For sworn police officers and police staff
Police home loans: what's real, what isn't, and how to buy with less than 20%
You've heard police get special home loan deals, and you want to know what's real before you buy. Here's the straight answer: none of the eleven lender groups whose LMI waiver policy Money Brain checked names police officers, and banking with a police bank doesn't, on its own, waive lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). That doesn't leave you stuck. How a lender counts your penalties, allowances and overtime, and which low-deposit way in you take, usually matter more than a waiver would.
0 of 11 lender groups whose LMI waiver policy we checked name police officers, sworn or civilian [1][2][3][4]
$16,884 LMI on a $630,000 loan, 90% of a $700,000 home, on one insurer's rate card. That's what no LMI is worth [6]
5% deposit with no LMI for first home buyers through the 5% Deposit Scheme, whatever your job, under a price cap [7]
The police home loan guide
Twenty-five questions police officers and police staff ask before they buy, answered from lenders' own policies and the government's scheme rules, with the date we checked each one.
Can police officers get a home loan with no LMI?
Yes, but not through a police waiver at the lenders Money Brain has checked. None of the eleven lender groups whose LMI waiver policy we hold names police officers, sworn or civilian [1][2][3][4]. A police officer avoids LMI the same ways anyone can: a 20% deposit, or, as a first home buyer, the government's 5% Deposit Scheme (part 7).
LMI is insurance the lender takes out when you borrow more than 80% of the price, and you pay for it. LVR is the loan as a share of the property's price, so 80% LVR means a 20% deposit. On a $630,000 loan at 90% LVR, LMI runs to about $16,900 on one insurer's rate card (part 9) [6].
Which banks waive LMI for police officers?
None of the lender groups whose LMI waiver policy documents Money Brain holds names police officers: Westpac Group, CommBank, NAB, ANZ, Bankwest, Suncorp, Bank First, Macquarie, ING, AMP and the Teachers Mutual Bank group [1][2][3][4]. Seven of them have a professional waiver, written for medical, health, legal, accounting and a few other jobs, and four have none.
What this means for you: a police badge doesn't unlock a waiver at any of these lenders, so the question isn't "which bank waives LMI for police?" but "which way in costs me least?" For a first home buyer, that's often the 5% Deposit Scheme. For everyone, it's also which lender counts the most of your pay (part 11).
Sworn officer or civilian staff: does it change the answer?
At the eleven lender groups Money Brain checked, sworn officers and civilian police staff get the same answer: none has a police group in its LMI waiver, so neither role unlocks one [1][2][3][4].
It matters when you read an advertised police offer. Where a lender writes one, it's usually for sworn officers, and civilian roles are often left out, even where you can join a police bank or credit union. Some offers add conditions beyond the job itself. Read the exact eligibility wording before you count on one.
It can also matter for how your pay is counted. Westpac Group's rule for emergency services employees, which counts more of some workers' overtime, leaves office-based emergency services staff out (part 12) [5].
Does banking with a police bank or credit union waive LMI?
No, not by itself. Police banks and credit unions are member-owned lenders that police and their families can join. Membership can bring member pricing, but a membership isn't a waiver of lenders mortgage insurance. Unless the lender's own terms say it waives LMI for you, expect to pay it once you borrow more than 80% of the price.
The same is true of other jobs' mutuals. The Teachers Mutual Bank group, whose brands include Firefighters Mutual, has no professional LMI waiver: a teacher banking with Teachers Mutual still pays LMI above 80% [4]. A bank's name tells you who it was set up for, not what it waives.
So ask the question directly, and get the answer in writing, before you assume.
Do police get cheaper home loans, or special mortgage rates?
Police officers don't get a police rate at any of the eleven lender groups whose policy Money Brain checked: none of those policies has a police group [1][2][3][4]. Police banks and credit unions advertise member pricing, and some lenders advertise police packages. Whether one is cheaper for you is a comparison of the whole cost: the rate, the fees and the features, over the years you'll keep the loan.
A small rate gap is real money. On a $630,000 loan over 30 years, 0.25% is about $100 a month in repayments (part 10) [10]. So a discount is worth having only if the rate it's taken off was competitive to begin with.
Nurses are a different case: the Westpac Group banks waive LMI to 90% for registered nurses and midwives [1]. See nurse home loans.
Low deposit home loans for police officers: your ways in with less than 20%
A police officer has five ways to buy with less than a 20% deposit, and the same five are open to civilian staff. The right one depends on your price, your savings, whether it's your first home, and your pay.
| Way in | Deposit | LMI | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% Deposit Scheme | 5% (2% for single parents) | None; the government guarantees part of the loan | First home buyers. No income caps; price caps by area [7] |
| Help to Buy | At least 2% | — | Citizens under its income caps; the government takes an equity share, so you borrow less [8] |
| Family guarantee | Smaller than you'd otherwise need | Depends on the guarantee and the lender | A parent puts up part of their home's equity. A real commitment for the person who signs |
| Pay LMI | 5% to 20% | Yes, a one-off premium (part 9) | Anyone, including investors and buyers above the price caps |
| A 20% deposit | 20% | None | Anyone |
Which way comes out ahead is worked out on your numbers, not picked from a list. Paying LMI can be the right answer if it gets you in years sooner. See First Home Guarantee, guarantor home loans, Help to Buy, the 5% Deposit Scheme or a guarantor and the first home buyer grants in your state.
Police first home buyer? The 5% Deposit Scheme and its price caps
A police officer buying a first home can use the government's 5% Deposit Scheme, which lets you buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI, because Housing Australia guarantees the lender in place of LMI [7]. The scheme has no job test, no income caps and no waitlist. Single parents and legal guardians can buy with 2%.
You must be 18 or older, a citizen or permanent resident, live in the home, and not have owned property in the past 10 years. The home can be an existing house, townhouse or apartment, a house and land package, vacant land with a separate contract to build, or off the plan [7].
The price and the lender's valuation must both be at or under the cap for the area. Caps are higher in capitals and regional centres than in the rest of the state, which matters if you're posted to a country station:
| State or territory | Capital city and regional centres | Rest of the state |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | $1,500,000 | $800,000 |
| VIC | $950,000 | $650,000 |
| QLD | $1,000,000 | $700,000 |
| WA | $850,000 | $600,000 |
| SA | $900,000 | $500,000 |
| TAS | $700,000 | $550,000 |
| ACT | $1,000,000 (all areas) | — |
| NT | $750,000 | $600,000 |
A 5% deposit on a $600,000 home is $30,000. The scheme can't be combined with Help to Buy (part 8) [7]. It isn't a police offer, but for many first home buyers it's the better one.
Help to Buy: buying with 2% and a government share
Help to Buy is the government's shared equity scheme. It suits a buyer whose income fits its caps and who wants a smaller loan.
The deposit: at least 2% [8].
The government's share: up to 30% of an existing home, or up to 40% of a newly built one. You own the home; the government holds an equity share, so you borrow less [8].
The income caps: $103,000 for an individual, $165,000 for single parents and joint buyers [8].
Who can apply: every applicant must be an Australian citizen. There are 10,000 places each year [8].
What it can't sit with: the 5% Deposit Scheme, or a state shared equity scheme, loan or guarantee. Stamp duty concessions and grants still apply [7][8].
The joint cap counts both buyers' incomes together, so check it before you plan around the scheme.
What LMI costs on a police officer's loan, in dollars
Here's what LMI would cost at 90% and 95% of the price, from one insurer's published rate card [6]. Standard rates apply to most buyers; first home buyers get a slightly lower rate.
| Home price | Deposit | Loan | LMI, about | First home buyer, about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | 10% ($50,000) | $450,000 | $9,450 | $9,315 |
| $500,000 | 5% ($25,000) | $475,000 | $16,198 | $15,960 |
| $700,000 | 10% ($70,000) | $630,000 | $16,884 | $16,632 |
| $700,000 | 5% ($35,000) | $665,000 | $30,457 | $29,992 |
| $900,000 | 10% ($90,000) | $810,000 | $21,708 | $21,384 |
| $900,000 | 5% ($45,000) | $855,000 | $39,159 | $38,561 |
These are illustrations from one rate card, not quotes. Your premium depends on the insurer, the loan and the lender.
What this means for you: going from a 10% deposit to a 5% deposit on a $700,000 home nearly doubles the LMI, from about $16,900 to about $30,500. That's why the 5% Deposit Scheme, which removes LMI altogether, is worth so much to a first home buyer under the price cap.
When a no-LMI offer costs more than paying LMI
A no-LMI offer only saves you money if its rate is close to the best rate you could get elsewhere. On a $630,000 loan over 30 years, a rate 0.25% higher costs about $1,600 in extra interest in the first year and about $15,700 over ten years [10]. Keep the loan longer than about eleven years and the higher rate has cost more than the $16,884 of LMI it saved (part 9).
The same sum works on a member discount from a police bank, or a package with a fee. Compare the whole cost: the rate, the fees, and how long you'll keep the loan, not just whether there's LMI.
How lenders count a police officer's pay
A police officer's base salary is the easy part: lenders count it in full. What changes your borrowing is how a lender treats everything else on your payslip: overtime, shift penalties, allowances, higher duties, salary packaging and part-time or casual hours. Lenders differ, and the difference can be thousands of dollars a year of counted income.
The next parts set out the rules of the lenders whose credit policy Money Brain has read, in our own words [5]. Where we haven't verified a lender's rule, it's left out rather than guessed: CommBank and Bank First aren't in these parts for that reason.
Overtime: how much of a police officer's overtime do lenders count?
For a worker outside a lender's essential-services rules, ANZ, Westpac Group, NAB, Bankwest and Macquarie count 80% of overtime [5]. Suncorp's policy, as we hold it, doesn't state the share. Several count 100% for workers they class as essential, but the essential-services wording Money Brain holds from these lenders names health workers, not police. So whether your overtime counts in full is the first thing to put to each lender.
| Lender | Overtime counted | History they want |
|---|---|---|
| ANZ | 80% | 3 months this year (full or part time), 6 months (casual) |
| Westpac Group | 80%; its emergency services rule counts 100% for listed roles | 3 months as standard; documents covering 6 months under the emergency services rule |
| NAB | 80%; 100% only for nurses and midwives | Average of the last 180 days; not annualised under 6 months |
| Bankwest | 80%; 100% for its essential industries, which include hospital and medical workers | 3 months this year, or last year's income document |
| Macquarie | 80%; 100% for essential services, which include health services | 3 months this year; regular, ongoing and evidenced |
| Suncorp | Share not stated in the policy we hold | 6 months continuous for overtime outside essential services |
Westpac Group's version is written as an emergency services employee policy. The part we hold names hospital-employed nurses, midwives and doctors, and it excludes office-based emergency services staff [5]. Whether a frontline police role is in is a question for Westpac, and one we ask for you.
What this means for you: if overtime is a big part of your pay, the lender's rule can change your borrowing more than the rate does. A lender that counts 80% of $20,000 of overtime counts $16,000; one that counts 100% counts all $20,000.
Shift penalties and allowances: what counts?
Night, weekend and public holiday rates are part of how police are paid. Lenders treat them differently from overtime, and not every lender's policy names them.
NAB: counts shift penalties in full, as base pay, for permanent staff when they're part of your regular contracted hours, from two payslips (the lower of the two). Recurring allowances, shift allowances included, count in full from two payslips in a row; one that swings more than 20% is treated as overtime [5].
Macquarie: counts shift allowances and other allowances in full where they're a condition of your job and standard in your industry, from 3 months of pay this year [5].
ANZ: counts ongoing allowances in full, but not higher-duties pay or one-off payments [5].
Westpac Group: counts allowances at 80% outside its emergency services rule [5].
Suncorp: counts allowances at 80% for most workers, after 6 months, and not cost reimbursements [5].
ING: counts allowances up to 25% of base pay; a car allowance at 80%, with its costs in your expenses [5].
Bring payslips that show each penalty and allowance on its own line. A payslip that lumps them together is harder for a lender to count.
Higher duties, court time and other irregular pay
Higher duties pay, court attendance and other payments that come and go are the hardest part of a police officer's pay for a lender to count. ANZ's policy says plainly that it doesn't count higher-duties pay or one-off payments [5]. Other lenders look at how long you've had the payment and whether it will continue.
If higher duties have become your normal role, an employer letter confirming the higher rate and how long it will last can help a lender see it as ongoing. Payslips and last year's income statement that show the pattern help too.
Salary packaging and salary sacrifice
Salary packaging is pay you take before tax, and lenders don't all treat it the same way [5].
Westpac Group adds packaged amounts back in full, on the basis that packaging is voluntary and you could cancel it and take the pay. ANZ adds non-taxed packaging back, untaxed, on top of your taxable income. AMP counts packaging only with an employer letter confirming it can be taken as cash. NAB's tax-free add-back, up to $970 a month, is for employees of employers exempt from fringe benefits tax [5].
Bring your packaging statement along with your payslips, so the lender sees what's packaged and what isn't.
Recruits and probationary constables: can you get a home loan?
A probationary constable can get a home loan, but lenders want to see you've started and been paid, and some ask for more time. At Westpac, a loan without mortgage insurance needs you to have started and received at least one pay. A mortgage-insured loan needs 3 months in the job, or less than that with 12 months in the same occupation and no gap of more than 2 months between jobs [5].
Whether your weeks at the academy count as time in the job isn't written in the policy text we hold, so it's a question to put to the lender before you sign a contract on a home. Have your letter of offer and first payslips ready.
Just promoted, or moved to a higher pay rate? Westpac accepts the new base pay from an employer's letter, email or contract giving it, plus one payslip at the new rate [5]. So at Westpac a pay rise doesn't have to wait months to count.
Part-time and casual police staff
Civilian police staff are often part-time or casual. Both can count, but each lender sets its own minimum time first.
Part-time: Westpac counts permanent part-time pay as base pay, using the lowest base rate and hours on your payslips unless there's a reason they vary. One-off unpaid leave can be counted back in once you're back to normal hours [5].
Westpac Group: counts casual pay in full after 6 months continuous with the same employer or agency, spread over 52 weeks [5].
Suncorp: counts it in full after 6 months continuous, or 12 months in a similar role [5].
NAB: averages the last 180 days, penalty rates included, with overtime split out at 80% [5].
Bankwest, Macquarie, ING: want 6 months in the current job (Macquarie also takes the past 6 months in the same field) [5].
Teachers Mutual Bank group: wants 6 months of regular casual pay, outside its essential-services rule [5].
AMP: wants 6 months with the employer and 12 months in the same industry and role [5].
ANZ: wants 6 months employed. With LMI, a casual can't be the only or main earner on the loan [5].
On parental leave, or going back to work
You can buy while on parental leave. Westpac can use your return-to-work pay, base pay only, with a letter from your employer giving your return date, your hours and your pay. Every child counts as a dependant, including one not yet born [5].
If your first repayment falls before you return, you'll need to show savings that cover the gap, on top of the money for the purchase. With a mortgage-insured loan in that case, Westpac won't lend for an investment [5].
How much can a police officer borrow?
How much a police officer can borrow comes down to three things: what a lender counts of your pay, your debts, and your living costs. Banks then check you could still make the repayments if rates were 3 percentage points higher, the buffer APRA expects [9]. APRA also caps loans to people whose debts are six or more times their income at 20% of each bank's new home lending [9].
That's why the same officer can get quite different answers from two lenders. One that counts all your penalties, allowances and overtime can lend noticeably more than one that counts part of each. See how much can I borrow.
Buying with a partner who isn't in the force
You can, and your partner's income counts toward what you can borrow together in the usual way. Because no lender Money Brain checked has a police LMI waiver, there's no police condition for your partner to meet at those lenders [1][2][3][4].
Two things to watch. At ANZ, if the loan has LMI and one of you is casual, the casual can't be the only or main earner [5]. And Help to Buy's joint income cap of $165,000 applies to you both together [8].
Buying an investment property as a police officer
A police officer buys an investment property on the same lender rules as anyone else: none of the lenders Money Brain checked has a police waiver to help, so above 80% you'd pay LMI [1][2][3][4]. The 5% Deposit Scheme is only for a home you live in [7].
Once you own one property, the order you buy the next ones in decides whether you can keep going. That's the work we enjoy most: see using equity to buy an investment property.
What to have ready
Your last two payslips, showing penalties, allowances, overtime and higher duties on their own lines
Last year's income statement
Your roster, if your hours vary
Your salary packaging statement, if you package
Your letter of offer or contract, if you're new or just promoted
An employer letter, if you're on leave or your higher duties are ongoing
The full document list is on How it works.
Why police officers' applications get held up
The same few things come up again and again:
Applying before a lender's history period is met, so overtime isn't counted yet (part 12)
Assuming a police bank membership waives LMI (part 4)
Counting on an advertised police offer without reading who it covers (part 3)
Higher duties a lender treats as one-off pay (part 14)
A payslip that lumps penalties and allowances together (part 13)
Being casual and the main earner on a loan with LMI at ANZ (part 17)
Each one is avoidable by picking the lender that fits your pay before you apply.
What does a mortgage broker cost a police officer?
How a broker is paid, and the rule Money Brain holds against it, is set out in full on its own page: what a mortgage broker costs.
Your first move
You've read the rules. Now there's one question left: which way in, with which lender, for your pay, at the price you want? That depends on whether it's your first home, your roster, your allowances and your deposit, and it's what Money Brain works out before anything goes to a lender.
When you're ready, the closing section below is the simplest way to start.
Three facts, and I'll do the checking
Tell me whether you're sworn or civilian, your pay before tax and roughly what you want to spend. I'll come back with which lenders fit, how each would count your penalties, allowances and overtime, and whether the 5% Deposit Scheme, a guarantee or paying LMI comes out ahead.
You'll hear back within the hour in business hours, and by 9am the next business day after hours.
Questions police ask
Not through a police waiver at the eleven lender groups Money Brain checked: none names police officers in its LMI waiver. A police officer can still avoid LMI with a 20% deposit, or as a first home buyer through the government's 5% Deposit Scheme.
Sources
- 1
Westpac Group (Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA): LMI waiver policy for professionals. Checked 1 October 2026.
- 2
CommBank, NAB, Bankwest, Suncorp, ANZ: professional LMI waiver policies. Checked 1 October 2026.
- 3
Bank First: LMI waiver for healthcare and education workers. Checked 3 October 2026 and re-checked 21 October 2026.
- 4
Macquarie, ING, AMP, Teachers Mutual Bank group: no professional LMI waiver. Checked 1 October 2026 and re-checked 21 October 2026.
- 5
Lender credit policies on overtime, shift penalties, allowances, salary packaging, casual income, new employment, part-time and parental leave: ANZ, Westpac Group, NAB, Bankwest, Suncorp, Macquarie, ING, AMP, Teachers Mutual Bank group. Read 30 September and 1 October 2026 (each lender's policy last updated between 22 and 29 September 2026).
- 6
LMI premium: one insurer's published rate card, standard and first home buyer rates. Checked 21 October 2026.
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Money Brain's arithmetic: a $630,000 loan over 30 years at illustrative rates of 6.00% and 6.25%, monthly repayments and interest by year. Run 22 October 2026.
Updated 2 October 2026