First — what even is LMI?
When you buy a home with less than a 20% deposit, the bank charges you a one-off insurance premium. It's called Lenders Mortgage Insurance, or LMI. It protects the bank if you can't repay — not you. But you're the one who pays for it.
On a $2M home in the Eastern Suburbs with a 10% deposit, that bill is typically somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000. On larger loans, it goes higher still.
An LMI waiver means the bank agrees to waive that charge entirely. You still borrow with a small deposit — you just don't pay the premium.
Real example: A GP buys a home in Bronte for $2.2M with a 10% deposit. Without a waiver, LMI would add around $38,000 to her costs. With a medico waiver, it's zero — and she can borrow up to 95% if she wants to keep more cash in hand.
So who qualifies?
There are four main groups. If you're in one of them, there's a good chance you don't have to pay LMI at all.
1. Doctors and medical specialists
This is the most straightforward group. If you're a GP, surgeon, dentist, anaesthetist, psychiatrist, radiologist, obstetrician — or practically any other registered medical specialist — every major lender has a policy for you. You can typically borrow up to 90–95% of the property's value with no LMI.
You need to be currently registered with AHPRA and actively working in your field. That's it. The waiver applies whether you're working in a public hospital, a private practice, or a mix of both.
And if you're still in training — an intern, resident or registrar — you're covered too. Lenders treat you the same as a fully qualified practitioner.
Real example: A cardiologist buys a home in Coogee for $2.5M with a 10% deposit. On a standard loan, the LMI bill would be over $60,000. With a medico waiver, it's zero. She keeps her cash and gets into the home she wants.
2. Nurses, physios and allied health
This is where it gets important to pick the right lender. Nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, radiographers and others in allied health can get an LMI waiver — but not from every lender. Some banks exclude these professions entirely from their waiver programs.
If you're in allied health, you need to be working in your registered field and earning your primary income from it. A minimum income threshold applies at most lenders.
Real example: A physiotherapist who owns her own practice earns $190,000 a year and wants to buy in Coogee for $2M. She has a 12% deposit saved. At the right lender, LMI is waived completely — saving her around $32,000 upfront.
3. Accountants and lawyers
All four major lenders — ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac — offer LMI waivers for qualified accountants and lawyers. The basics are simple: you need a current professional registration (CA, CPA, CFA for accountants; a practising certificate for lawyers) and you need to be earning your income from that profession.
Here's something that surprises a lot of people: you don't need to work at a big firm. A CPA who's the in-house accountant at a construction company qualifies. A lawyer working as legal counsel at a bank qualifies. You just need to be practising — actually doing the work — and registered.
A minimum gross income from your profession typically applies, generally in the range of $100,000–$120,000 per year depending on the lender.
Real example: A senior partner at a Sydney law firm earns $450,000. He wants to buy in Clovelly for $5M with a 15% deposit. He qualifies for an LMI waiver — saving roughly $80,000 upfront.
4. High-quality borrowers — no profession required
This one is different. Some lenders will waive LMI based purely on your financial profile — not what you do for work. If you have a strong income, solid assets, a clean credit history and no red flags in your finances, you may qualify even if you're a business owner, an executive, or work in an industry that doesn't have a formal professional registration.
This type of waiver typically applies to larger loans — generally above $2 million — and the property usually needs to be in a premium suburb. The lender assesses your application and decides whether the overall risk profile is low enough to justify waiving LMI.
It won't suit everyone, but for the right borrower it's a powerful option — and one that many people don't know exists.
Real example: A business owner in Rose Bay wants to buy a $2.5M home. He has a 15% deposit, strong income, no missed payments ever, and a clean credit file. He doesn't have a professional qualification — but a lender assesses him as low risk and waives LMI anyway. He saves around $40,000.
One more thing worth knowing
The waiver doesn't mean the first eligible lender is automatically the right one. Different lenders have different rates, features and appetite for your specific situation. The job is to find a lender that both waives LMI and gives you a competitive rate — and in most cases, that option exists. A good broker will find it.
"Most people don't know they qualify until a broker tells them. Five minutes is usually enough to find out."
Find Out in 5 Minutes If You Qualify
Shane checks eligibility across all four major lenders at no cost to you. Most people know within one conversation whether a waiver is on the table — and how much it saves.
