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The LMI waiver income threshold is the clause that decides most profession based waiver applications, and almost nobody mentions it until the application is already in. Your occupation can be on a lender’s accepted list and you can still be declined the waiver on income alone.
This matters most in allied health and in the early years of any profession, where salaries sit below the level some lenders require before they will waive the premium.
A profession based waiver lets you borrow above eighty per cent of a property’s value without paying lenders mortgage insurance. Some lenders grant it on registration or membership alone. Others attach a minimum income before they will.
The logic behind an LMI waiver income threshold is risk based. A lender waiving the premium is carrying the risk itself, and it uses income as a proxy for how reliably you can service a larger loan.
The thresholds are not published, they differ between lenders, and they are revised without notice. That is why no honest article can give you a figure to rely on, and why we do not print one here.
Not the people you would expect. Specialists and senior partners clear almost any LMI waiver income threshold without thinking about it. The clause bites in exactly the places the waiver would be most useful.
| Group | Why the threshold is the obstacle |
|---|---|
| Allied health practitioners | Practitioners in physiotherapy, podiatry and similar disciplines commonly earn below the level lenders require |
| Early career professionals | Interns, graduates and first-year solicitors are usually furthest from any minimum |
| part-time and job-share | A pro-rata salary is assessed as it stands, not grossed up to a full time equivalent |
| Single applicants | Where a lender tests household income, a sole applicant has no second income to reach the level |
| Recently self-employed | Practice income in the first year or two often falls short on paper even where cash flow is sound |
In every one of those cases the answer is the same: find a lender that does not apply a threshold at all.
A reasonable number of lenders waive the premium on current registration or membership alone, with no LMI waiver income threshold attached. For an allied health practitioner or a first-year professional, those lenders are where the application should start.
Identifying them is not something you can do from the outside. The lists and the clauses sit in lender policy documents available through accreditation, not on websites.
A broker with current accreditation can check where you stand across the panel in one conversation, without an application and without an enquiry landing on your credit file. See waived insurance lending.
Two things, and both have to be in the form that specific lender accepts.
First, your professional standing. Current registration, membership or a practising certificate, in the right category, supplied as a document rather than asserted. A waiver refused on evidence is still a refused waiver.
Second, your income in the form the LMI waiver income threshold is measured against. Some lenders test base salary only, others total package. If part of your income is bonus, locum or private billing, which lender you apply to changes whether you clear the bar.
Five questions settle the position before any application is lodged. Put them in this order and the answer is usually clear in one call.
Is my occupation on your accepted list, by its exact title rather than its category? A profession can be accepted while a particular role within it is not.
Do you apply an LMI waiver income threshold to it, and, if so, what is the figure today? Ask for the current figure rather than a general range, because it is revised.
Is that measured on base salary or on total package, and on my income alone or on household income? Those two distinctions decide most borderline cases.
What is the maximum loan-to-value ratio with the waiver applied, and does it differ for an investment purchase? The ratio and the LMI waiver income threshold are separate clauses, so clearing one says nothing about the other.
And what evidence of professional standing will you accept? A waiver refused on documentation is still refused.
Where no lender will waive it, three routes still avoid the premium altogether. A twenty per cent deposit removes the insurance entirely. A government scheme place removes it for eligible first home buyers.
A family guarantee removes it by having a parent pledge security over part of your loan instead. See family guarantee lending.
Short of twenty per cent, a bigger deposit still helps more than people expect. Moving from five per cent to ten reduces the premium and opens better pricing tiers at the same time.
And sometimes paying the premium turns out better than waiting, because the premium is a known cost while two more years of saving is not. That is arithmetic worth running on your own figures before you rule it out. Call +61 447 959 546.
That depends entirely on which lender you ask, because thresholds differ and several lenders apply none at all.
The question is better framed as which lender will waive the premium for your occupation at your income, rather than whether you earn enough in general. A broker with current accreditation can check that across the panel before any application is made.
Yes. A reasonable number of lenders waive the premium on current registration or professional membership alone, with no minimum income attached.
These are the lenders an allied health or early career application should go to first. They are not identifiable from lender websites, because the clause sits in policy documents available through accreditation.
Because they change without notice and differ by lender and by occupation group. A figure published in an article is stale within months, and a borrower who plans around a stale number makes a worse decision than one who asks.
We quote thresholds from the lender at the time of your application instead, which is the only version that is reliable.
It varies. Some lenders assess the applicant’s own income against the threshold, others look at combined household income where there are two applicants.
That difference decides the outcome for a lot of single applicants and for couples with one higher earner, which is another reason the lender choice matters more than the occupation.
With some lenders and some occupation groups, yes, though the maximum ratio differs by lender and is current rather than fixed. Medical practitioners commonly access the highest ratios on offer.
Other accepted professions often sit a step below. The ratio and the threshold are separate clauses, so you can clear one and fail the other.
Sometimes, and only in part. Lenders that test total package may include a bonus with a consistent history, usually shaded rather than taken in full.
Lenders that test base salary alone will not. Where a bonus is a large share of your income, that single policy difference can decide whether you clear the threshold at all.
Background on how lenders mortgage insurance itself works is published by ASIC Moneysmart. Waiver eligibility and thresholds are set by individual lenders and change 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.