Written and reviewed by John Pierre Saliba, Director and Senior Finance Broker, MFAA Accredited, ACL 511092. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
Veterinarians in Australia can typically borrow up to 90%, and at some lenders 95%, of a property's value with lenders mortgage insurance waived, subject to assessment and current registration with your state Veterinary Practitioners Board. Vets are one of the handful of professions on the top-tier waiver lists alongside doctors and dentists, yet the profession has quirks the standard medico write-ups skip: heavy HECS balances against moderate starting salaries, practice and equipment debt arriving early, and a workforce that genuinely buys property in regional postcodes. This page covers the policy and the quirks.
All figures are general guides only, subject to individual lender assessment and your personal circumstances.
Do Vets Pay LMI in Australia in 2026?
Usually not, when the loan is placed with a lender whose list includes veterinarians, and many lists do. The standard shape: up to 90% LVR with no LMI widely available, 95% at a smaller group of lenders, income minimums around $90,000 at some, and registration with your state board as the qualifying credential (NSW vets: the Veterinary Practitioners Board of NSW; some lenders also ask for AVA membership as supporting evidence). On a typical purchase the waived premium is commonly estimated in the $20,000s; run your figures through the LMI calculator.
How Much Can a Vet Borrow in 2026?
The usual guide applies: roughly 5.5 to 6.5 times assessed gross income, subject to serviceability. For vets two factors drag the number more than for other waiver professions:
- HECS-HELP. Veterinary science leaves some of the largest HECS balances of any degree, and the compulsory repayment reduces assessable income at every lender. We model applications with and without a partial paydown to see which uses your cash better.
- Moderate early-career salaries. New graduate salaries in companion-animal practice often sit below the waiver income minimums at some lenders, which simply means starting at the 90% tier with a lender that has no minimum, then stepping up later.
Estimate your figure in the borrowing power calculator; a couple with one vet income and one other professional income is a very common and very bankable file.
Worked Example: $1,050,000 Purchase at 90% LVR
Illustrative only, excluding stamp duty and costs. An experienced small-animal vet buying at $1,050,000:
- Standard 80% path: deposit $210,000, no LMI, years of extra saving.
- 90% with LMI: deposit $105,000, LMI on a $945,000 loan commonly estimated around $21,000 to $25,000.
- Vet waiver at 90%: deposit $105,000, LMI $0, an estimated saving of roughly $23,000.
Figures are estimates for illustration; premiums vary by lender, loan size and LVR.
Practice Owners: Equipment Debt and Clinic Accounts
Vets buy into practices early and bring the balance sheet with them: imaging equipment, anaesthetic machines, in-house pathology, vehicle fleets for mixed practice, often on finance. None of it removes waiver eligibility. It lands in serviceability, where lenders differ on how heavily business debt counts when clinic cash flow clearly services it, and in income assessment, where depreciation on all that equipment can often be added back. Practice owners typically show 1 to 2 years of financials; the broader structure questions live on our self-employed lending page.
Regional and Rural Purchases
A meaningful share of the profession works outside the capitals, and this is where vet files need real care. The waiver itself travels at many lenders, but security rules tighten: some lenders cap LVR lower in regional postcodes, exclude properties over a certain land size, or require minimum town populations. A vet buying 10 hectares outside a regional centre is a different file from one buying in metropolitan Sydney, financeable, but with a shorter list of willing lenders. We check the exact postcode and property type against policy before anything is lodged, not after.
Why Vets Should Not Take the First Quote
Veterinarians sit on enough waiver lists to have genuine choice, which is exactly why the first quote is rarely the best one. Between the 90% and 95% tiers, income minimums that some lenders apply and others do not, postcode rules on regional security, and pricing that varies with loan size, the same vet can receive materially different offers from lenders who would all say yes. We put the realistic options side by side, with the waiver confirmed in writing, before you commit to anything, and the comparison costs you nothing.
Documents a Vet Needs
- Current state Veterinary Practitioners Board registration and photo ID
- Employed vets: two recent payslips and employment contract
- Locums: 6 to 12 months of invoices or latest tax return
- Practice owners: 1 to 2 years of business and personal financials with notices of assessment
- Bank statements for deposit and conduct
Pre-approval typically takes 2 to 5 business days on a complete file, and we obtain written confirmation of waiver eligibility before you commit to valuation or legal costs.
Book a free 15-minute call with John Pierre Saliba
Tell John the postcode and price you are looking at and he will confirm the waiver tier, the postcode rules and your deposit on one call. Free, no obligation.
Related Pages
Vets share top-tier status with dentists and optometrists; the full landscape is mapped on the doctors and medical professionals hub and the healthcare eligibility page. Complete guide: professional LMI waivers. Or just get in touch.
