Home Loans for Doctors: LMI Waivers by Lender

Eight lender groups publish an LMI waiver for doctors, and five of the brands let you borrow up to 95% of the value with no LMI. For doctors and other medical professionals, the catch is in the detail: registration type, loan limits, investment rules and how your income is assessed differ from bank to bank.

In short

Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and ANZ waive LMI for doctors up to 95% LVR, with no minimum income published.
CommBank, NAB and BOQ Specialist name doctors but do not publish an LVR, so ask them for their limit.
Interns and residents are named at the Westpac group and CommBank. ANZ and Suncorp Bank require general or specialist registration.
Macquarie offers no LMI waiver for any occupation. It charges its own Low Deposit Fee instead.

Which lenders waive LMI?

GPs and medical specialists have the widest choice of any occupation. The table lists each lender's own published rules as at 29 September 2026, including the lender that says no. Dentists are named by most of the same lenders: see home loans for dentists.

Published LMI waiver policies, checked 29 September 2026
Lender	Status	Max LVR	Conditions	Investment loans
Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA	Waiver	95%	No minimum income. GPs, specialists and hospital-employed doctors named. Westpac and St.George cap the loan at $5m, with $7.5m total lending under the waiver.	Yes, up to 95% under the Medico policy
ANZ	Waiver	95%	Borrow $4.75m or less, total ANZ home lending $8m or less. AHPRA general or specialist registration. You must hold the largest or an equal largest share of the property.	Case by case, ANZ sets the deposit
CommBank	Waiver	Not published (deposit from 10%)	GPs, medical specialists and junior doctors named. No income or loan limit published.	Yes, under the health package
NAB	Waiver	Not published	GPs and specialists named, including anaesthetists, surgeons, physicians, psychiatrists, radiologists and paediatricians. Current AHPRA registration.	Not stated
Suncorp Bank	Waiver (offer, can be withdrawn)	90%	Loans from $250,000 to $1.5m. AHPRA generalist or specialist registration only; provisional and non-practising registration excluded.	Yes
BOQ Specialist	No LMI for its clients	90% (an article says up to 100% owner-occupied)	Doctors are a target client group. Eligibility criteria are not published.	Yes
Auswide Bank	No LMI required	90%	GPs, specialists and radiologists named. Hospital-employed doctors need 12 months of employment.	Yes
BCU Bank and P&N Bank	Waiver (offer, can be withdrawn)	90%	Doctors named. Minimum loan $250,000, principal and interest, direct applications only, probation completed, eligible locations.	No, owner-occupied only
Macquarie	No waiver	Not applicable	Macquarie charges its own Low Deposit Fee above 80% LVR and says it offers no LMI waivers.	Not applicable

Lenders' own published policies, checked 29 September 2026. A policy is not an approval: each lender assesses your application and can change or withdraw an offer.

How much LMI does a waiver save?

A waiver removes the whole premium. At 95% LVR, published lender figures put the LMI you would otherwise pay at about:

Home price	Loan at 95%	Typical LMI	Published range
$600,000	$570,000	$24,000	$16,800 to $30,000
$800,000	$760,000	$31,900	$22,400 to $40,000
$1,000,000	$950,000	$39,900	$28,000 to $50,000 (rougher guide)

NSW, where there is no duty on LMI. Other states add 9% to 11% to the premium. Built from LMI figures Australian lenders publish.

Estimate the LMI for your own loan

Junior doctors: interns, residents and registrars

Whether you qualify early in your career depends more on the lender than on your salary. Three lender groups name hospital or junior doctors outright, two require general or specialist registration, and the rest say nothing either way.

Lender	Junior doctors
Westpac group	Interns, residents, registrars and staff specialists named, 95% with no minimum income
CommBank	Interns, residents, registrars and supervised doctors named
Auswide Bank	Hospital-employed doctors with at least 12 months of employment, 90%
ANZ and Suncorp Bank	General or specialist registration only; provisional and non-practising registration not eligible

Check your AHPRA registration type before you apply. If it is anything other than general or specialist registration, start with the Westpac group or CommBank.

How lenders assess a doctor's income

How a lender reads your income depends on how you are paid. If a hospital employs you, Westpac and St.George can count 100% of your overtime and allowances as income. St.George needs 6 months of income evidence with the same employer, and says you do not have to choose between this and the LMI waiver. APRA's guidance to banks says prudent practice is to discount most non-salary income, such as overtime and bonuses, by at least 20%, so counting it in full lifts your assessed income.

Interns, residents and registrars need no minimum income for the Westpac group's 95% waiver. APRA also expects lenders to confirm whether you are permanent, a contractor or on a fixed-term contract, so keep your contract with your payslips.

If you work as a locum or own a practice and bill through an ABN, a company or a trust, lenders assess you as self-employed. St.George says you may still get the waiver whatever your contractor type, and NAB says its waiver now covers self-employed medical practitioners. The paperwork differs:

Income documents for self-employed doctors by lender
Lender	What self-employed doctors provide
Westpac and St.George	Fast Track: your last 2 years of personal ATO notices of assessment. Normally up to 80% LVR, but eligible medical applicants keep the 95% waiver. The business must have traded for 2 full financial years.
CommBank	Personal tax returns for the last 2 years, the latest notice of assessment, the latest business tax return and 2 years of profit and loss. A shorter list applies if you pay yourself a regular salary.
ANZ	Usually 1 financial year of tax statements. If you draw director's fees or dividends, your ABN or ACN must be valid for 2 years.
NAB	Personal and business tax returns for 2 years. One year's financials only at 80% LVR or less.
Auswide Bank	The loan can be in a related company or trust that you own or direct.

ANZ's 5% deposit also assumes you already borrow from ANZ or have a debt-to-income ratio under 6.

Loan limits and ownership rules

Doctors often borrow more than most buyers, so the lender's cap matters. Westpac and St.George lend up to $5 million on one loan, with $7.5 million total lending under the waiver. ANZ allows $4.75 million on the loan and $8 million total ANZ home lending, on a house valued up to $5 million or a unit up to $4 million.

ANZ also requires you to hold the largest or an equal largest share of the property. If you buy with a partner who is not a doctor, check how the title will be split before you apply. At the other end, Suncorp Bank and BCU Bank set a minimum loan of $250,000.

What if you are not eligible?

If your registration or lender does not fit, ubank charges no LMI up to 90% for any occupation, on owner-occupied and investment principal and interest purchases. As a first home buyer, the 5% Deposit Scheme removes LMI with a 5% deposit, within its price caps.

A family guarantee, such as Westpac's Family Security Guarantee or St.George's Family Pledge, can also bring the loan under the LMI line.

Compare every route in how to avoid LMI, or see all professions in LMI waiver rules.

Frequently asked questions

Can junior doctors get an LMI waiver?

Yes, at some lenders. Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA name interns, residents, registrars and staff specialists, and CommBank names interns, residents, registrars and supervised doctors. ANZ and Suncorp Bank require general or specialist registration, so they will not waive LMI on provisional or non-practising registration.

Do I need a minimum income as a doctor?

Not at the Westpac group, which publishes no minimum income for doctors, and ANZ states none on its sheet. CommBank, NAB and BOQ Specialist do not publish their income rules, so ask them directly.

Can I use the doctor waiver on an investment property?

Often, yes. Westpac's broker policy allows up to 95% with no LMI for eligible healthcare professionals, CommBank's health package covers investment loans, and Suncorp Bank and Auswide Bank include investors. ANZ decides the deposit for an investment loan case by case, and BCU Bank and P&N Bank are owner-occupied only.

Can locum or self-employed doctors get the LMI waiver?

Yes, at several lenders. St.George says you may be eligible for its waiver whatever your contractor type, with self-employed contractors assessed under its self-employed income rules, and NAB says its waiver program now includes self-employed medical practitioners. Westpac's Fast Track assessment asks for your last two years of personal ATO notices of assessment and still allows the 95% waiver for eligible medical applicants.

Does Macquarie waive LMI for doctors?

No. Macquarie says it does not offer LMI waivers, or an equivalent for its own Low Deposit Fee, on home loans above 80% LVR. Some broker articles say otherwise, but Macquarie's own help centre is clear.

Is there a limit on how much a doctor can borrow with the waiver?

Yes, and it differs by lender. Westpac and St.George cap the loan at $5 million, with $7.5 million total lending under the waiver. ANZ caps it at $4.75 million, with $8 million total ANZ home lending. Suncorp Bank's offer covers loans from $250,000 to $1.5 million.

Sources

Each source was checked on 29 September 2026.

Researched and maintained by

Andrew Wortman

PhD in Financial Studies, 5 years in finance

Every figure on this page comes from a lender, insurer, government or regulator source listed above. Read our editorial policy.

Published: 29 September 2026