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The professions that get LMI waived are decided by each lender individually, and the lists are not published anywhere. That is why the answer you find online is usually either too broad or several years out of date.
What follows is the shape of those lists as they stand in October 2026, the clause that decides most applications, and what you have to evidence. Your own position has to be checked against a lender that will actually write your loan.
Lenders mortgage insurance protects the lender when you borrow above eighty per cent of a property’s value. A waiver means the lender carries that risk itself and does not charge you the premium.
The professions that get LMI waived are the ones a lender reads as low risk: stable demand, regulated entry, and income that holds through a downturn. Registration or membership is the proxy, because it is verifiable.
The lists live in lender credit policy available through accreditation rather than on websites. They are revised without notice, which is why no article can be relied on as current, including this one.
What does not change is the structure. An accepted occupation, a verifiable credential, and in many cases a minimum income.
Across the panel, the professions that get LMI waived fall into a few recognisable groups, though the breadth inside each group differs by lender.
| Group | Typically included | How consistent it is |
|---|---|---|
| Medical | Doctors, specialists, dentists | The most consistent group, and commonly the highest lending ratios |
| Veterinary | Veterinarians | Included by a good number of lenders, less consistently than medical |
| Legal | Solicitors, barristers, and in some cases judicial officers | Widely accepted, usually requiring a current practising certificate |
| Accounting and finance | Members of the recognised accounting bodies, and some actuarial and finance roles | Accepted by many lenders, with the designation checked by name |
| Allied health | Physiotherapists, optometrists, pharmacists, podiatrists, chiropractors | The least consistent group, and the one where income thresholds bite hardest |
| Other regulated roles | Some engineering, mining and government professions appear on individual lender lists | Highly lender specific. Never assume from one lender to another |
Note the pattern down that last column. The groups where a waiver would help most are the groups where acceptance is least consistent.
Three things commonly exclude an applicant who expected to qualify, and none of them is about the occupation itself.
The first is the exact role rather than the field. A profession can be accepted while a particular role within it is not, which catches people in research, teaching, management and non-clinical positions.
The second is the credential. Registration in the wrong division, a lapsed membership, or a practising certificate that has not been renewed will see a lender refuse a waiver the occupation itself would have opened.
The third is income, which is covered below and decides more applications than either of the others.
None of these mean you cannot borrow. They mean the application should go to a different lender. See the waiver guide by profession.
Being among the professions that get LMI waived is not the end of it. Many lenders attach a minimum income before they will waive the premium, and that clause decides most borderline applications.
It bites in exactly the places a waiver would be most useful: allied health, early career professionals, part-time and job-share roles, and sole applicants where a lender tests household income.
A reasonable number of lenders apply no threshold at all and waive on registration or membership alone. For anyone in those groups, those lenders are where the application should start.
We do not publish threshold figures, because they differ by lender and are revised. Where no lender on the panel will waive the premium for you, see the other routes to avoiding the premium.
Five questions settle it before any application is lodged, and the order matters.
Is the exact role accepted, by its title rather than its field? The professions that get LMI waived are listed by role, and a field can be accepted while a role inside it is not.
Is a minimum income applied to that role, and what is the figure today? Ask for the current figure rather than a range, because it is revised.
Is it measured on base salary or total package, and on the applicant’s income alone or on household income? Those two distinctions decide most borderline cases.
What is the maximum lending ratio with the waiver applied, and does it change for an investment purchase? The ratio and the threshold are separate clauses.
And what evidence of professional standing is accepted? None of those five questions needs an application to answer.
Two documents carry a waiver application for any of the professions that get LMI waived, and both have to be in the form that specific lender accepts.
Proof of professional standing first: 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 refused.
Then income in the form the threshold is measured against. Some lenders test base salary only and others total package, so where bonus or billing income is a large share of your pay, the lender choice decides whether you clear the bar.
All of it can be established before any application is lodged, so nothing has to be tested by applying and being declined. Call +61 447 959 546 or see waived premium lending.
Medical, dental, legal, accounting and much of allied health appear on most lender lists, with veterinary and some engineering and government roles appearing on individual ones.
The lists sit in lender credit policy rather than on websites and are revised without notice, so the only answer that matters is whether a lender you can actually use accepts your specific role today.
No, and anyone publishing one is describing a single lender at a single point in time.
Each lender maintains its own list, extends it to different roles within the same field, and changes it without announcement. A broker with current accreditation can check your occupation across the panel in one conversation instead.
With some lenders, yes, though nursing is less consistently included than medicine or dentistry and the income threshold is more often the obstacle than the occupation.
Registration division and role can both matter. It is worth checking by name rather than assuming either way, because the answer varies more between lenders here than in most groups.
Commonly up to ninety five per cent for medical practitioners and often a step below that for other accepted professions, though the maximum differs by lender and is set by policy that changes without notice.
The ratio and the income threshold are separate clauses, so clearing one tells you nothing about the other.
With some lenders, yes, and with others the waiver is restricted to the home you will live in. Among those that extend it, the maximum lending ratio is commonly lower than for an owner-occupied purchase.
If your plan involves both a home and an investment, raise it at the start, because it narrows the useful panel considerably.
Three routes still avoid the premium. A twenty per cent deposit removes the insurance entirely, the government deposit scheme removes it for eligible buyers, and a family guarantee removes it by having a parent pledge security instead.
Sometimes paying the premium and buying sooner also works out better, which is arithmetic worth running.
Background on how lenders mortgage insurance itself works is published by ASIC Moneysmart. Waiver lists 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.