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Westpac helps more nurses and midwives into home ownership
18 March 2024
Westpac has helped more than 3,600 female registered nurses and midwives across Australia buy a home since it extended its Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) waiver in October 2022 to support more women into home ownership.
The LMI waiver program gives eligible registered nurses and midwives with a 10 per cent home deposit the option to avoid the additional upfront expense of LMI if they earn over $90,000 per annum (gross salary) – meaning they can purchase their home sooner with a smaller deposit. Typically, customers with less than a 20 per cent house deposit incur the additional expense of mortgage insurance.
“One of the biggest hurdles to getting a foot on the property ladder is being able to save enough upfront for a deposit, or if not, facing the extra cost of thousands of dollars in Lenders Mortgage Insurance,” said Sarah Willsallen, State General Manager Mortgage Broker Distribution.
“This is particularly the case for women who we know experience additional savings barriers due to the persistent gender pay gap and taking time out of the workforce to care for children.”
“Registered nursing and midwifery are critical roles supporting our community and they’re also among the highest female-dominated professions in Australia. Pleasingly, our data shows 77 per cent of applications under the LMI waiver come from women.”
“I’m so proud to see this initiative is delivering on our intention of removing barriers to home ownership for women, helping more Australians own their own home and build financial security,” she said.
Westpac’s LMI waiver is available to a range of Allied Health professions, including GPs, physios, psychologists, dentists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists.
The LMI waiver complements the bank’s other initiatives to support women, including assessing home loan applicants on parental leave on their return-to-work salary, boosting its female workforce across home and business lending and providing better access to finance for childcare operators.
About the Waiver:
The Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) Waiver is available for eligible registered nurses and midwives who earn over $90,000 per annum gross salary. Where both applicants are eligible healthcare professionals, the $90,000 income threshold can be met jointly by the two applicants. Under the waiver, these applicants can buy a home with a smaller deposit (from 10 per cent) with the cost of LMI waived. For more information, visit www.westpac.com.au/healthcare-lmi
About Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI): LMI generally applies when you have less than a 20% deposit. This is an insurance cover that protects the bank from encountering any loss if you can’t repay your home loan. It’s a one-off payment based on the amount borrowed and the size of your deposit. For example, a family home with a property value of $650,000 means a buyer would also be looking at a one-off payment of $8,000 for the cost of LMI if they had less than a 20% deposit.
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