Home Loans for Physiotherapists

Written and reviewed by John Pierre Saliba, Director and Senior Finance Broker, MFAA Accredited, ACL 511092. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.

Physiotherapists can access home loans at up to 90% of a property's value with lenders mortgage insurance waived at some lenders, subject to assessment and current AHPRA registration. Physio sits in the second tier of professional lending: real concessions exist, but on narrower lists than doctors and dentists enjoy, and sometimes behind an income threshold. The equally important story is income assessment, because almost no mid-career physio has one tidy payslip: clinic employment, ABN contracting, NDIS caseloads and sports work stack together, and lenders differ sharply on how they add that stack up.

Key facts: home loans for physiotherapists, 2026
Maximum LVR without LMI	Up to 90% at some lenders; minimum income tests common, around $90,000+
Who qualifies	AHPRA-registered physiotherapists, employed, contracting or clinic owners
Mixed income	PAYG plus ABN streams assessed separately then combined, rules vary by lender
Clinic owners	1 to 2 years of financials; equipment and fit-out depreciation often added back
Documents needed	AHPRA registration, ID, payslips and/or invoices or financials, bank statements
Typical timeline	Pre-approval typically 2 to 5 business days with a complete file

All figures are general guides only, subject to individual lender assessment and your personal circumstances.

Do Physiotherapists Get LMI Waived in Australia in 2026?

At some lenders, yes, typically at up to 90% LVR with AHPRA registration and, at several lenders, a minimum income commonly around $90,000 or above. That is a genuine saving, commonly estimated at $20,000 or more on a typical purchase, but it is not universal policy, and a physio who walks into the wrong branch will be quoted LMI as if no concession existed anywhere. Where no waiver fits your profile, the fallbacks are reduced-LMI pricing, an 80% purchase, or government schemes; the LMI calculator quantifies the decision.

The Real Physio Problem: Income in Four Pieces

A representative mid-career file we see: three days employed at a private practice ($70,000), two days ABN contracting to an NDIS provider ($45,000), weekend sports coverage on invoice ($8,000), occasional locum blocks. Gross income well north of $120,000, yet some lenders would assess barely the employed portion. The levers:

History on the ABN streams. 6 to 12 months satisfies some lenders; others want a full tax return. Timing an application just after lodging a strong return can lift assessable income materially.
Consistency beats size. A steady $45,000 contract assesses better than a spiky $60,000 one at most credit teams.
Lender combination rules. The difference between a lender that adds your streams at face value and one that shades ABN income to 80% is often $80,000 to $120,000 of borrowing power.

Estimate your range in the borrowing power calculator, then have the stack assessed properly before you set a budget.

How Much Can a Physiotherapist Borrow?

Roughly 5.5 to 6.5 times assessed gross income as a guide, subject to serviceability, HECS, debts and expenses. The operative word is assessed: for mixed-income physios the spread between the most and least generous lender assessment of the same real income is wider than for almost any salaried profession.

Worked Example: $1,000,000 Purchase at 90% LVR

Illustrative only, excluding stamp duty and costs:

Standard 80% path: deposit $200,000, no LMI.
90% with LMI: deposit $100,000, LMI on a $900,000 loan commonly estimated around $20,000 to $24,000.
Professional concession at 90% (where available): deposit $100,000, LMI $0, an estimated saving of roughly $22,000.

All figures are estimates for illustration; actual premiums depend on lender, loan size and LVR.

Clinic Owners and Practice Debt

Physio clinic owners are assessed as self-employed: 1 to 2 years of financials, add-backs for depreciation on treatment tables, gym and rehab equipment and fit-out, and sensible treatment of equipment finance that clinic cash flow already services. Concession eligibility is unaffected by self-employment at the lenders that list physiotherapists. The wider toolkit is on our self-employed lending page, and premises purchases are handled separately under commercial lending.

HECS, Car Loans and the Quiet Borrowing Killers

Beyond the income stack, three line items quietly shrink physio borrowing power more than most applicants expect:

HECS-HELP. The compulsory repayment comes straight off assessable income. On a $115,000 income that is a five-figure annual reduction in what servicing calculations see.
Novated leases and car loans. A $700-a-month car commitment can reduce borrowing capacity by $100,000 or more under assessment buffers. If the lease ends within a few months, some lenders will disregard it; most will not.
Credit card limits. Lenders assess the limit, not the balance. Cutting an unused $20,000 limit to $5,000 before applying is free borrowing power.

None of these are physio-specific, but they bite harder on mixed-income files where every dollar of assessed income is already working. A 15-minute tidy-up before application routinely outperforms months of extra saving.

Documents a Physiotherapist Needs

Current AHPRA registration and photo ID
Employed hours: two recent payslips and contract
ABN hours: 6 to 12 months of invoices or latest tax return with notice of assessment
Clinic owners: 1 to 2 years of business and personal financials
Bank statements for deposit and conduct

Book a free 15-minute call with John Pierre Saliba

List your income streams for John, even the messy ones, and he will tell you what a lender will actually count, which concessions apply, and your realistic budget. Free, no obligation.

Book Free Call 02 8046 3933

Chiropractors face a near-identical policy map: home loans for chiropractors. Nurses and the broader allied health picture: nurses and allied health. The full tier system is on the healthcare eligibility page and the doctors hub; the complete guide is at professional LMI waivers.

John Pierre Saliba

Mortgage Broker & Director

MFAA Accredited · ACL 511092
Bachelor of Business & Commerce
Diploma in Mortgage Broking
Adv. Diploma Financial Planning
10+ years · 80 × 5-star reviews

Book Free Consult 02 8046 3933

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FAQs

Physiotherapist Home Loans, Common Questions

Do physiotherapists get an LMI waiver in Australia?

At some lenders, yes. Physiotherapists appear on the extended professional lists of a number of lenders, typically at up to 90 per cent LVR with no LMI, subject to AHPRA registration, minimum income tests at some lenders, and standard assessment. The lists are narrower than for doctors, so lender choice is decisive.

How do lenders treat mixed PAYG and ABN physio income?

Each stream is assessed under its own rules: the employed portion from payslips, the ABN portion from invoices or tax returns, usually with 6 to 12 months of history for the contractor side. Some lenders combine the streams generously while others discount the ABN portion heavily, so the lender decides how much of your real income counts.

Is NDIS-funded work treated differently by lenders?

The funding source does not change the assessment category; what matters is whether the income is employee pay or business income, and how consistent it is. A practice with a strong NDIS caseload often shows very stable revenue, which presents well once documented properly.

Can a physio clinic owner qualify for the concessions?

Yes, at the lenders that list physiotherapists. Clinic owners are assessed on 1 to 2 years of business and personal financials, with depreciation and one-off costs often added back. Concession eligibility rides on registration; the financials set the loan size.

Do sports physios on team contracts have trouble getting loans?

Fixed-term team and event contracts are workable at lenders comfortable with contract income, especially alongside clinic work. The file is presented as a career with multiple engagements rather than a single short contract, which is exactly how experienced credit teams read it.

What if no waiver is available to me?

Then the choice is paying LMI at 90 per cent, buying at 80 per cent, or using government schemes such as the Home Guarantee Scheme for eligible first home buyers. Paying some LMI to buy years earlier is sometimes the better financial decision; we model it rather than assume.

Is it worth refinancing for a 0.25% rate cut?

Often, yes, on larger balances. A 0.25% cut on a $600,000 loan saves about $91 a month, roughly $1,095 a year, which typically repays switching costs inside a year. Below that, the case depends on your balance, remaining term and fees; John runs the break-even numbers for you for free.

What is the home loan loyalty tax?

It is the gap between the discounted rates lenders advertise to new borrowers and the higher back-book rates existing customers quietly drift onto. The longer you stay, the wider it tends to get. Refinancing, or the credible threat of it, is how borrowers claw that margin back.

Can I get cash out when I refinance?

Yes, if you have enough equity. A cash-out refinance increases your loan against your property's current value and releases the difference for renovations, investment or debt consolidation, subject to lender assessment. John settled multiple seven-figure cash-out refinances across Sydney in 2026.