Independent guide. Not a lender or mortgage broker, and not credit advice. About us
Expat FinanceIndependent guide

Checked 7 October 2026

How long do you need to work in Australia before you can get a home loan?

No government rule sets a minimum time in Australia, or in a job, before you can apply for a home loan, and the lender pages reviewed for this guide publish documents to supply rather than a minimum time in the job. A broker's comparison shows lenders ranging from no minimum for a permanent salary to 6 months in the job or 12 months of related work, depending on the lender and the type of employment. Checked 7 October 2026.

Each lender sets its own work-history rule, and the rule changes with the type of job. A permanent salary, a casual roster and a fixed-term contract can each be treated differently, and a visa adds its own checks on top.

What the lender pages say

The pages below are lender-published and describe what an applicant provides. None of them states a minimum number of months in the current job.

SourceWhat it publishes about income and work history
ANZ (documents page)Evidence of salary can include payslips, a tax return and notice of assessment, or bank statements showing three months of salary credits for full-time and part-time work, or six months for casual, temporary and contract work.
Commonwealth Bank (applying page)Bank statements for the last three months (six months if casually employed) unless salary is paid into one of its accounts, plus a payslip, or an employment contract or employer letter showing the current base wage, and a PAYG payment summary or tax return.
Westpac (how to apply)Applicants must be employed or self-employed (and, for the online application, a citizen or permanent resident). Documents may include bank statements, tax returns and proof of income. No minimum time is stated.
NAB (casual income page)Lenders typically look at how long income has been received and how consistent it is. A casual worker with over a year of regular hours may be viewed more favourably than someone who has just started.

ASIC says lenders must make reasonable inquiries about your financial situation and take reasonable steps to verify it. That is why these pages ask for evidence, and why the answer to "how long" sits in each lender's own credit policy.

Get your loan roadmap

Answer a few questions and see the documents, cash, timeline and tax points that apply to your situation, worked out on screen straight away. Free, about two minutes.

Start my roadmap

What brokers report about time in the job

Broker pages are secondary sources, and these figures come from one broker's lender records (checked from 28 to 31 July 2026, with the guide reviewed on 17 September 2026). The broker says there is no single waiting period and groups lenders for a permanent full-time or part-time PAYG job like this:

  • No minimum time in the role. Some lenders may consider a permanent salary during probation, using a contract, an employer letter or a first payslip.
  • 3 or 6 months. Some generally start at 3 or 6 months in the job, and earlier related work may shorten that.
  • 6 months or 12 months. Some commonly start from 6 months in the current job, or 12 months of continuous related work.
  • Depends on occupation. A few vary the rule by occupation, by whether probation has finished, or by whether mortgage insurance applies.

For casual work, the same broker says 3 to 6 months is a more common starting point, and that some lenders can work sooner depending on the role, hours and earlier work. It adds that probation and time with an employer are separate checks: finishing probation does not show that a lender's work-history requirement is met.

An illustration of how the clocks can differ. A permanent contract starts on 5 October 2026 with a 6-month probation:

CheckDate it could be met
Lenders with no minimum time in the roleFrom the first payslip, or earlier with a contract or letter
3 months in the job5 January 2027
6 months in the job, and the end of probation5 April 2027

That table is arithmetic on the broker's ranges, not a statement about any particular lender.

What a visa adds to the picture

For visa holders the work-history question sits next to a visa question. Broker pages for the 482, 485 and 494 visas list the same starting evidence: a passport, the visa grant notice and a current VEVO result for the visa, work rights and expiry date, plus payslips and an employment contract that show salary, role, employment terms and any probation. They add sponsorship evidence for employer-sponsored visas where it is requested.

Home Affairs runs VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online), where visa holders can check their conditions and send proof to others. The broker pages stress the time left on the visa. One says the time remaining matters more than the original visa length, and another that the lender checks sponsorship, visa term, income and repayments. A broker's comparison also records one lender's insured option as needing a qualifying visa with at least 12 months remaining.

None of the pages reviewed sets a longer time in the job for visa holders than for citizens. What they add is the visa checks above and, for temporary visas, lender-specific loan-size limits, covered in the deposit guide for temporary residents. The 482 visa guide and the page on temporary visa home loans look at the visa side.

Earlier work, gaps and overseas jobs

The broker says earlier work in the same industry or a similar role can help when the current job is new, and that exact dates matter because a short gap can affect which option applies. Its probation page describes one lender's same-industry option as allowing a break of up to 28 days between jobs, while its new-job page lists the same lender under "3 months in the new job and a gap under 28 days", so read the lender's own wording. The wording also varies, and "same occupation", "same field" and "similar role" are not always treated alike.

The pages reviewed do not say whether work done in another country counts as earlier related work. That is a question for each lender, and the evidence is the same kind: contracts, final payslips and exact start and end dates. The broker suggests a dated timeline that records:

  • the current employer, job type, start date, ordinary hours, pay rate and probation end date
  • earlier employers, roles and end dates
  • the first and last day of any gap, with a factual reason if asked
  • any change of employer, hours or pay

Overseas documents add steps of their own, covered in documents for an overseas home loan, and the guide to how lenders assess foreign income covers income earned outside Australia.

Keep reading

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to finish probation before applying for a home loan?

Not necessarily. A broker's comparison says some lenders may consider a permanent salary while you are still on probation, while others want 3 or 6 months in the job or earlier work in a similar role. Because probation and time in the job are separate checks, ask each lender how it treats your start date and contract.

How many months of payslips or statements do lenders ask for?

It depends on the lender and the type of job. ANZ's documents page lists bank statements showing three months of salary credits for full-time and part-time work and six months for casual, temporary and contract work. Commonwealth Bank asks for three months of statements, or six if you are casually employed, unless your salary is paid into its accounts.

Does a temporary visa holder need longer in the job than a citizen?

The pages reviewed do not set a longer period for visa holders. What they add is visa evidence: the grant notice, a VEVO result and the expiry date, plus sponsorship evidence for employer-sponsored visas. The time left on the visa is also checked, so the rule that matters most may be about the visa, not the job.

Can earlier work in another country count?

The pages reviewed do not say. A broker describes earlier work in the same industry or a similar role as helping when the current job is new, with exact dates and gaps mattering. Whether a lender accepts overseas work, and what documents it wants to see for it, is a question to put to the lender directly.

What if my job is casual or on a contract?

Casual and contract work usually need a longer history. ANZ lists six months of salary credits for casual, temporary and contract work, and a broker says 3 to 6 months is a more common starting point for casual work, with some options sooner. NAB's page says lenders look at how long income has been received and how consistent it is.

Sources

Checked 7 October 2026.

Expat Finance is an independent guide. It is not a lender, mortgage broker or credit provider, it does not hold an Australian credit licence, and it does not give credit, legal, tax or migration advice. It is not affiliated with any bank, the ATO or the Foreign Investment Review Board. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.