While policies vary between lenders, most essential-worker or healthcare LMI waiver offers require borrowers to meet the following criteria:
You must work in a recognised essential or healthcare role.
Depending on the lender, this can include:
Registered nurses
Midwives
Paramedics
Police officers
Firefighters
Teachers
Aged-care or disability-care workers (select lenders)
Other frontline workers that the lender deems eligible
Healthcare-specific schemes may extend to:
Nurse practitioners
Radiographers
Pharmacists
Allied health professionals (case-by-case)
If you are in a healthcare role, lenders may require you to be registered with the relevant body, for example:
AHPRA registration for nurses, midwives, allied health
Current practising certificate where required
Some essential-worker roles, like police or teachers, must provide evidence of employment with a recognised public or private institution.
Most lenders require:
Permanent full-time or part-time employment
Strong and consistent income history
Probation completion (preferred but varies)
For casual workers: a long and stable employment history
Some lenders allow shift-loading and overtime to be included in income assessment.
Essential-worker concessions usually require:
Clean credit history
No unpaid defaults
No recent hardship arrangements
Responsible use of existing credit
This is important because waived-LMI loans involve higher lending risk.
Even with an LMI waiver, lenders still assess:
Your borrowing capacity
Your living expenses
Your existing debts
Your savings conduct
Loan affordability under buffer rates
Lenders often require the property to:
Be owner-occupied (investment sometimes excluded)
Be a standard, marketable dwelling (not high-risk security)
Be in a major metro area or strong regional centre
Meet minimum valuation standards
Depending on the lender, typical limits include:
Up to 90% LVR without LMI
Some lenders allow up to 95% LVR for select essential workers
Minimum 5–10% genuine savings may be required
