Acceptable Income For Your Home Loan Application
- pdavey100
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
When applying for a home loan in Australia, the most critical component of your application is the income used to service the loan. Lenders place significant weight on this, and certain types of income are far more preferable than others.
The most favored income is PAYG—salary or wages—derived from a permanent position, whether full-time or part-time. A permanent employment situation is viewed as the safest by lenders, and if your employment is casual, they typically require at least six months of consistent earnings. In contrast, for permanent roles, lenders often only need one or two payslips—or sometimes just an employment contract—to confirm your income. In fact, I have even secured a loan approval for a client who had yet to start their permanent employment position and therefore had not received even one payslip. This shows that some lenders will formally approve a loan even if the applicant has not yet begun the role.
It’s also important to note that many employment contracts include a probation period—often six months—regardless of whether the role is full-time, part-time, or casual. While lenders don’t typically focus heavily on the probation clause—especially if you have relevant experience from New Zealand or elsewhere—they do want to see a solid track record. If you’ve got experience in the same industry—say, one to five years—then even a probation clause won’t derail your application.
A common misconception is that you need at least three months of Australian employment history. In fact, that’s not the case. As long as you have a signed employment contract and at least one payslip, most lenders will accept that as proof of your income. Thus, you can apply for a loan soon after securing a permanent role.
If you are on a fixed-term contract, that’s also acceptable—so long as it’s at least six months, ideally 12, and especially if it aligns with your prior experience from New Zealand.
Self-employment income is generally treated harshly by the banks—especially if you’ve just started and only have a few months of ABN history. If you continue in permanent employment, you can secure your loan first and then transition to self-employment afterward.
Finally, if you’re still working for a New Zealand-based employer and earning in New Zealand dollars, some lenders will consider this income. However, it will be converted to Australian dollars—usually at 70 or 80% of its value—so you may see a $100,000 NZ salary translated to around $65,000 AUD. This doesn’t disqualify you; it just adjusts the borrowing capacity.
As you can see, there are many types of income that are acceptable for Kiwis who have recently arrived in Australia. The best approach is to talk to a specialist Kiwi mortgage broker who understands the nuances of cross-border income and can ensure your loan application fully reflects the income you have available.
Please contact me by email, phone, or messenger to discuss any aspect of your loan application—I’ll be very happy to help!
0423688811
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