Home loans for accountants and lawyers
Accredited accountants and legal practitioners are included in professional lending policy by a number of lenders, typically with professional body membership as the qualifying test rather than the job title alone.
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Roles lenders commonly consider
- Chartered accountants and CPAs
- Solicitors and barristers
- Partners in professional firms
- Actuaries
Accredited accountants and legal practitioners are among the best covered occupations on the panel, with waivers at up to 90% from several major lenders and up to 95% through professional products at a couple of smaller ones. Full membership of a recognised body is the test rather than the job title, and several lenders apply a minimum income from the profession that other income cannot be used to meet.
Check which waivers fit your situationA few questions — your role, how you are employed, what you are buying.
What may be available
After medicine, this is the best-covered pair of occupations on the panel — and unusually, it is covered by the largest lenders rather than only the specialists.
The concession is a waiver of lenders mortgage insurance at loan-to-value ratios where it would normally be charged. There are two routes, and they are quite different.
The professional packages, offered by several major lenders, reach 90% (a couple stop fractionally short, at 89.99%). These are the mainstream route.
Professional products at a smaller number of lenders reach 95%, with the insurance paid by the lender rather than waived. These carry tighter conditions — typically owner-occupied purchases only, with construction, vacant land and in some cases refinancing excluded — but the extra five per cent of purchase price is significant.
Membership, not job title — and full membership
The qualifying test is a current, fully qualified membership:
- Accountants — Chartered Accountants ANZ or an equivalent Global Accounting Alliance body, CPA Australia, the Institute of Public Accountants, the CFA Institute, or Fellowship of the Institute of Actuaries
- Lawyers — admission with a current practising certificate from a state Law Society, Bar Association or legal services board
Two traps here. Associate, provisional, junior and student memberships do not count at any lender — the requirement is a fully qualified member who has completed the body’s requirements. And not every overseas or affiliated body is recognised; at least one lender names a well-known international accounting body as specifically ineligible.
Someone doing accounting work without that status generally will not qualify, even where the work is identical.
The good news is that the job title is flexible. Lenders accept variations — tax accountant, internal auditor, financial controller, finance manager, chief financial officer, legal counsel, associate — and you do not have to work at an accounting or law firm.
The income thresholds are the real gate
This is where these programs differ most from medical policy, and it is the most common reason an eligible professional cannot use one.
- One lender requires a minimum gross income per eligible applicant from the profession, assessed individually rather than on total household income.
- Another sets a higher minimum on combined taxable income from the qualifying professionals — and states that rental and other income can be used to service the loan but cannot be used to meet the threshold, with no authority for credit to override it.
If your income sits near one of those lines, which lender the application goes to is the whole question.
Two categories people miss
Judges and magistrates qualify at several lenders without a practising certificate, evidenced by a commission, letter of appointment, or payslips. So do government-employed legal advisers who are not required to hold one.
Partners and senior executives have their own program. At least one lender runs a separate policy for partners in qualifying accounting and law firms, and for chief executives or their direct reports at ASX Top 100 companies — with more generous exposure limits than the standard professional package, and no genuine savings requirement.
Conditions to check before assuming
- Some lenders require the loan to be linked to an active package product.
- Principal and interest only at several, with interest-only capped at a lower LVR.
- No land or construction lending under most of these programs.
- Practising certificates and membership evidence must generally be dated within the last twelve months.
- Loan size and total exposure caps apply everywhere, and vary widely.
These change without notice and eligibility is always the lender’s decision on your circumstances.
Income assessment by employment type
Salaried
The most straightforward case. Base salary is assessed directly. The complication is usually bonuses, which in professional services can be a substantial part of total remuneration.
Bonus treatment differs sharply between lenders. Most want a two-year history and will shade the amount. Some take the lower of the two years, some average them, some accept a higher proportion where the bonus is contractual rather than discretionary. If a meaningful share of your income is bonus, which lender you approach matters considerably.
Partners and equity holders
Assessed under self-employed rules:
- Partnership or firm financials
- Your distribution or share of profit
- Capital account movements
- Two years of history, commonly
Partnership structures can be genuinely complex — varying distributions, capital contributions, and drawings that differ from assessed profit. Lenders vary in how they handle this, and a file that explains the structure clearly is assessed very differently from one that leaves the assessor to work it out.
The general mechanics are covered in self-employed home loans.
Barristers
Sole practitioners for lending purposes, so assessed as self-employed. Two years of financials is the usual expectation. Income can be irregular by the nature of the work, and lenders differ in how much weight they give a strong year against a weaker one.
Time at the bar matters: recently-signed barristers with a prior history as a solicitor are viewed differently from those with a short overall professional history, and some lenders will consider the continuity.
Where this commonly matters
The people who benefit most are usually those whose income has grown faster than their savings — which is the normal shape of a professional services career. Several years of study, then a rapid income increase, with a deposit that has not caught up.
An LMI waiver at that point is worth a great deal, because it removes the main barrier to buying while the income is already there.
What to check before assuming
- Your membership is current. Lapsed membership means no concession
- Whether your income clears the threshold, which is often higher than people expect
- How your bonus will actually be assessed, if it is significant
- Whether the property type and purpose qualify — some lenders limit the concession to owner-occupied
Also relevant
If this is a first home, occupation-based policy stacks with:
- Victorian stamp duty exemptions and concessions
- The First Home Owner Grant, for new homes
- Federal guarantee schemes, where income thresholds permit
See first home buyers.
A note
A concession that lets you borrow at a higher loan-to-value ratio reduces a cost. It does not change what you can comfortably service, and it leaves you with less equity buffer.
Professional income tends to be strong and to grow, which is why lenders offer these terms. That is not the same as a reason to borrow the maximum available.
Common questions
What counts as a qualifying accountant or lawyer?
Most lenders define eligibility by membership of a recognised professional body rather than by job title — typically CA ANZ, CPA Australia or IPA for accountants, and admission to practice with a current practising certificate for solicitors and barristers. Someone working in an accounting role without that membership will usually not qualify, even doing identical work.
Is there an income threshold?
Commonly yes, and it is often higher than for medical policy. Some lenders apply a minimum income for the concession, and some apply a higher threshold for their more generous terms. Thresholds vary and change, so this is worth checking against current policy rather than assuming.
I am a partner in a firm. How is that assessed?
Partnership income is assessed under self-employed rules — partnership financials, your distribution, and often two years of history. Partners can qualify for the professional LMI concession while having income assessed as self-employed. The two are separate tests, and partnership structures with capital accounts and varying distributions need the file assembled carefully.
Do in-house counsel and corporate accountants qualify?
Usually yes if they hold the relevant professional membership or practising certificate, since most lenders test on membership rather than employer. In-house lawyers with a current practising certificate and salaried accountants with CA or CPA status commonly qualify.
What about graduates and those still qualifying?
Generally not for the professional concession, which typically requires full membership or admission. Graduates and those completing their professional year usually fall under standard policy. Other options such as federal guarantee schemes may still apply.
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