Who this covers: mine site operators, trades and engineers on FIFO or DIDO rosters, and contractors to the Hunter and Bowen Basin operations.
What lenders do differently
Allowances
Site, remote, living-away-from-home and travel allowances are counted by most lenders where they are a standing part of the role, often at 80 per cent, and at 100 per cent by some for a permanent roster. Allowances tied to a specific project are read as ending with it.
Roster overtime
A 2:1 or 8:6 roster with built-in overtime is treated as rostered, and counted with a year of history. Additional shifts are shaded further.
Contract or permanent
Permanent employees with a mining company are straightforward. Labour-hire and contract workers are counted after a year with the same provider, or two years in the industry; a fixed-term contract with renewal history is read as continuing.
Buying at home while working away
Most buy in the town the family lives in, which is an owner-occupied loan even though the borrower is on site half the time. Buying in the mining town itself is assessed more conservatively on valuation, because of the single-industry market.
Worth knowing before applying
A long break between contracts shows on the year-to-date figure and needs a letter; a downturn in the commodity price does not change the assessment, but a lender may ask about the contract term; and the income annualisation calculator reads the payslip as an assessor would.
The tools that fit
Policies on all of the above differ lender to lender and change without notice; the value of the conversation is knowing which lender's policy reads your payslip best on the day. Understanding how your income is read before you apply is what makes the application calm.