Written and reviewed by John Pierre Saliba, Director and Senior Finance Broker, MFAA Accredited, ACL 511092. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
Optometrists in Australia are on the professional LMI-waiver lists at many lenders: typically up to 90% LVR with no lenders mortgage insurance, and up to 95% at some, subject to assessment and current AHPRA registration. Optometry is one of the quieter beneficiaries of professional lending policy; plenty of optometrists assume the waivers are a doctors-only club and pay LMI they never needed to. The profession's three working modes, corporate employment, locum work and independent practice, each meet policy differently, so this page walks through all three.
All figures are general guides only, subject to individual lender assessment and your personal circumstances.
Do Optometrists Pay LMI in Australia in 2026?
Often they do not need to. Optometry's combination of AHPRA registration, high employment stability and strong income puts the profession on many lenders' waiver lists, usually alongside dentists and vets at the 90% tier, with a smaller group of lenders extending 95%. Where an income minimum applies it commonly sits at $90,000 or above, which most full-time optometrists clear. The premium being avoided is material: commonly estimated in the low- to mid-$20,000s on a typical Sydney purchase at 90% LVR. Check your own scenario with the LMI calculator.
Corporate, Locum or Independent: How Your Income Is Read
Salaried at a corporate group
The cleanest file in the profession. Base salary assesses at face value; retail bonuses and KPI incentives are counted at 80% to 100% depending on lender and consistency. Pre-approval on these files is fast.
Locum optometry
Day rates across multiple stores read as contractor income. Expect to show 6 to 12 months of invoicing or a tax return; lenders differ on whether they average the full period or annualise the recent run-rate, which matters if your locum calendar has been building. Multiple concurrent engagements are normal and financeable at the right lender.
Independent practice owners
Assessed on 1 to 2 years of business and personal financials. Depreciation on OCT scanners, phoropters, edging equipment and fit-out can often be added back to income, and existing equipment finance is weighed against the practice cash flow that services it. The waiver eligibility itself is unchanged; see also our self-employed lending page.
How Much Can an Optometrist Borrow?
As a working guide, roughly 5.5 to 6.5 times assessed gross income, subject to serviceability, debts and living costs. A full-time optometrist on $140,000 might support lending in the vicinity of $750,000 to $900,000, subject to assessment; a practice-owner couple substantially more. Start with the borrowing power calculator and we will refine against actual lender policy.
Worked Example: $1.1M Purchase, 90% vs 80%
Illustrative only, excluding stamp duty and costs:
- Standard 80% path: deposit $220,000, no LMI, longest saving runway.
- 90% with LMI: deposit $110,000, LMI on a $990,000 loan commonly estimated around $22,000 to $27,000.
- Optometrist waiver at 90%: deposit $110,000, LMI $0, an estimated saving of roughly $25,000 and a deposit timeline cut in half.
Estimates for illustration; actual premiums vary by lender, loan size and LVR.
Why Optometrists Often Overpay LMI
Of the professions on the waiver lists, optometry is the one we most often meet after the damage is done: an optometrist who bought two years ago, paid a five-figure LMI premium, and only later learned their registration would have waived it. The pattern has two causes. First, the profession sits just outside the "doctors and dentists" shorthand that most online guides use, so optometrists assume the policy excludes them. Second, branch staff at lenders without an optometry list will truthfully say "no waiver here" without mentioning that the lender across the road has one.
If that already happened to you, it is not necessarily sunk cost. Refinancing out of an LMI-paying loan will not refund the premium, but it can reset the rate and structure, and if your property has grown into an 80% LVR position the whole question disappears. We run that comparison through our refinance savings calculator as part of any review.
What Documents Do Optometrists Need?
- Current AHPRA registration and photo ID
- Employed: two recent payslips and employment contract
- Locum: 6 to 12 months of invoices or most recent tax return with notice of assessment
- Practice owners: 1 to 2 years of business and personal financials
- Bank statements for deposit and account conduct
With a complete file, pre-approval typically lands in 2 to 5 business days. We confirm waiver eligibility with the lender in writing before you spend money on valuations or legal work.
Book a free 15-minute call with John Pierre Saliba
Fifteen minutes with John confirms your waiver tier, deposit and borrowing range across a number of lenders. Free, no obligation, and no credit enquiry until you decide to proceed.
Related Pages
Optometry sits near the top of the waiver landscape; see how the whole map fits together on the doctors and medical professionals hub and the healthcare eligibility page. Neighbouring professions: dentists, vets, physiotherapists. Full guide: professional LMI waivers.
