If you work in medicine, law, accounting, finance, engineering or allied health, there is a good chance a lender will let you borrow up to 90% — and in some cases 95% — of a property’s value without charging you Lenders Mortgage Insurance. On a $700,000 purchase with a 10% deposit, that is roughly $26,740 you do not pay.
The catch is that eligibility is set by each lender individually. The same person, in the same job, with the same deposit can qualify at one bank and be declined at another. Here is the 2026 eligible list, what it is worth, and why your lender matters more than your job title.
An LMI Waiver Removes the Insurance Premium, Not the Deposit Requirement
Lenders Mortgage Insurance protects the lender, not you, if you borrow more than 80% of a property’s value and later default. It is usually a one-off premium, either paid at settlement or added to the loan, and it rises steeply as your deposit shrinks.
A professional LMI waiver is a lender saying: for this occupation, we will accept a smaller deposit without the insurance, because borrowers in this group have historically been low risk.
In plain terms: you still need the deposit, and you still need to pass the lender’s serviceability assessment. What disappears is the premium — often more than $25,000 on a typical Melbourne purchase.
What an LMI Waiver Is Actually Worth
Using Westpac’s LMI calculator as a reference point, the premium on a standard purchase looks like this:
| Purchase price | 10% deposit (90% LVR) | 5% deposit (95% LVR) |
|---|---|---|
| $700,000 | $26,740 | $30,797 |
| $800,000 | $31,900 | $35,554 |
Indicative only. Estimates based on Westpac's LMI calculator, August 2026. Every lender and insurer calculates LMI differently.
The Eligible List Is Much Broader Than Doctors and Lawyers
Most people who have heard of professional LMI waivers assume they are a perk for surgeons. The lists have widened considerably.
NAB expanded its policy in early 2025 to cover lawyers, solicitors, barristers, accountants, actuaries and financial analysts, alongside a broader set of medical professions including chiropractors, pharmacists, veterinarians and optometrists. Westpac’s medico policy, current as at 17 August 2026, covers registered nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, psychologists, radiographers, sonographers, speech pathologists and several other allied health roles.
| Profession group | Typical max LVR without LMI | Evidence usually required |
|---|---|---|
| Doctors, dentists, medical specialists, hospital-employed doctors | Up to 95% | Current AHPRA registration |
| Allied and other registered health practitioners — nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists, optometrists, vets | Up to 90% | Current AHPRA or equivalent registration; some lenders also set a minimum income |
| Lawyers, barristers, solicitors, judges | Up to 90% | Current practising certificate from a state Bar Association, Law Society or Legal Practice Board |
| Accountants, actuaries, financial analysts | Up to 90% | Current membership of CA ANZ, CPA Australia, IPA, the Actuaries Institute or CFA Institute |
| Engineers, financial planners and other credentialled professions | Up to 90% | Registration or professional body membership, lender-dependent |
| Emergency services and essential workers | Varies | Employment evidence; policy still developing |
Read the table this way: those LVR ceilings are the best case at a lender that offers them, not an entitlement. Several lenders also attach a minimum income — Westpac’s 90% allied health band requires $90,000 a year, while its 95% medico band has no income floor at all.
Send us your profession and deposit. We will come back with which lenders on our panel will waive LMI in your situation.
Your Lender Matters More Than Your Job Title
This is the part that costs people money, and it is the reason the table above can only ever be a starting point. Each lender maintains its own eligible occupation list, its own income thresholds, its own accepted professional bodies, and its own view on whether the policy applies to investment purchases, construction loans or refinances.
Those lists are revised without much fanfare. CBA’s pharmacist income threshold dropped by $50,000 in a single policy update in July 2025, which moved a whole cohort of early-career pharmacists from ineligible to eligible overnight.
NAB
Expanded in early 2025 to include lawyers, barristers, solicitors, accountants, actuaries and financial analysts, alongside a wider medical list. Requires current AHPRA registration, a current practising certificate, or current membership of an eligible professional institute.
Westpac
Built around health. Dentists, GPs, medical specialists and hospital-employed doctors reach 95% LVR with no minimum income. Allied health and nursing roles reach 90% with a $90,000 minimum income. Accountants and lawyers are not covered by this policy.
Commonwealth Bank
Publishes no profession-based criteria at all. Has covered medical, legal, accounting and finance professionals, updated pharmacist and judiciary criteria in July 2025, and piloted an expansion to paramedics, police, firefighters and nurses. Assessed case by case.
ANZ
Accepts CA ANZ and CPA Australia membership for accountants, and a current practising certificate for legal professionals. Applies no minimum income to its professional waivers, which can suit recent graduates and self-employed professionals.
You Cannot Compare Policies You Cannot Read
A worked comparison makes the point. An accountant with CPA Australia membership and a 10% deposit has a clear path at NAB and at ANZ. That same accountant is not covered by Westpac’s medico policy, which is built around health practitioners. Nothing about the borrower changed. The answer changed because the lender did.
Commonwealth Bank illustrates a different problem again. Its public LMI page carries no profession-based waiver criteria, and the bank’s position is that circumstances determine whether LMI applies. That is the practical argument for going through a mortgage broker with a wide lender panel rather than walking into whichever branch is closest.
Where You Qualified Is Not the Test — Your Current Australian Registration Is
This matters a great deal in Melbourne’s western suburbs, where a large share of the professional population trained overseas.
Read the eligibility criteria closely and they are written around current standing, not origin. NAB asks for current AHPRA registration for medical professions and current registered membership of an eligible professional institute for finance professions. ANZ asks for a current practising certificate for legal professionals. None of these criteria ask where you studied. An accountant who qualified overseas and has since completed CPA Australia’s membership requirements holds the same membership a locally trained accountant holds.
One important qualification: residency and visa status is assessed separately, and it does affect lending. Non-residents and some temporary visa holders face different policy, different LVR limits and in some cases Foreign Investment Review Board considerations. Professional eligibility and residency eligibility are two different tests.
A New Complication in 2026: The Waiver Is Not the Loan
From 1 February 2026, APRA has limited banks to no more than 20% of new lending going to borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio above six, applied separately to owner-occupier and investor lending. Bridging loans and construction loans for new dwellings sit outside the cap.
4.35%
Cash rate, held August 2026
+3.00%
Serviceability buffer above actual rate
20%
Cap on new lending above DTI 6
Why That Changes Your Lender Shortlist
High-LVR professional lending frequently produces a high debt-to-income ratio, because a smaller deposit means a larger loan against the same income. A lender that will waive your LMI may still be managing its DTI allocation carefully by the time your application lands.
Two lenders with identical published policy can give different answers in the same month for reasons that have nothing to do with you. Timing and lender sequencing have become part of the job.
An LMI Waiver and the Home Guarantee Scheme Solve the Same Problem Differently
Since 1 October 2025, the First Home Guarantee has had no income test and no cap on places, and the property price limit for Melbourne and Geelong is $950,000. Eligible first home buyers can purchase with a 5% deposit, with the government guaranteeing the balance so no LMI is charged. Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents aged 18 or over.
For a first home buyer under the price cap, the scheme is often the simpler route, and it does not care what you do for work. The professional waiver becomes the better option when the scheme does not fit: buying above the price cap, having owned property before, refinancing, buying an investment property, or wanting the borrowing capacity that comes with a larger loan.
What to Have Ready Before You Apply
Bring the credential, not just the job title. Lenders verify professional standing as part of assessment, and the document they want is specific.
Confirm your registration or membership is current
Medical and allied health need current AHPRA registration. Legal needs a current practising certificate from your state body. Accounting and finance need current membership evidence from CA ANZ, CPA Australia, IPA, the Actuaries Institute or CFA Institute.
Know your deposit and where it came from
Lenders assess genuine savings differently from gifted or borrowed deposits, and that assessment interacts with high-LVR policy. Have the last three to six months of statements ready.
Decide owner-occupier or investment, established or construction
Several waiver policies exclude construction, bridging and investment lending. That exclusion is often what disqualifies an otherwise eligible applicant, so it shapes the lender shortlist before anything else.
Get the shortlist checked before you apply anywhere
Applying to the wrong lender leaves a credit enquiry on your file and tells you nothing useful. A broker can confirm which lenders cover your profession, at what LVR, before an application is lodged.
The Bottom Line
A professional LMI waiver is worth more than $25,000 on a typical Melbourne purchase, and the eligible list now runs well past doctors and lawyers into nursing, allied health, accounting, engineering and emergency services. But the waiver belongs to the lender, not the profession. The lists move, one major bank does not publish its criteria at all, and APRA's debt-to-income cap means a lender can have the right policy and still say no. The question worth answering is not whether your job qualifies, but which lenders will say yes to you this month.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions we get asked most often about professional LMI waivers.
Which professionals are eligible for an LMI waiver?
Doctors, dentists and medical specialists sit at the top of most lists, often to 95% LVR. Below that, lenders variously include nurses, midwives, allied health practitioners, veterinarians, pharmacists, lawyers, barristers, judges, accountants, actuaries, financial analysts, engineers and financial planners — typically to 90% LVR. No two lender lists are identical.
Can health professionals get an LMI waiver?
Yes, and the range has widened well beyond doctors. Westpac’s policy covers registered nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, psychologists, radiographers and other allied health roles at up to 90% LVR with a minimum income of $90,000, while dentists, GPs and medical specialists can reach 95% with no income floor.
Does CBA waive LMI for professionals?
Commonwealth Bank does not publish profession-based waiver criteria on its website and assesses applications case by case. It has waived LMI for medical, legal, accounting and finance professionals, updated its pharmacist and judiciary criteria in July 2025, and piloted an expansion covering paramedics, police officers, firefighters and nurses. Because the criteria are unpublished, the only reliable way to test eligibility is through a lender or broker.
Is there a minimum income for an LMI waiver?
It depends entirely on the lender and the profession band. Westpac requires $90,000 a year for its allied health band but nothing for its medico band. ANZ does not apply a minimum income to its professional waivers, which can suit recent graduates and self-employed professionals.
Does an LMI waiver mean I need a smaller deposit?
It means your existing deposit goes further. A 10% deposit that would normally trigger an LMI premium can be used without one. The deposit requirement itself does not change, and you still have to meet the lender’s serviceability assessment.
Send us your profession, your registration details and your deposit. We will tell you which lenders on our panel will waive LMI in your situation, and what each one requires.
⚠️ General Information Disclaimer: This article contains general information only and does not constitute credit assistance or a recommendation. Your individual objectives, financial situation and needs have not been considered. Lender LMI waiver policies, eligibility criteria and income thresholds change without notice and vary between lenders — the details above are current as at the date of publication and should be confirmed before you rely on them. Speak with a Credit Hub broker before making a decision. Credit Hub Australia holds an Australian Credit Licence 472959.
