Can I get a home loan while on maternity leave?

Generally yes. Banks mostly assess the income you'll return to, as long as your employer confirms your return in writing and you have savings to cover the leave period.

What should the return-to-work letter say?

Your leave start and finish dates, what you're returning as, full time or part time, your hours and your expected salary when you come back.

How much savings do I need while on maternity leave?

Enough to cover the gap between your leave income and your repayments plus living expenses for the leave period. The exact buffer varies between banks.

Will the bank use my full income if I'm going back part time?

No. The bank will assess the part time income you're returning to, so plan around that number.

Does having a baby reduce how much we can borrow?

It can. The baby counts as a dependant, which lifts the living expenses the bank assumes, so borrowing capacity may be a bit lower.

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Straight Answers · First home

I'm going on maternity leave soon. What does the bank need so we can still use my income?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

Generally the bank can still use your income. What it mostly relies on is what your situation looks like once you return to work, so the key document is an employment letter from your boss confirming what you're coming back to.

While you're off, the bank wants some assurance you've got a bit of a nest egg, a savings buffer, so you can still make the repayments and cover your living expenses until you're back. Tick those boxes and absolutely, we can still use your income.

The 90 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

What the bank looks at

A few things come into play. When you're expected to finish work. When you're expected to return. And in between, whatever income you'll have while you're off: government parental leave payments, any paid leave your employer offers, and annual or long service leave you might take during that time.

The banks mostly rely on what your situation looks like once you're back. If you're taking out a 30-year mortgage and you're only off for six months, it would be a bit silly of them to look at that six-month window and say you can't borrow this, when you've got 29 and a half years of ongoing work they can evidence through an employment letter. So the return-to-work income is generally the number they assess.

The employment letter, and what goes in it

This is the document that does the heavy lifting. It comes from your employer and generally confirms the start and finish dates of your maternity leave, what you're returning as, whether that's full time or part time, what your hours will look like, and your expected salary when you come back. The bank will usually want your payslips from before the leave started as well, to show what you were earning.

If you're planning to go back part time, say so in the letter. The bank will assess the part time income, so it's far better to plan around that number now than find out later.

The savings buffer while you're off

While you're on leave, your income drops but the repayments don't. So the bank wants to see you've got savings behind you to cover the shortfall: the difference between what's coming in during your leave and what the repayments and your living expenses will be, for the length of the leave.

How big that buffer needs to be, and how long the leave can be before you return, varies from bank to bank. Some assess your full return-to-work income from day one, some only use part of it until you're back, and a few want you returning to the same employer. That's the routing I do before anything gets lodged.

The honest bit: the baby counts too

Once the baby arrives, the bank counts them as a dependant, and that lifts the living expenses it assumes for your household. So even with your income fully counted, your borrowing capacity may be a bit lower than it was before.

Get the timing and the numbers mapped out early, ideally before you finish up at work, so you know exactly where you stand and there are no surprises once the employment letter's in hand.

Buying before or during maternity leave?

A 30 minute call. We work out what you can borrow on your return-to-work income, how much buffer you'll need, and which banks suit your timing.

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Next question

We've got a baby due before we buy our house. Do the banks still count that as a dependant?

Yes, it goes on the application as an expected change. The bank will want your return to work plans signed by your employer.