Can temporary and agency workers get a home loan?

Emily was a registered nurse paid as a PAYG casual through a healthcare staffing agency. She earned $55 an hour, or about $2,200 a week.

She had worked through the same agency for 14 months across 3 hospitals. The placements ran for 6 months, 5 months and 3 months, with gaps of 1 week and 4 days.

The first lender focused on her 3 months at the current hospital. That produced borrowing capacity of about $380k, which did not cover the $540k property she wanted to buy.

Borrowing capacity and purchase price are different figures. These are the figures from Emily's assessment, not what another worker will be able to borrow.

I asked the agency for a letter confirming Emily's 14 months with them, and for written confirmation that the current placement had been extended. I combined those documents with her 12 months of PAYG income history. The assessment moved to about $620k. Her $540k purchase was fully approved with a 12% deposit, and lenders mortgage insurance was added to the loan.

The documents showed who employed Emily, her time with the agency and her income history. Her current placement remained temporary.

"Agency worker" does not tell a lender how you are paid. Two people at the same workplace may need different evidence because one is PAYG and the other invoices through an ABN.

Start with the employment contract and the name on the payslip. The business where you turn up for work may be your workplace, while the agency remains your employer.

This is the common labour-hire relationship. Your contract may show a different arrangement.

Fair Work Ombudsman explains that a labour-hire employer hires and pays the employee, then sends them to work for a host. That is why I check the employer named in your documents.

The payslip and contract name the agency. I then check whether the role is permanent, part-time, casual or fixed-term.

The host pays you directly. The agency may only have introduced the role, so the host employment history is likely to matter.

This may be contractor or self-employed income. Use the self-employed home loan guide before relying on PAYG rules.

Not always. If the same agency still employs and pays you, several workplace placements can form one employment history.

I map 5 dates:

1. when the agency first employed you

2. when each workplace placement started and ended

3. the length of every gap

4. when your current rate or hours changed

5. when the current placement is expected to end

Emily's host history was 6 months, 5 months and 3 months. Looking only at the last placement hid the 14-month relationship with the agency. The letters did not remove the gaps. They made the full timeline clear.

Changing agencies is different from starting at a new workplace. A new agency can restart some bank rules. Other banks may consider earlier work in the same field or accept short gaps, so the exact timeline still matters.

6 months is a common starting point, but whose history counts matters. I check your time with the agency, the current placement, your occupation and any short gaps between roles.

I compared 7 lenders for this guide. The main difference is which part of your work history they look at.

Lender reviews: Westpac; St George; Macquarie; CBA; Bankwest.

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.

Working through an agency or temporary contract? I can check who employs and pays you, your time with the agency, earlier roles and any gaps, then compare the current options.

Emily's 14 months with one agency is stronger under a same-agency rule than 3 months at the host. A worker who changed agencies may need a same-field rule instead. That is why the correct lender is not decided by the weekly pay alone.

Passing the work-history rule does not settle the income figure. Casual hours, penalties, overtime and allowances may each need their own history.

At $2,200 a week, the yearly income figure depends on the number of weeks used:

This example uses Emily's approximate weekly pay, not her lender's calculation. Current casual-income policies include 52, 48 and 46-week methods, while other lenders use year-to-date or salary-credit averages.

The spread is $13,200 before any other part of the application changes. If your latest placement pays more, I compare the current rate with the longer year-to-date and prior-year pattern rather than assuming the highest 2 payslips will be repeated.

The year-to-date calculator can turn your year-to-date pay into a yearly estimate. It does not decide which period or number of weeks a lender will use.

Start with 4 facts. Confirm who pays you, your employment type, total time with that employer and the dates of every workplace placement or gap.

Your documents should let the assessor match the contract and payslips to each placement.

1. Employment contract. It should show which agency employs you, whether you are PAYG or invoicing through an ABN, your employment type and any guaranteed hours.

2. Recent payslips. Use enough to show the usual hours and variable income across more than one pay cycle.

3. Year-to-date and prior-year income evidence. This shows whether the recent pay is supported by a longer pattern.

4. Placement timeline. List each host, start date, end date and gap.

5. Agency letter. Ask for the original employment date, current placement, normal hours and whether the employment continues beyond a host change, where accurate.

6. Placement extension. If the current assignment has been extended, include the signed confirmation.

Do not ask the agency to guarantee future work it cannot guarantee. A precise letter describing the real arrangement is more useful than a broad promise that conflicts with the contract.

If you are paid through an ABN, do not relabel the income as PAYG. Start with the contractor income guide and the self-employed guide so the documents match how you are actually paid. If the setup spans agency PAYG, casual and contractor income, use the income and employment home loan guide to check which rules apply to each part of your income.

I would not answer that from the workplace start date alone. I compare what can work today with what changes after another pay cycle or more time with the agency.

If the move into agency work is also a brand new job, the new job guide explains the timing checks. For ordinary casual employment without agency placements, use the casual employment guide.

Send me the payslips, contract and placement timeline before another application is submitted.

When these rules were checked: The lender rules on this page were checked on 30 and 31 July 2026. Lenders can change their rules and assess the employment arrangement, income, deposit, credit history and property individually.

Hunter Galloway. Australian Credit Licence 389328. Credit Representative 000476903. This page contains general information and is not a credit assessment, 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.