Start here: Self-Employed Home Loan
A self-employed home loan isn’t harder, it’s different; and the brokers who specialise in it know which lenders to take you to.
Six stages on how lenders treat self-employed income, the documents you need, low-doc options, and the decisions that get an application across the line.
6 stages~60 min total readUpdated 5 May 2026
You should be here if…
- You’re a sole trader, contractor, company director, or partnership.
- You earn income that isn’t a clean PAYG payslip.
- You want to apply for a home loan in the next 6–18 months.
6 stages
Self-Employed Home Loan
The 6 stages
Read in order, or jump to the bit you need.
01What lenders mean by “self-employed”Sole trader, company director, contractor, gig worker, partner. Lenders treat each differently. Get the label right or you’ll be quoted the wrong product.9 min02Documents lenders need from self-employed borrowersTwo years of personal and business tax returns, BAS for the last four quarters, ATO portal access, plus add-backs. The pile is the application.11 min03Low-doc home loans, honestlyLow-doc was never meant to be the default. It’s a bridge for genuine income that can’t yet be evidenced, at a price.10 min04How lenders calculate self-employed incomeLenders add back depreciation, one-off expenses, director loans and certain superannuation contributions to your taxable income. Done right, the difference is 20% of your borrowing capacity.11 min05How to improve your borrowing capacityClean up unsecured debt, manage credit cards (the limit matters more than the balance), and consider a partner co-applicant. Three levers that move the calculator more than rate-shopping.10 min06Get matched with a self-employed specialistA specialist self-employed broker holds a mental list of the four to six lenders most likely to say yes to your specific structure, saving you the credit-file hits of trial and error.9 min
Related deep-dive
Want the encyclopaedia, not the path? See the self-employed hub.
WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Comparison rates are calculated on a secured loan of $150,000 over 25 years for home loans and a loan of $30,000 over 5 years for car and personal loans, unless the lender states another basis. Business loans and equipment finance for a business purpose have no mandatory comparison rate.