING against 30+ lenders and tell you honestly whether it’s your best fit. Book a free assessment or call 1300 088 065 to get started.