Who this covers: registered and enrolled nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, paramedics and allied health in hospital rosters.
What lenders do differently
Penalties and overtime
Shift penalties, weekend and public holiday rates and rostered overtime are most of the gap between base pay and take-home. Most lenders count them, usually at 80 per cent of the year-to-date figure; a few take 100 per cent for essential workers where the roster is standard. Two payslips and a group certificate or two years of overtime history are the usual evidence.
Salary packaging
Packaged amounts (the health-sector cap of about $9,000 a year, plus meal entertainment) are added back by most lenders as income, since they are pre-tax pay. Lenders differ on whether to gross them up; the difference is small but real.
Agency, casual and part-time work
Casual nursing with a regular pattern is usually counted after six to twelve months with the same agency or employer. Part-time is at the actual hours. A second casual job on top of a permanent role is often counted once it has run for a year.
LMI concessions
A smaller group of lenders waive or discount LMI for nurses and some other essential workers, often at 85 or 90 per cent with an income floor. Not as wide as the medical professional waivers, but worth checking before a deposit is sized.
Worth knowing before applying
Maternity or unpaid leave on the year-to-date figure needs a return-to-work letter; an employer confirmation of roster is sometimes asked for; and the income annualisation calculator reads a payslip the way an assessor does.
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.