Airline pilots & cabin crew
Base salary plus flight and duty allowances, per diems and, for some, a posting overseas.
Shift, roster & allowance income
Home loans for pilots, cabin crew and shift workers
Shift work often pays well but looks messy on a loan application. Overtime, penalty rates and allowances can be a big part of what you earn, and every lender counts them differently. We search a panel of 75 lenders to find the ones most likely to count your pay properly.
Why rostered pay gets read differently
Banks like pay that is the same every fortnight. Yours changes with the roster.
Your pay is a base rate with extras on top, like overtime, penalty rates and allowances. Banks are told to be careful with pay that goes up and down, so many count only part of some extras, like overtime. Each bank decides how much, which is why the same payslips can get very different answers.
How lenders read the parts of your pay
Base pay is easy. The extras are where lenders differ.
- Overtime: most lenders count part of it, often about 80%, once you can show you have earned it for a while. Some count all of it for essential workers.
- Penalty rates and shift allowances: some lenders count all of them, others only part.
- Duty and flight allowances: the lender will ask how you earn each one and whether it will keep coming.
- Per diems and travel allowances: these cover costs, not work. Some lenders will not count them at all, others only part. They may not even show on your income statement.
- Casual work: lenders usually want a track record first. Permanent part-time is usually seen as steady, like full-time work.
- Changing employers: a new job resets your time in the job, even in the same role. Tell us before you sign or resign.
- Based overseas or paid in another currency: fewer lenders will help, and those that take foreign-currency pay usually count less of it to allow for exchange rates.
Based on APRA's guide for home lenders and the ATO on travel allowances and tax residency. General information only, not tax, credit or financial advice, and it does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs.
Police, nurse, paramedic or firefighter?
Some lenders have special deals for your job. See home loans for police, firefighters, paramedics, nurses and doctors.
The paperwork that makes it easy
Good paperwork means fewer questions from the lender.
- Your last two payslips, showing year-to-date figures.
- More payslips, up to a year, if overtime and allowances are a big part of your pay.
- Your income statement from myGov, what used to be called a group certificate.
- A recent roster.
- Your contract or a letter from your employer: permanent, part-time or casual, your start date and your base pay.
- Bank statements showing your pay going in.
Want a rough idea first? Our income annualiser works out your year roughly the way lenders do, and the repayments calculator shows what a loan would cost.
Rostered, uniformed, on call
Who we help
Air traffic controllers & ground staff
Shift cycles, night and weekend penalties and higher-duties pay. Steady work that still looks lumpy on a payslip.
Police, fire, ambulance & nursing
Penalty rates, on-call pay, overtime and agency shifts. We are a veteran-owned brokerage: we know service life, and we know how lenders read shift pay.
Common questions
Questions we get from rostered workers
Do lenders count my overtime and penalty rates?
Usually, but often not at full value. Some lenders count all of it for essential workers. Guidance from APRA, the banking regulator, says a careful bank takes at least 20 per cent off most extra income like overtime and bonuses, but regular shift penalties can count as normal pay. Past that, each lender sets its own rules, which is why two lenders can read the same payslips very differently.
How do lenders treat per diems and travel allowances?
Carefully, because a travel allowance covers a cost rather than rewarding work, and it may not even appear on your income statement where it sits at or under the ATO reasonable amount. Some lenders exclude it, others will consider part of it where you can evidence it.
Can cabin crew on a casual or part-time contract get a home loan?
Yes. Employment type changes the evidence, not the answer. Lenders generally want a track record before they lean on casual income, while permanent part-time is often read closer to permanent full-time. How long a record varies by lender.
Should I wait if I am moving airlines and starting probation?
Not necessarily, but tell us before you sign or resign. Moving employers resets your time in the job even when the role is identical. Some lenders are comfortable with that, others want probation served first.
Do lenders treat police, firefighters and nurses differently?
Sometimes in your favour. Some lenders have essential-worker policies that count more of your shift and overtime income or waive lenders mortgage insurance for particular roles. It varies by lender and changes often, and so does the paperwork, such as how many months of pay a lender wants to see.
Can you help if I am based overseas or paid in a foreign currency?
Often, though the pool of lenders is smaller and the conditions tighter. Expect questions about the currency, the posting length and where you pay tax. Tax residency is settled by the ATO's tests and belongs with a registered tax agent.
Send the payslips, we will do the reading
Let's put your roster in front of the right lender
Send us your last few payslips and we will tell you which parts of your pay lenders will count, and which lenders are worth applying to. The first chat is free. Queensland-based, lending Australia-wide.