Which professions can get LMI waived?

Doctors and dentists are on nearly every waiver list. Lawyers, accountants and a range of healthcare occupations are on many, usually with a minimum income requirement. A couple of lenders run essential services programs covering registered nurses, paramedics, police and teachers. Every lender's list is different.

Do nurses get LMI waived?

At some lenders yes, to 90% of the property value. At others, registered nurses are excluded from the waiver by name. It depends entirely on which lender you apply with, which is exactly why the lender choice matters more than the advertised rate.

What LVR can I borrow to with an LMI waiver?

Typically up to 90% of the property value with no LMI. Medical practitioners can reach 95% at a couple of lenders. Above the ceiling, the waiver stops and normal LMI applies.

Is there a minimum income for a professional LMI waiver?

Often, yes. Legal and accounting waivers commonly require income in the low six figures from the qualifying profession, and some medical waivers have thresholds too. Some also require current registration or professional body membership.

Do LMI waivers apply to investment properties?

At some lenders yes, generally at a lower maximum LVR than owner-occupied. Some waivers are purchase-only. It's checked lender by lender at deal time.

Home / Straight Answers / LMI waivers

Straight Answers · First home

Do doctors, nurses and lawyers get LMI waived?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 September 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

Yes. Some banks will waive lenders mortgage insurance up to a certain loan to value ratio if you're in a certain occupation. Every lender decides whether they offer a waiver at all, and then which occupations qualify. You have to tick those boxes before the bank can offer it.

Every single bank is different with how they look at this. I checked the policy books across my panel: the same registered nurse is excluded by name at one big bank and waived to 90% at another. Which lender you pick decides whether you pay LMI at all, and on a low deposit that can be a five-figure difference.

The one minute version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

Who actually offers it, and how high it goes

Of the thirty-odd lenders I work with, roughly a third run a documented occupation waiver program. The typical ceiling is 90% of the property value with no LMI. Doctors do better: medical practitioners can go to 95% at a couple of lenders. Beyond that ceiling everyone pays, whatever their job title.

The rest of the panel either has no program at all, or has quietly shut theirs down. One large lender scrapped its professional and medico waivers entirely this year, confirmed in writing. Waiver lists move, which is why I check the current policy at deal time rather than trusting what was true last year.

The occupation lists are wildly inconsistent, and that's the game

Here's the finding that surprises people. There is no standard list. A registered nurse is excluded by name from the waiver at two of the biggest banks, and waived to 90% at three other lenders. Pharmacists and physios split the same way: on the list at some banks, named exclusions at others. Doctors and dentists are on nearly every list. Lawyers and accountants are on most, usually with a minimum income attached, commonly in the low six figures, and sometimes a professional body membership requirement.

A couple of lenders go wider than the professions: essential services programs that cover registered nurses, paramedics and police, and one that reaches teachers and firefighters on purchases. And separate to occupation entirely, a couple of lenders simply charge no LMI-style fee up to 90% for any strong applicant, no job requirement at all.

So the answer to 'do I get LMI waived' is never yes or no. It's 'at which lender'. Same payslip, five-figure swing.

The boxes you still have to tick

A waiver isn't a discount voucher, it's a policy gate. Expect minimum income thresholds from your qualifying occupation, current registration with your professional body, and at most lenders principal and interest repayments. Some waivers are purchase-only; whether one carries across to a refinance is one of the least documented corners of the policy books, so if you paid LMI and your occupation is on a list somewhere, that's a conversation worth having rather than an assumption worth making.

Investment purchases are covered at some lenders too, usually at a lower ceiling than owner-occupied. Again: lender by lender.

The honest bit: this is occupation arbitrage, and most people never find out

Nobody's bank tells them the lender across the road would have waived a twenty thousand dollar premium for their job title. Why would they? The waiver only exists if you apply where it lives, and every bank's list is a moving target.

If you work in healthcare, law, accounting or emergency services and you're buying with less than 20% down, this is the first thing to check, before the rate, before anything. And if your occupation misses every list, the 5% deposit scheme and the guarantor path do the same job by different means.

Want to know if your job is on a list?

A 30 minute call. Tell me what you do and what you earn, and I'll check the current waiver policies across my panel. If a waiver fits, we aim there. If not, I'll show you the other two ways around LMI.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid

Next question

What is lenders mortgage insurance, what does it cost, and can I add it to my loan?

What you're being waived out of, and why the number is bigger than most people expect.