CBA expands LMI waivers for medical and banking professionals

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has widened its lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) waivers, allowing more Australian professionals to buy homes with a smaller deposit. 

More professionals eligible for LMI waivers 

Banks typically charge LMI when a buyer has less than a 20% deposit, with the average cost around $23,000. CBA already offered LMI waivers for high-earning professionals in medical, legal, accounting and finance roles. 

From July 30, the bank introduced expanded waivers for: 

• Pharmacists, now eligible with $100,000 annual income, down from $150,000 
• Medical professionals with limited registration, including interns and doctors in supervised practice 
• Banking professionals, with no requirement for salary credits to a CBA account before settlement 
• Judges and magistrates, who can qualify using a payslip, tax return or appointment letter 

Marcos Meneguzzi (pictured), CBA executive general manager home buying, told Yahoo Finance the changes are aimed at helping more Australians into home ownership. 

"At Commonwealth Bank, we are constantly reviewing and monitoring our home loan policies and processes to see how we can best meet our customers’ home buying needs while maintaining our prudent lending standards," he said. 

CBA trial and responsible lending 

Earlier this year, CBA trialled extending LMI waivers to frontline workers such as nurses, police, paramedics, and firefighters. 

“All loans are assessed on a case-by-case basis and adhere to APRA's prudential requirements through robust credit assessments, portfolio monitoring and responsible lending obligations,” a CBA spokesperson said. 

“We encourage customers to speak with their lender or broker to discuss their personal home loan needs and understand what options are available to them.” 

Other banks offering LMI waivers 

CBA isn’t the only major bank offering professional LMI waivers. NAB, Westpac, and ANZ also provide waivers for certain medical, legal, and financial professionals. 

• NAB recently expanded its waivers to more accountants, lawyers and medical workers. 
• ANZ offers waivers in 145 postcodes, including affluent suburbs like Point Piper, Toorak and Hamilton, for loans of $2 million or more with qualifying income. 

Government policy shift on LMI 

The federal government plans to allow all first-home buyers to purchase with a 5% deposit and avoid LMI under an expanded guarantee scheme, starting January 2026. 

New property price caps include: 

• Sydney: $1.5 million 
• Melbourne: $950,000 
• Brisbane & Canberra: $1 million 
• Adelaide: $900,000 
• Perth: $850,000 
• Hobart: $700,000 
• Darwin: $600,000 

This change would remove income caps and the limit on available places, giving first-time buyers wider access to the scheme, Yahoo Finance reported. 

How brokers can leverage the changes 

The expanded LMI waivers mean brokers can now assist a wider pool of clients—especially those who may be able to enter the market with smaller deposits. 

The change also lands amid a shifting first-home buyer landscape. The average age of a first-time buyer in Australia has climbed to around 36, up from 30 in the early 2000s, according to CBA economist Harry Ottley. At the same time, brokers are seeing a wave of early-20s buyers who’ve saved aggressively while living at home, highlighting a split market of both older and younger entrants. 

Janine Ashmore of Bliss Home Loans noted that younger buyers often arrive with $100,000 saved thanks to pandemic-era habits and parental support, while older first-home buyers face longer saving timelines, student debt, and tighter lending conditions. 

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