If you are a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant buying property in Australia, there is a good chance you can avoid lenders mortgage insurance entirely. Plenty of people in those professions pay it anyway, because their own bank did not mention it and they did not know to ask.
On a $900,000 purchase with a 10% deposit, LMI is commonly somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000. At a 5% deposit it can pass $30,000. Avoiding that is usually the largest single saving available to an eligible borrower, and it is worth more than any rate negotiation you are likely to win.
Why lenders do this
LMI protects the lender, not you, against the loss if you default and the property sells for less than the loan balance. Above 80% LVR most lenders require it.
A waiver is not a favour. It is a risk judgement. Lenders look at certain professions and see stable, high, resilient income with low historical default rates, and decide the insurance is not worth requiring. Medical practitioners have the strongest data behind them, which is why medical waivers are the most widely available and go to the highest LVRs.
Which lenders actually offer them
This is where it gets specific, and where going to your own bank first can cost you five figures.
Of the ten lenders NIK Finance models in full policy detail:
| Lender | Professional LMI waiver | |---|---| | ANZ | Yes. Medical, accounting and legal, to 90 to 95% LVR | | CBA | Yes. Medico Plus+ to 94.99% LVR | | NAB | Yes. Medical to 95%, finance and legal to 90% | | HSBC | Yes. Medical to 90% LVR | | Macquarie | No. Discontinued | | ME Bank | No | | Qudos Bank | No | | Great Southern Bank | Not stated | | Firstmac | No | | Bluestone | No. Charges a risk fee instead of LMI |
Four of ten. If you walk into a branch of one of the other six, nobody is going to tell you that the bank across the road would have waived $22,000 for you.
These are ten of the 130+ lenders we have access to, and the ten whose policies we model in the most depth. The wider panel includes further options.
The professions, roughly ranked by access
Medical. The widest access and the highest LVRs. Generally includes doctors, dentists, specialists, and often veterinarians and optometrists. Some lenders extend to other AHPRA registered practitioners, and the exact list differs between lenders more than people expect.
Legal. Solicitors and barristers, usually at 90% rather than 95%. Availability is narrower than medical.
Accounting. Qualified accountants, typically requiring membership of CA ANZ, CPA Australia or IPA. Usually 90%.
Finance and other. A smaller group of lenders extend waivers to selected finance professionals, actuaries and engineers. This varies most between lenders and changes most often.
Do not assume your profession is excluded because one lender said no. The lists genuinely differ.
What lenders usually require
- Current registration or membership with the relevant body. AHPRA for medical, a state law society for solicitors, CA ANZ or CPA for accountants.
- A minimum income, at some lenders. Thresholds vary and some have none.
- Owner-occupied or investment, depending on the lender. Not every waiver extends to investment purchases.
- A maximum loan size. Waivers usually cap out at a loan amount, which matters if you are buying in Sydney.
- Employment type. Self-employed practitioners can qualify, though the financials requirement still applies. See self-employed home loans.
What it is actually worth
Take a $1,000,000 purchase with a 10% deposit, so a $900,000 loan at 90% LVR.
LMI on that is commonly in the region of $20,000 to $30,000 depending on the insurer and lender. Most borrowers capitalise it into the loan rather than paying cash, which means borrowing it and paying interest on it for the life of the loan. At 6% over 25 years, capitalised LMI of $25,000 costs closer to $48,000 in total.
The waiver removes all of that.
Do not take the waiver blindly
A waiver at a poor rate can be worse than LMI at a good one, particularly at lower LVRs where the premium is small.
At 85% LVR, LMI on a $700,000 loan might be $8,000. If the waiver lender's rate is 0.30% higher, that is about $2,100 a year on that balance, so the rate difference overtakes the LMI saving in under four years.
At 95% LVR the maths is completely different and the waiver almost always wins, because the premium is so much larger.
Run both. That is the point of comparing lenders rather than accepting the first offer.
If you also qualify for the First Home Guarantee
Some borrowers qualify for both a professional waiver and the First Home Guarantee, which also removes LMI at a 5% deposit.
They are worth comparing rather than assuming one is better:
- The First Home Guarantee has property price caps by region. Professional waivers do not.
- The guarantee requires you to be a first home buyer. Waivers do not.
- The guarantee is owner-occupier only. Some professional waivers extend to investment.
- Participating lenders do not always offer their best rate on guarantee-backed loans.
If you are a first home buyer doctor purchasing above the price cap for your region, the professional waiver is the only one of the two available to you. That situation is more common in Sydney than people realise.
How to find out where you stand
Do not apply to three lenders to see who waives. Every application leaves an enquiry on your credit file, and a cluster of them works against you at whoever looks next.
Get your Kreddi Score first. It shows your position across credit health, debt efficiency, asset strength, cash flow and borrowing power, and which lenders you qualify for today, including professional eligibility, with no credit impact.
Then apply once, to the right one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which professions get LMI waivers in Australia? Medical professions have the widest access, with several lenders waiving LMI to 90 or 95 percent LVR. Legal and accounting professions qualify with a smaller group of lenders, usually at lower maximum LVRs. Some lenders also extend waivers to selected finance and engineering roles.
How much is an LMI waiver worth? On a $900,000 purchase with a 10 percent deposit, lenders mortgage insurance is commonly $15,000 to $25,000. At a 5 percent deposit it can exceed $30,000. The waiver removes that premium entirely, which is usually the largest single saving available to an eligible borrower.
Do all lenders offer professional LMI waivers? No. Of the ten lenders NIK Finance models in detail, four offer professional LMI waivers and the rest do not. One discontinued its waiver programme entirely. Which lender you apply to therefore matters more than almost any other decision in the process.
Do I need to be a member of a professional body? Usually yes. Most lenders require current registration or membership with a recognised body, such as AHPRA for medical practitioners or a state law society for solicitors. Some also set a minimum income threshold or require a minimum period of registration.
Can I get an LMI waiver as a first home buyer? Yes, if you meet the profession criteria. Professional waivers are separate from the First Home Guarantee and have no price caps or first home buyer requirement. If you qualify for both it is worth comparing, because the rates on offer can differ.
See Which Lenders Will Waive Your LMI
Waiver eligibility turns on your exact occupation, your registration, your LVR and the lender's current policy, and those four things rarely line up the same way twice.
Your Kreddi Score assesses your profile against the lender policies we model, including professional waiver criteria, and shows where you qualify before you make a single application. It takes about 15 minutes and does not touch your credit file.
Lender policy changes. The waiver positions described here reflect the lender policies modelled by NIK Finance and should be confirmed at the time of application. This is general information, not personal advice. NIK Finance Pty Ltd is a Credit Representative (567387) of Finsure Finance & Insurance Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 384704.