Written and reviewed by John Pierre Saliba, Director and Senior Finance Broker, MFAA Accredited, ACL 511092. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.
Here is the honest version: nurses and most allied health workers do not get the full 95% no-LMI medico waiver that doctors, dentists and vets get. What you typically can access is a concession tier, around 85% to 90% LVR with reduced or waived LMI at a limited set of lenders, subject to assessment. And for shift workers there is a second lever that is frequently worth more than any waiver: a handful of lenders assess 100% of your penalty rates, shift loadings and regular overtime instead of discounting them. This page covers both, without overpromising.
All figures are general guides only, subject to individual lender assessment and your personal circumstances.
Do Nurses Get an LMI Waiver in Australia in 2026?
Not the headline one. The 90% to 95% no-LMI policies you may have read about on this site are built for a short list of professions, and nursing is generally not on it. What exists instead, at a smaller set of lenders, is a concession tier: reduced or waived LMI at around 85% to 90% LVR for essential and healthcare workers, subject to normal assessment. It is genuinely useful, it is just not the same product, and any broker who tells a nurse otherwise is setting up disappointment at credit assessment.
Before you anchor on professional policy at all, check the government route: the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme allows eligible buyers to purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI, within property price caps. For many nurses buying a first home, that beats every professional concession in the market. We compare both paths side by side as a matter of course.
How Do Lenders Assess Shift Income, Penalty Rates and Overtime?
This is where nursing applications are most often undersold. A ward nurse's base salary might be $75,000 while actual gross earnings with nights, weekends and overtime run past $100,000. Lenders split three ways on that gap:
- 100% assessment. Some lenders count all regular overtime and penalty income for essential workers, including nurses, midwives and paramedics, usually wanting 3 to 12 months of consistency.
- 80% assessment. The common middle position: loadings shaded by a fifth.
- Base-salary-only. The worst case, still applied by some credit teams to income they consider variable.
On $25,000 of annual penalty income, the difference between 100% and 80% assessment is roughly $30,000 of borrowing power; against base-only it can exceed $100,000. Choosing the lender before lodging, rather than arguing afterwards, is the whole game. Estimate your range in the borrowing power calculator.
Agency Nursing, Casual Contracts and Multiple Employers
Agency and casual nursing pays well precisely because it is flexible, and lenders price that flexibility as risk. The practical rules of thumb: 6 to 12 months of consistent agency history satisfies most concession-friendly lenders; two casual employers are fine if both show a pattern; recent gaps need a one-line explanation, not an apology. Midwives and theatre nurses juggling a permanent fraction plus agency shifts are a common file for us, and entirely financeable at the right lender.
Worked Example: $850,000 Purchase for a Nurse Couple
Illustrative figures only, excluding stamp duty and costs. Combined assessed income $185,000 including loadings:
- Standard 90% path: deposit $85,000, LMI on a $765,000 loan commonly estimated around $15,000 to $19,000.
- Healthcare concession at 90% (where available): deposit $85,000, LMI reduced or waived, an estimated saving of up to that same $15,000 to $19,000, subject to lender and assessment.
- Home Guarantee Scheme (if eligible and under caps): deposit from $42,500, LMI $0.
Three legitimate paths, different trade-offs in rate, speed and eligibility. We model all three before recommending one, consistent with our Best Interests Duty.
Which Allied Health Professions Get What?
Allied health sits on a spectrum rather than a single policy. Physiotherapists, and at some lenders chiropractors, optometrists and pharmacists, can reach 90% no-LMI lists; see the dedicated pages for physiotherapists, chiropractors and optometrists. Occupational therapists, speech pathologists, psychologists, podiatrists, radiographers, sonographers and paramedics are more commonly in concession territory alongside nursing. The full tier map is on our healthcare eligibility page, and the doctor-level policies are explained on the doctors hub.
Documents Nurses and Allied Health Workers Need
- AHPRA (or relevant board) registration where applicable, and photo ID
- Permanent staff: two recent payslips showing loadings, plus a year-to-date figure
- Agency and casual: 6 to 12 months of payslips or a PAYG summary and recent tax return
- Bank statements for deposit savings and account conduct
Pre-approval typically takes 2 to 5 business days once documents are complete. Estimate any LMI payable in the LMI calculator before you assume the worst; concessions and schemes remove it more often than people expect.
Book a free 15-minute call with John Pierre Saliba
John will tell you in fifteen minutes whether a healthcare concession, a government scheme or plain sharp pricing is your best path, and what your shift income really supports. Free, honest, no obligation.
