Overtime income home loans: how much will a lender count?

Warren was a senior corrections officer on a $72k base. Court-escort duties added about $48k of overtime, taking total income to roughly $120k.

The first bank used $24k of overtime and assessed $96k of income. That left a stated borrowing shortfall of about $95k.

I supplied two complete PAYG years showing more than $45k of overtime and a departmental letter explaining the ongoing operational roster. I then compared lenders that may consider all regular overtime for eligible essential workers, without relying on one strong payslip as proof the income would continue.

Warren's application was unconditionally approved for $610k. The same result is not assured for another borrower because the roster, insurer and full application still matter.

$24k of regular overtime was left out.

Using the overtime properly closed a borrowing gap of about $95k.

The first figure comes from the recorded $95k shortfall against the $610k Warren needed. His $610k loan was approved. This is his case, not a borrowing-power estimate for someone else.

Start by identifying which evidence is missing. I check how long you have earned overtime, how much appears in the current financial year and whether the payslip labels it correctly.

A genuine history rule asks how long the overtime itself has been earned. NAB verifies payments over 180 days. Suncorp publishes separate current-employment and continuous-overtime periods. Teachers Mutual has a 3 month rule for listed occupations. Firstmac looks for regularity over 12 months or a condition of employment.

A year-to-date coverage rule asks how much of the current financial year the payslip shows. That figure resets in July even if you have earned overtime for years. Macquarie, Bankwest, CBA, Westpac and St George can ask for about 3 months of year-to-date coverage, with prior-year documents available based on their current rules when the payslip period is shorter.

I compared 7 lenders. Six may consider all regular overtime when the job, history and evidence fit. One starts with a set percentage.

Lender reviews: CBA; Firstmac; NAB; Pepper Money; St George; Teachers Mutual 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.

Read the condition beside the percentage. A lender may consider all regular overtime only when the occupation, employer, probation status and history fit its rules.

Potentially, but the lists differ. CBA's current 100% route is limited to specified emergency frontline roles and hospital-employed medical staff. Westpac and St George use a narrower front-line emergency and hospital-employed list. Macquarie publishes a broader list that includes health services, public transport, prison officers and specified power roles.

Suncorp includes defence and correctional services, but its shorter 100% route also requires probation to be passed. ANZ has no overtime uplift for occupation. People First's essential-services offering affects mortgage insurance rather than the overtime percentage.

Warren's corrections role did not create a universal essential-worker result. I still needed to prove that the court-escort overtime was part of an ongoing operational pattern.

If nursing is your main situation, use the home loans for nurses guide.

A recent low period needs an explanation, not automatic removal. I compare the current year to date with the prior complete year and ask why the pattern changed.

Approved leave, a roster transition or a move to the same occupation may explain a short period. It does not force every lender to accept the earlier amount. The new employer's roster, probation and current payments still matter.

If the employment itself changed, read the new job guide. If the role is casual, the casual employment guide explains how long you may need to have worked casually.

Not always. Overtime usually pays for extra hours. A shift loading or penalty may exist because the roster includes nights, weekends or public holidays.

Some lenders can use a contractual shift allowance in full while counting only part of your overtime. If payroll combines everything above base pay into one total, the assessor may not be able to treat the payments separately.

Ask payroll to show ordinary hours, contractual shift or penalty income, overtime and reimbursements separately. The employment contract should then explain why each payment exists.

Include all your overtime when you ask for an assessment, even if you are unsure how much a lender will accept. Keep it separate from your base salary, penalties and allowances. Also tell me what repayments you would feel comfortable with if you worked fewer overtime hours, and how much savings you want to keep available.

1. two recent consecutive payslips

2. the previous financial year's final payslip

3. the latest Tax Ready ATO income statement

4. the employment contract

5. a breakdown of overtime, penalties and allowances

6. a short employment and leave timeline

7. an employer letter if the operational requirement or payment frequency is unclear

The year-to-date calculator can turn your year-to-date pay into a yearly estimate. It cannot decide whether the overtime is regular or whether a genuine history condition is met. If overtime is only one of several non-base income lines, the income and employment home loan guide explains how lenders assess the other parts of your income.

Selected lender rules were checked from 28 to 31 July 2026. Lenders can change their rules and assess the full application differently.

Hunter Galloway. Australian Credit Licence 389328. Credit Representative 000476903. General information only, not a credit assessment or 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.