Home Loans for Self-Employed Optometrists on the Gold Coast, QLD, No LMI to 90%

Running your own optometry practice gives you more control over your income than most borrowers ever see, and lenders who understand that are far more useful to you than the ones who just count your payslips. The challenge is that most lenders default to a conservative read of practice income, particularly in the first year or two, which can make your borrowing capacity look smaller than it actually is.

Whether you own your clinic outright, work across multiple locations, or bill partly through Medicare and partly through private optical sales, the way your income is structured on a tax return is rarely the whole picture. Lenders who work regularly with self-employed health professionals know how to read add-backs, equipment depreciation and retained earnings in a way that reflects what the business actually puts in your pocket. And as a registered optometrist, you may also qualify for a professional LMI waiver that most borrowers cannot access at all.

The self-employed home loan side of this is where the lender choice makes the biggest difference. Our team works with self-employed professionals across Gold Coast, QLD, comparing across 70+ lenders to find the right structure for practice income.

Can self-employed optometrists get a home loan without a 20% deposit?

Yes, and in some cases without needing LMI at all. Some lenders list optometrists on their professional waiver policy, which allows borrowing to 90% LVR with no lenders mortgage insurance, subject to an income threshold that commonly sits around $90,000 a year. You don't need to be employed by a practice to qualify — self-employed optometrists are eligible where the lender's policy covers them — but you do need to be currently registered and practising.

Source: Westpac (mid-2026).

How do lenders assess self-employed optometrists' income?

Your taxable income on a return is almost never what a lender uses to assess you. Self-employed optometrists run businesses with real costs — equipment, premises, staff — and those costs reduce the taxable figure in ways that don't reflect what you actually take home. The lender's job is to work back from the return to a usable income number, and they do it differently.

Add-backs and the practice P&L

Most lenders will add back depreciation on equipment (optical instruments, chairs, diagnostic tools) and any one-off expenses that won't recur. Where the business has genuine retained profits, some lenders will count a portion of those too. The key is that your accountant's treatment of these items needs to be consistent across two years, not just the most recent one.

Medicare and private revenue

Optometry income typically blends Medicare-rebated consultations with private optical frame and lens sales. Some lenders assess these streams separately, particularly if the optical retail component is high — they treat it more like a retail business than a health practice. Others assess the combined net position. Which approach your lender takes changes your assessed income materially, which is the single biggest reason lender choice matters here more than rate.

What eligibility criteria apply to self-employed optometrists?

Lenders verify several things before they'll count your practice income at full value. Meeting these doesn't guarantee approval, but not meeting them is usually why self-employed applications stall.

What lenders typically check:

• › AHPRA registration: current registration with the Optometry Board of Australia in good standing, confirming you're actively practising.
• › ABN and GST registration: typically held for a minimum of 12 months, often 24 months, before a lender will treat the business as established.
• › Two years of tax returns: personal and business, showing income in the same field. Some lenders accept one year where the history before that is documented.
• › BAS statements: typically the last four quarters, to confirm revenue is consistent with what the returns show.
• › Accountant's letter: confirming the business is trading, the structure, and the income. Not every lender requires one, but most want it where the P&L is complex.
• › LMI waiver income threshold: the professional waiver at most lenders requires income around $90,000 a year. Below that, the waiver typically doesn't apply, though you can still borrow with standard LMI.

How much can self-employed optometrists borrow on the Gold Coast?

Your borrowing capacity depends on the income your lender is willing to assess — and for a self-employed optometrist, that number varies considerably between lenders. The lender who adds back your equipment depreciation and counts a portion of retained profits may assess you $80,000 to $100,000 higher than one who takes only the bottom line of your return. That difference moves a Gold Coast borrowing capacity by a full price bracket.

CoreLogic data shows house medians across the approved Gold Coast suburbs running from $932,000 in Labrador to over $2,400,000 in Bundall and Broadbeach Waters. Most mid-market suburbs sit well above the $1,000,000 cap on the First Home Guarantee, which makes the deposit question almost always about units for first-time buyers. Unit medians in suburbs like Southport at $776,000, Ashmore at $780,000, and Molendinar at $770,000 sit under that cap and are accessible with a 10% deposit where a lender lists optometrists on their waiver policy.

The APRA serviceability buffer means all lenders assess your repayments at your actual rate plus 3 percentage points, which typically reduces borrowing capacity by roughly 15 to 20 percent compared to what the rate alone suggests. That buffer applies to every borrower regardless of profession.

Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, mid-2026) and APRA.

Get in touch Need help with a home loan as a self-employed optometrist? We're a local team who understand how lenders actually assess your situation, not just your rate. We'll compare your options across 70+ lenders to find the right fit. Chat to Our Team Call 1800 040 030

What government schemes can self-employed optometrists use?

Profession doesn't disqualify you from any scheme, so if you're buying your first home or buying as a single parent, the same pathways available to PAYG buyers are open to you.

Schemes worth knowing:

• › First Home Guarantee: 5% deposit, no LMI, no income cap. The Gold Coast price cap is $1,000,000, which covers most unit medians across the area but few houses.
• › Family Home Guarantee: single parents and single guardians, 2% deposit, no first-home-buyer requirement. Same $1,000,000 Gold Coast cap applies.
• › Queensland First Home Owner Grant:$30,000 for eligible new homes valued under $750,000. New builds only — no grant for established homes.
• › Queensland transfer duty concession: no duty on new homes (no price cap), and no duty on established homes under $700,000. Partial concession between $700,000 and $800,000.
• › Help to Buy: federal shared equity, up to 40% government co-contribution on a new home. Income cap is $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for couples or single parents. Cannot be combined with a state shared-equity scheme.

Source: Housing Australia and Queensland Revenue Office.

How do mortgage brokers improve outcomes for self-employed optometrists on the Gold Coast?

The lender choice decides the outcome here, not the rate. Three policy differences move the number for self-employed optometrists, and they're not published side by side anywhere.

• › Waiver coverage: not every lender that lists allied health professionals specifically lists optometrists by name. Some require the AHPRA board registration to match their approved-occupation list exactly — applying to the wrong lender means a decline that sits on your credit file.
• › Add-back treatment: lenders differ significantly on which self-employed expenses they'll add back to income. A lender that adds depreciation and one-off fit-out costs back to your net profit can assess you at a materially higher income than one that takes only what's at the bottom of the return.
• › Second year of returns: where your first year of practice looked different to your second — as it often does when a practice is bedding in — some lenders average across both years and some weight the most recent. Which approach is used can change your assessed income by more than the add-backs do.

Comparing across a panel of 70+ lenders finds which of those three positions works in your favour, before you apply to anyone.

When does the professional waiver not make sense for a self-employed optometrist?

The waiver gets most of the attention, but it isn't always the right path. If your income threshold sits just under the qualifying level, it's sometimes worth waiting a reporting period rather than structuring the application around a waiver you narrowly miss. Applying and being declined leaves a mark on your file that can complicate the next attempt.

It's also worth knowing that the First Home Guarantee's 5% deposit requirement is lower than the 10% a waiver loan typically needs, so if you're a first home buyer with a smaller deposit, the scheme can be the better entry point even though it comes without the waiver's higher borrowing ceiling. The right path depends on your deposit position, income level and the specific lender's policy on the day you apply — not a single rule that works for everyone.

What approval challenges do self-employed optometrists face?

Where applications run into difficulty:

• › Equipment finance already on the books: if you've financed a slit lamp, phoropter or fit-out through a chattel mortgage or equipment loan, that commitment is assessed by lenders as an ongoing liability. It reduces servicing capacity — sometimes significantly — in the same year you're also trying to buy a home.
• › Income decline between years: where year two of returns shows lower income than year one — common if a practice changed structure or absorbed a new staff member — lenders who average the two years will assess you lower than the most recent year suggests. The timing of your application relative to when the most current return was lodged matters here.
• › Trust structures and retained profits: optometrists who operate through a family or discretionary trust have a narrower lender panel available to them. Some lenders require the trust to be the borrowing entity; others can lend to the individual trustee. Getting the structure right before you apply saves a second application.
• › Applying to the wrong lender first: a decline from a lender whose policy doesn't cover your occupation or add-back treatment leaves an enquiry on your credit file for five years. That enquiry doesn't affect your score directly, but multiple enquiries in a short window can raise questions for the next lender.

How to apply for a home loan as a self-employed optometrist on the Gold Coast, QLD, step by step

Step 1: Talk to us

We start by understanding your practice structure, income history and deposit position — then identify which lenders on our panel actively list optometrists and can work with your add-back position.

Step 2: Gather your documents and assess your capacity

We'll work through what your income looks like with add-backs applied, confirm your AHPRA registration and BAS position, and give you a clear borrowing capacity figure before anything is submitted.

Step 3: Match to the right lender and apply

We submit to the lender whose waiver policy and income-assessment approach suits your situation, so your first application is your best one rather than a process of elimination.

Step 4: Manage approval through to settlement

We handle lender queries during assessment and stay across the process through to settlement, including any valuation or conditions that come up along the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a self-employed optometrist get a home loan with only one year of tax returns?

Some lenders will consider one year of returns where there's documented employment history in the same field before self-employment began. It narrows the panel considerably, but it's not a blanket no — a broker conversation is worth having before you assume you need to wait.

Does the professional LMI waiver apply if I operate through a company or trust?

It depends on the lender. Some waiver policies apply to the individual regardless of business structure; others require the borrowing entity to match specific criteria. This is one of the more common reasons a self-employed application goes to the wrong lender, so it's worth confirming before applying.

Is the $90,000 income threshold applied to my taxable income or my assessed income?

Most lenders apply it to the income they assess after add-backs, not the taxable figure on your return. That distinction matters if your net taxable income looks lower than what you actually clear from the practice.

Do equipment loans and chattel mortgages affect my borrowing capacity?

Yes. Lenders treat them as ongoing commitments and assess repayments against your serviceability. The commitment stays in the calculation even if the equipment is fully deductible — the tax treatment doesn't change the lender's liability count.

Can I use the First Home Guarantee as a self-employed buyer?

Yes, self-employment doesn't disqualify you. You'll need to meet the first-home-buyer criteria and the Gold Coast price cap of $1,000,000 applies. Most house medians in the area are above that cap, so units are where the scheme typically applies for Gold Coast buyers.

Should I use a mortgage broker or go directly to my bank as a self-employed optometrist?

A mortgage broker, every time. Your bank assesses your income the way it assesses everyone's — it won't search its own competitors for a lender whose add-back policy or waiver coverage works better for your practice structure. A broker with access to 70+ lenders can find the right one before you apply to the wrong one.

Your Next Steps

Getting your home loan right as a self-employed optometrist starts with knowing which lender will actually read your income properly — not just the one with the most prominent website or the lowest advertised rate. The difference between a lender who adds back your depreciation and one who doesn't can move your borrowing position by more than most people expect.

Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your practice income and deposit position? Contact the Serres Property Finance team or call 1800 040 030. We'll canvas our 70+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.

About the author Lee Tsiboukas Senior Mortgage Broker, Serres Property Finance Lee Tsiboukas is the senior mortgage broker behind Serres Property Finance and has spent more than fifteen years running a private property investment trust across a diverse portfolio. He started Serres after seeing how much harder lending had become for complex borrowers - the self-employed, investors and first home buyers - once the GFC and the Banking Royal Commission tightened the banks' doors. His own family are long-term property owners and investors, so he understands the position clients are in whether they are buying a first home, building toward retirement or funding a development. Meet Lee → LinkedIn

Serres Property Finance · Gold Coast, QLD · Serres Finance Pty Ltd (ABN 34 668 150 758), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 486112 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.