Physiotherapist home loans: LMI waivers and deposits

A physiotherapist home loan is a standard home loan where the lender waives LMI because you're an eligible physio. At NAB that means buying a home you'll live in with 5% plus costs, and at ANZ, Westpac and St George it means 10% plus costs. I'd check your registration, income and property before you set either as your target. The 95% limit only applies to a home you'll live in. At NAB, investment and construction loans stop at 90%. ANZ, Westpac and St George allow a build with a licensed builder on a fixed price contract, within their 90% limit.

If you've recently opened a clinic, the income records a lender can use may decide which options fit. Once we've checked those, we can compare the repayments and the cash you'll have left after buying.

General information only. It does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Lender policy, waivers and rates can change.

Our LMI Waivers guide explains the wider options. Use the deposit calculator and LMI calculator for an initial estimate.

I compare how each lender counts your physio income, set out your application so the bank can follow it and manage the loan through to settlement. You're usually trying to work out 2 things: how much a bank will lend on your physio income, and how much cash you'll have left once you've bought. Here's what we do on your application:

A bank's first answer isn't always the final one. A branch that quotes you LMI may simply not have checked whether its physio waiver applies to you.

Eligible physios can buy a home with a 5% deposit plus buying costs and no LMI at NAB. ANZ, Westpac and St George need about 10%. Without a waiver, you'd normally need 20% of the bank's valuation to avoid LMI. Our 90% no-LMI home loan guide covers the wider options if you have 10%.

Buying costs are extra

Stamp duty, transfer and mortgage registration fees, conveyancing and inspections all sit on top of your deposit. A waiver removes LMI, not these costs. Margot's story below shows how much duty adds to a $1.2m purchase.

The bank's valuation

The lender works out the loan from the value it accepts, not the price you agree. If the valuation comes in under the price, the gap comes out of your cash. The $880k valuation example further down shows what that looks like at 95%.

For a $1.2m established property, these figures use Queensland duty rates checked on 11 September 2026. They assume no foreign buyer surcharge or other exemption. Your eligibility, contract date and property type determine the actual duty.

Allow extra for conveyancing, inspections, registration fees, settlement adjustments and a cash buffer. The home concession depends on meeting the occupancy and other rules.

For this example, assume a $900k established Queensland home, the same bank valuation and $200k in savings. Allow $35k for buying costs: $26.35k in transfer duty using the eligible home concession, plus an assumed $8.65k for other costs.

The example assumes you meet the home concession rules, with no foreign buyer surcharge or other exemption. The allowance for other costs isn't a fee quote. Cash remaining is what is left after your contribution to the price and these assumed buying costs.

Same $900k home, $90k deposit and $810k loan before LMI. The estimate is about $17k, using our LMI calculator on 11 September 2026. The premium varies by lender and property, and buying costs are extra.

With the same $90k deposit and $810k starting loan, the waiver saves about $17k in this example. If a standard loan adds LMI to the balance instead of charging it upfront, you borrow more and pay interest on the premium too.

Choosing 5% instead of 20% reduces your contribution by $135k and adds $135k to the loan. At an assumed 6% over 30 years, that's about $809 more a month with principal and interest repayments, before fees. Under these assumptions, the 20% option needs $215k for the deposit and costs: $15k more than the available savings, before allowing a cash buffer.

A lower valuation changes the contribution too. At 95%, an $880k bank valuation supports an $836k loan. On a $900k purchase, you need $64k towards the price: $19k more than the $45k shown above. After the same $35k cost allowance, your $200k savings leave $101k.

There's no fixed borrowing limit for physios. It comes down to the income the bank will use, your living costs and your debts, and each lender measures those a bit differently.

HECS is a good example. ANZ and Bankwest always count your HECS repayment, while CBA leaves it out if you'll repay the balance within a year. Our HECS debt guide explains how much that can move your budget.

Banks also compare your total debt with your income, called your debt-to-income ratio. At St George, an application goes to its credit team for referral once total debt reaches 7 times income. If you own a clinic, its loans and equipment finance can also reduce what you can borrow for a home, so bring those statements too.

Send us your payslips or clinic figures and we'll run your borrowing at the lenders that fit, before you set a price range.

It depends on how you're paid and which bank you use. A salary is the simple part. Extra hours, casual shifts and clinic profits are where lenders split, and that's where a physio's borrowing can move.

ANZ states no minimum professional income. NAB has no fixed dollar threshold, but primary income must come from eligible professional work. You still need enough accepted income for the repayments.

Westpac and St George need at least $90k a year from eligible professional work. The $90k is counted across the application, so 2 eligible professionals can add their income together, but there are no exceptions below it. A partner's unrelated salary or rent can still help with borrowing, just not with the $90k test.

If extra shifts make up a useful part of your pay, I’d check how much the lender can count before estimating your budget. Bring the payment history as well as your latest payslip, including any work across clinics.

Westpac and St George count 80% of overtime and allowances for physios. Their 100% rate is only for hospital-employed nurses, midwives and doctors and for emergency services workers, so I'd budget on 80% of your extra hours.

You may still have options after a job change or while on probation. We’ll check your contract, work history and income records. New graduates should have their registration, salary and start date checked before relying on a low deposit.

Clinic owners can use a physio waiver, but the number of years of figures you need depends on the bank.

If your practice has completed 1 full financial year, Westpac or St George may be able to use that year's tax returns under its medical profession package. The lender still needs to accept your trading history and the income left after business costs.

If you've just opened a clinic, send us the latest completed year's accounts and tell us when you started trading. We'll check which lender can use those figures and include the practice debts before working out your budget. NAB is stricter here. Above 80%, it generally wants 2 years of self-employed figures, and it won't waive LMI where a company or trust is the borrower. Westpac and St George can lend to your company or trust if you own or direct it and you're on the loan at least as a guarantor. ANZ can lend to a family trust where you're the trustee and a beneficiary.

Our self-employed home loan guide explains the common document options.

Your Ahpra registration type matters more than your job title. Physios are registered as general, limited, non-practising or student (Physiotherapy Board registration types). General registration is what every lender we compare accepts. Limited registration narrows the field, so I'd check your category before you set a deposit target.

At ANZ, the eligible physio needs an equal share of the property on title. With 2 owners, that means half each, unless your spouse or de facto holds more for asset protection and you're on the loan as a co-borrower or a guarantor for the full amount. Tell us the proposed ownership split early so the loan and title arrangements can be checked together.

NAB accepts limited registration for postgraduate training or supervised practice, but not limited registration for area of need, in the public interest or for teaching or research. ANZ needs general registration, though a temporary break from practice, such as parental leave, can be referred to its credit team. NAB also asks us to confirm your registration on the national register, so the details have to match.

Banks go by the register, not your title. Sports physio, clinic director or principal physiotherapist should be fine as long as the register shows you as a physiotherapist. Exercise physiologists and myotherapists aren't on the physiotherapy register, and they aren't named on the NAB, ANZ, Westpac or St George waiver lists we compared.

If you've just graduated, general registration is for physios with an approved qualification, which covers graduates of approved Australian programs. A lender can't use it until it shows on the register. When no LMI applies, Westpac and St George only need you to have started work and received 1 pay, but their $90k income test still applies.

Looking for another health profession? See our guides for doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Their lender options differ from the physio waivers below.

NAB, ANZ, Westpac and St George offer physios an LMI waiver. NAB goes to 95% for a home you'll live in, and the other 3 stop at 90%. CBA, Bankwest and Suncorp don't include physios, and ubank's no-LMI loan is open to any eligible buyer.

CBA and Bankwest don't waive LMI for physiotherapists. Suncorp's waiver is for medical practitioners only, People First Bank's lists don't include physios, and Macquarie has no profession waiver at all. We can still compare their standard loans. A profession waiver doesn't establish which loan will cost you least.

Rates, fees and the amount of income a lender accepts can change the result. Westpac and St George have related policies, but their products and pricing can differ.

Employed physio buying a home with 10%. I'd compare NAB and ANZ first. Neither sets a dollar income floor, and NAB also lets you go down to 5% if you'd rather keep more cash in the bank. If you earn $90k or more from physio work, Westpac and St George are worth adding too.

Clinic owner or practice partner. I'd start with Westpac and St George. They can use 1 completed financial year of tax returns and will lend to your company or trust if you're on the loan at least as a guarantor. NAB needs the loan in personal names and generally 2 years of figures above 80%, so it suits a more established clinic.

New graduate or on limited registration. With general registration on the register, I'd compare NAB and ANZ, then add Westpac and St George once your physio income reaches $90k. On limited registration for supervised practice, NAB is the cleaner option to check first, because ANZ needs general registration.

If your income moves around, from a mix of contract and employed work or quieter months in the clinic, I'd usually start with a variable loan and an offset account. You can hold your tax money and a buffer there and it still reduces the interest you pay. Fixing gives you a set repayment but limits extra repayments. If you want interest-only on your own home, check the lender rows above first, because NAB won't waive LMI on it.

A physio waiver can work on an investment, but the limit is 90% at NAB, ANZ, Westpac and St George, so plan on 10% plus costs. ubank's no-LMI loan also covers eligible investment purchases at 90%. We'd check the rent the bank will count, your existing debts and the repayment type before you commit.

A physio waiver covers the home loan only. Buying clinic premises is commercial finance, and the fit-out, equipment and goodwill need business lending. Those clinic debts also count when a bank works out what you can borrow for your home, so it helps to plan both before you sign either.

If a physio waiver fits, I'd usually start there. Unlike the scheme, it has no regional price cap, and nobody in your family has to put their home up as security. The scheme or a guarantor is the fallback when your registration, income or the property doesn't fit a waiver.

The Government 5% Deposit Scheme is available to eligible Australian citizens or permanent residents aged 18 or over who are first home buyers or haven't owned Australian property in the last 10 years. You need to live in the home, meet its location's price cap and apply through a participating lender for principal and interest repayments. There is no income cap, but lending approval still applies. The lender may require a deposit above 5%, so I'd check how much of your savings you can keep before setting your deposit.

A family guarantee may reduce or avoid LMI. The guarantor takes on financial risk and should get independent advice, including how the guarantee could be released. ANZ won't combine its physio waiver with a family guarantee, so at ANZ it's one or the other.

A standard loan with LMI or a larger deposit may work better overall. I'd compare the loan cost and cash remaining without assuming property prices or rates will move in your favour.

A home loan pre-approval can help set a budget. The bank still needs to accept the property and confirm any changes to your position before final approval.

We explain lender commission and any fees before you proceed. Our lender review method explains how we compare the options. You choose the lender.

More guides for your next step.