People First Bank Home Loan Review 2026

Yes. People First Bank is the trading name of Heritage and People's Choice Ltd. Heritage Bank and People's Choice Credit Union legally merged in March 2023. The move to one brand is still being completed across some former Heritage branches.

Yes. People First has separate packages for medical professionals and selected essential-service workers. Both can waive Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) when you borrow up to 90% and meet the remaining rules.

Loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is the loan as a percentage of the property value. A 90% LVR means borrowing $90 for every $100 of property value. You still need money for any buying costs.

The published list covers dentists, general practitioners, pharmacists, hospital-employed doctors, medical specialists, optometrists and veterinary practitioners. This is a useful list for pharmacists, optometrists and vets because some competing medical waivers leave them out.

This package covers registered nurses, fully qualified paramedics and sworn state or federal police officers. You need at least $80k income if you’re applying on your own. For a joint application, combined income needs to be at least $150k and the eligible worker needs to earn at least $75k. These figures exclude super.

Our nurse home loan guide compares the wider options for nurses.

The eligible worker needs permanent or fixed-term employment and cannot be casual or on probation. Firefighters, defence personnel and correctional officers are not on the published list.

Registered nurses only; income excludes super. No casual or probationary employment. Other waiver, loan and property conditions apply.

People First is only one option. Our LMI waiver guide compares the professions, deposit rules and loan limits used by other lenders.

Compare the occupation lists in our Westpac and NAB reviews before relying on a professional waiver.

If you work for yourself and only have 1 year of figures, we’d usually start with another lender. People First has more options for employees, including established casual work, a second job or a return from parental leave.

People First normally wants your ABN to have been registered for at least 2 years. It also asks for the latest 2 years of business and personal tax returns, financial statements and ATO Notices of Assessment. An ATO Notice of Assessment is the result the ATO issues after processing your tax return.

The broker information we reviewed requires more than 1 year of figures and does not offer an accountant-letter option. If your latest year is much stronger than the previous one, we’d compare lenders that can make more use of those recent results.

Our self-employed home loan guide explains why the same business can receive a different borrowing figure from two lenders.

People First advertises a family guarantee that can use part of a family member's property as extra security. For a broker application, the lending information we checked limits the guarantor to a parent. The borrower still has to afford the whole loan from their own income.

The guarantee is normally limited to the amount needed to reduce or avoid LMI, plus agreed purchase costs. The guarantee covers an agreed amount, rather than the entire home loan.

Read our guarantor home loan guide before asking a parent to help. It explains the risks, limited-guarantee structure and how the guarantee may later be released.

Our parental leave home loan guide covers the return-to-work evidence to prepare.

For employment history and income records, see our casual employment loan guide.

Compare ANZ for other self-employed income methods. If you need family support, compare the guarantor options in our CBA review.

People First looks at the income it accepts, living costs, dependants, existing debts and the new loan. It also checks whether the repayments would still work at 3% above the actual rate. The full calculation matters because its treatment of a credit card, recent credit problem or second job can change the result.

Our HECS and home loan guide explains how compulsory repayments can affect borrowing.

The Basic Variable loan lets you keep money in several offset accounts without a monthly offset fee. That can be useful if you keep bills and savings separate.

People First allows unlimited extra repayments and redraw on its current fixed loans. The minimum redraw is $1k. A break cost can still apply if the fixed loan is paid out in full before the fixed term ends.

A rate lock can hold the chosen fixed rate for up to 90 days. The current fee is 0.15% of the total loan amount. We’ll show you the dollar cost before you decide whether to add it.

These were the main fees shown on People First Bank's public pages when we checked them on 4 September 2026.

Other charges can apply, including valuation costs, fixed-rate break costs and the 0.15% rate-lock fee. The minimum redraw amount is $1k; this is not a fee. Check the current People First fees and charges before proceeding.

People First describes its pre-approval as conditional and valid for 90 days. We’ll explain the expiry date and outstanding conditions. People First still needs to accept the property and valuation later.

We’ve found People First can take longer to assess a loan than other lenders we use. If you have an auction, a short finance clause or an urgent settlement coming up, the timing needs checking early. A refinance without a contract deadline is usually easier to manage.

If you already have a People First loan, we’d check whether a lower rate is available before looking at refinancing. A lower advertised rate can still cost more once discharge, valuation and setup costs are included.

Our offset guide explains how the saving works. Compare Macquarie and Bankwest for different fees and account limits.

A pre-approval mainly checks you. People First Bank still needs to accept the property, valuation and loan amount before it can give the final answer.

Buying before selling? Our bridging loan guide explains the options to compare with other lenders.

Interest is charged on the money drawn for each approved building stage. This example excludes any other existing loan.

Read our construction loan guide before signing the building contract or paying a builder's deposit.

People First is worth comparing if you want multiple offsets, qualify for a professional waiver or need a construction loan. If timing is tight or your business income needs a different assessment, another lender may suit you better.

A refinance client wanted to keep bills, savings and spending separate without losing the interest saving on their home loan. We found a People First Basic Variable loan that let them link those accounts to the same loan.

That let the client keep their accounts separate while reducing loan interest. We also compared the rate, fees and refinancing costs to check whether switching was worthwhile.

The lender pays us commission, which we disclose before you proceed. We compare more than 30 lenders and must act in your best interests. Our Brisbane mortgage brokers can compare People First with other lenders and explain which options suit your application.