Self-employed

If your client is self-employed, our Fast Track assessment process means their home loan application can be assessed without needing their business financials – giving them the same experience and turnaround time as employees on a payroll. 

They can still qualify for Fast Track even if they: have PAYG income; have rental income; are applying with someone else and one or both of the applicants are self-employed. 

To qualify for Fast Track, your client will need to: 

• Provide their last 2 years of personal ATO Notice of Assessments. 
• Be self-employed for more than 2 years 
• Not require LMI. 
• Not rely on any other sources of income to afford their home loan repayments.

Fast Track document checklist: 

• Their last 2 years of personal ATO Notice of Assessments.

Tip: Only provide the last 2 years of personal ATO Notice of Assessments; if you provide more the application will be processed under our regular self-employed assessment.

Your client can retrieve their Notices of Assessment in their MyGov inbox: for step-by-step instructions on how to find them, visit the Australian Government ATO site.

Your Medico clients are still eligible for an LMI waiver up to 90% under Fast Track.

However,  Chiro and Physio applicants are not eligible to receive an LMI waiver through Fast Track. This is because our LMI waiver policy requires that these customers earn a minimum of $90k from their qualification, which can’t be evidenced solely based on an ATO NOA.

Your client’s business needs to have been established and trading for at least 2 financial years, though there may be other ways we can review their application.

Reach out to your BDM to discuss the options.

With Fast Track, self-employed applicants’ income can be verified solely from their ATO Notice of Assessments. No further income documentation is required! 

Due to the reduced documents, Fast Track applications are reviewed by PAYG Assessors which may be quicker than our regular self-employed assessment process.*

To submit a Fast Track application, follow these simple steps:

1. Confirm Fast Track eligibility  
2. Test serviceability using 2 years ATO Notice of Assessments. Where capital gains exist on ATO Notice of Assessments, deduct it from the taxable income. Ensure rental income and/or negative gearing haven’t been included separately unless income commenced after ATO Notice of Assessments period.
3. Tick ‘Fast Track’ in ApplyOnline
4. Lodge nothing else but 2 years ATO Notice of Assessments! 

If the application does not meet the Fast Track eligibility, or if more documents are supplied, the application will revert to the regular self-employed method.

*Based on historical data.

Under Fast Track, if the applicant has received rental income during the financial years covered by the ATO Notice of Assessments, do not enter rental income separately on the application. This will already be included in the individual’s taxable income from the ATO Notices of Assessment.

Likewise, do not list expenses, including secondary residence expenses, against the rental property, as this will also be factored into the taxable income from the ATO Notice of Assessments. 

As you have captured nil expenses against the property, you will need to leave a comment to explain that it has been assessed under Fast Track, and all income and expenses relating to the property are covered by the ATO Notice of Assessments. 

Rental income may only be included separately when utilising Fast Track where: 

• The rental income commenced, or is due to commence, after the period covered by the ATO Notice of Assessments. E.g. The new loan application is to purchase an investment property.

Fast Track method may be used if franking credits are present on the ATO Notice of Assessments.

There is no need to make any adjustments to the taxable income figure.

If your client doesn’t qualify for a Fast Track assessment (see FAQ above), you'll need to provide more documentation that shows us they’ve been operating as a viable business for the last 2 years. 

In addition to: 

• Last 2 years of personal ATO Notice of Assessments;

Sole traders also need the last 2 years of: 

• Personal Income Tax Returns. 

Business partnerships, companies and trusts also need the last 2 years of: 

• Personal Income Tax Returns 
• Partnership, Company or Trust Tax Returns 
• Financial statements (including profit and loss accounts, and balance sheets). 

It’s a good idea to have documents supporting their tax-deductible expenses ready too (like interest, rental property and one-off expenses, depreciation, asset write-offs, company car deductions and family trust distributions), as well as documents supporting their business liabilities (like hire purchases, leases and term loans).

Tip: Check out this handy document checklist which outlines the documents required for various self-employed scenarios.