Home Buying Assistance for Teachers

Teaching is recognised, but less uniformly than nursing

Teachers are treated as Key Workers in key worker housing programs and in most affordable housing discussions. On the lending side the picture is narrower: the major banks' published LMI waiver lists name medical, legal and finance professions, and do not list teaching.

That does not leave you without options. It means the specific offer matters more than the general label, and you should ask each lender what it publishes rather than assume a waiver is available.

What is published for teachers

• Bank First publishes an LMI waiver of up to 90% LVR for eligible education and healthcare first home buyer owner-occupiers. Its published offer excludes off-the-plan, construction and refinance loans.
• Westpac publishes occupation-based waivers for listed health professions and can assess 100% of overtime and allowances as income for eligible healthcare, emergency services and trade applicants. Teaching is not on its published waiver list.
• NAB publishes waivers for AHPRA-registered medical practitioners and for listed legal and finance professionals, not for teaching roles.

A waiver removes Lenders Mortgage Insurance; a discount reduces it. Neither reduces the purchase price or funds your deposit, and each lender applies its own income test, LVR cap and exclusions. Lists change, so verify the current terms directly before you build them into a budget. Understanding government home buyer assistance sets out what is currently published.

Government support, which is not occupation-based

• 5 percent Deposit Scheme. Eligible first home buyers can purchase with a 5% deposit, and eligible single parents or legal guardians with 2%, without LMI. Property price caps apply by location and applications go through participating lenders.
• Help to Buy. Shared equity with published taxable-income limits of $103,000 for individuals and $165,000 for joint applicants or single parents, subject to property caps and occupancy conditions. Two teachers buying together may find the joint limit relevant.
• State duty concessions. These depend on where you buy. Queensland gives a full concession up to $700,000 and steps down to $800,000. New South Wales exempts homes up to $800,000 with a concession to $1 million. Victoria exempts up to $600,000 with a reduction to $750,000.

The teaching income issues that actually come up

Contracts and relief work. A temporary or casual-relief pattern needs a longer record than permanent employment. Expect a lender to ask for two years of history or a clear ongoing pattern, plus confirmation from the school.

Part-time and job-share. Lenders assess the income you can demonstrate, not the full-time equivalent. If you are returning from parental leave or increasing your fraction, talk to the lender about how the change will be treated before you apply.

School holidays. Settlement, inspections and removalists all get harder in the first and last weeks of term. Aim to settle in a quieter period if you can, and keep a buffer for timing surprises.

Transfer risk. Teachers can be moved between schools. If your posting is not permanent, think about whether the location still works if it changes, and ask about the commute at the times you will actually travel.

Preparing to buy when your work involves shifts or contracts covers the documentation in more detail.

A sensible order

Establish what you can borrow, then the deposit and any government support, then the area, then the property. Building a realistic deposit and finance plan goes through the numbers, and choosing where to buy around your work and budget covers the location decision.

EWH is a private service, separate from government programs and from any lender. We work with providers and developers selling to eligible Essential and Key Workers at a genuine discount, and we will tell you plainly whether a purchase looks achievable.