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A home loan with one year of ABN is possible, but it is not the standard route. Most lenders want two years of returns from a self-employed applicant, so a one-year file has to go to a lender whose policy allows it.
What decides it is rarely the ABN itself. It is what you did before you registered it, how the income is evidenced, and whether the deposit is strong enough to carry a shorter history.
Yes, with a limited number of lenders. The two-year rule is policy rather than law, and policies differ, which is the whole reason a one-year application is worth preparing properly rather than abandoning.
A home loan with one year of ABN is usually assessed on one full financial year of returns plus any business activity statements since. Some lenders will take twelve months of statements alone.
One caveat that catches a lot of new sole traders: you only lodge a BAS if you are registered for GST or PAYG, and GST registration is compulsory only once turnover reaches seventy-five thousand dollars.
Below that, with no voluntary registration, you have no BAS to supply. Say so up front, because an assessor who expects statements and receives none will otherwise ask why.
Expect a home loan with one year of ABN to be read more conservatively than a two-year file. That can show up as a lower lending ratio, a sharper focus on the deposit, or both.
It is also worth separating two things that get confused: the ABN’s age, and how long you have been doing the work. Lenders care about the second more than people expect.
On a home loan with one year of ABN the documents do the arguing. A complete one-year file gives an assessor more to work with than a two-year file full of gaps.
| What they ask for | Why | Where files fall short |
|---|---|---|
| One full year of tax returns and a notice of assessment | The assessed income figure comes from here | Returns lodged late, so the most recent year is not yet available |
| Business activity statements since the return, if you lodge them | Shows the trend has continued rather than stopped | Lodgements outstanding. If you are not GST registered there are none to lodge, so say that rather than leaving a gap |
| Business bank statements | Confirms the turnover is real and the pattern is stable | Personal and business spending run through one account |
| Evidence of prior experience in the field | Reduces the perceived risk of a new venture considerably | Nothing supplied, so a continuing career reads as a start-up |
| Deposit evidence and its source | A stronger deposit offsets a shorter history | Funds recently moved, breaking the savings history |
The fourth row is the one most applicants leave empty, and it is the one that changes the assessment most.
This is the hinge on any home loan with one year of ABN. A tradesperson who worked for an employer in the same trade for eight years and then registered an ABN is not, in substance, a new business.
Several lenders recognise that and will treat a home loan with one year of ABN far more favourably where the prior employment is in the same industry and can be evidenced.
Evidence it with employment references, prior payslips or group certificates, and anything showing continuity of clients or trade qualifications. Supply it unprompted rather than waiting to be asked.
A genuine career change into an unrelated field is the harder case, and there a longer history usually has to be built before the better lenders will look.
Where full returns are not available for a home loan with one year of ABN, two other routes exist, and both cost more than a standard application.
An accountant’s declaration of income, accepted by some lenders in place of returns, usually alongside BAS. Your accountant has to be willing to sign it, and many are cautious about doing so.
Or a specialist lender product priced for a shorter history, which generally means a higher rate and a lower lending ratio. It can be a bridge rather than a destination, refinanced once two years of returns exist.
Both are legitimate. Neither is cheap, and the difference against waiting is worth quantifying before you choose. See applying without payslips.
On a two-year file the deposit is one factor among several. On a one-year file it does a great deal more work, because it is the main thing offsetting the shorter history.
A larger deposit lowers the lending ratio, which moves the application into pricing tiers where lenders are more comfortable with a shorter trading record.
It also removes the lenders mortgage insurance question. The insurers apply their own criteria on top of the lender’s, and a short self-employed history is exactly the kind of file they look at closely.
That is the part most applicants do not realise. On a home loan with one year of ABN above eighty per cent of value, the insurer’s criteria can apply as well as the lender’s, depending on whether that lender underwrites on the insurer’s behalf.
Where a profession based waiver applies to you, it takes the insurer out of the picture, though the lender’s own criteria for a higher ratio still apply. See waived premium lending and the Sydney deposit guide.
Sometimes the answer to a home loan with one year of ABN is that it can be done and should not be. That is worth saying plainly.
If your second year of returns is six months away, the rate difference between a specialist product now and a mainstream one then is worth setting against six months of rent. Sometimes it exceeds it.
If it is eighteen months away, or you are buying in a market you expect to move, the calculation goes the other way. Neither answer is universal.
What makes it decidable is having both numbers in front of you rather than one. We will run both. See self-employed lending or call +61 447 959 546.
It can be done, with a limited number of lenders, subject to assessment like any application. The two-year requirement is lender policy rather than law, so a one-year application has to be directed to a lender whose policy allows it.
Expect it to be assessed more conservatively, which can mean a lower lending ratio or a sharper focus on your deposit, and expect the documentation to matter more than usual.
Most lenders want two years of self-employed history evidenced by returns. A smaller group will work with one full financial year plus any business activity statements since, and a few will consider twelve months of statements alone.
If your turnover is under the seventy-five thousand dollar GST threshold you may have no statements at all, which is worth raising early. The ABN’s registration date matters less than whether a full financial year of trading can be evidenced.
Considerably, and it is the most under-supplied evidence in these applications. Several lenders treat a one-year ABN far more favourably where prior employment was in the same field, because the risk being assessed is a new venture rather than a continuing career. Supply references, prior payslips and qualifications unprompted.
It is a signed statement of your income from your accountant, accepted by some lenders in place of full tax returns and usually alongside business activity statements. Not every lender accepts one and not every accountant will sign one, so both need checking before an application is built around it.
Often, though not always. Where a mainstream lender’s policy accommodates one year, the pricing can be ordinary.
Where the file has to go to a specialist lender, expect a higher rate and a lower lending ratio, with a view to refinancing once two full years of returns exist. The gap is worth quantifying rather than assuming.
Sometimes, and it depends on how far away the second year is and what the alternative costs. Six months from a mainstream approval, the rate difference on a specialist product can exceed six months of rent.
Eighteen months away, the sums often point the other way. Having both figures is what makes it a decision rather than a guess.
What a business activity statement covers and when it is due is set out by the ATO. How many years of history a lender requires is set by that lender and changes without notice.
Paritosh Wadhwani | Director and Principal Broker, APW Finance
Member of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA). Arranging residential, commercial and specialist lending for Sydney clients across a panel of more than 50 lenders.
APW Finance Pty Ltd, 304/20a Lexington Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153. Email: info@apwfinance.com. Phone: +61 447 959 546.
ACN 620 646 479 | ABN 79 620 646 479
This guide is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not financial or credit advice. Lending criteria, interest rates, duty thresholds and government schemes change, and every application is subject to lender approval.
Consider whether this information suits your circumstances and seek independent advice before acting. Figures quoted are current at the date below and should be confirmed before you rely on them. Last reviewed: October 2026.
APW Finance Pty Ltd delivers expert lending solutions with personalised service, empowering clients across residential, commercial, and business sectors.