Alt Doc and Low Doc Home Loans
When your tax return tells a different story.
If you are self-employed, run your own business, or work as a sole trader or contractor, there is a decent chance your tax return does not reflect what is actually sitting in your bank account. That is not a problem, that is just how business works. But it does create a challenge when a lender looks at your financials and tries to figure out what you can afford.
Alt doc and low doc home loans exist for exactly this situation. At The Broker Society in Noosaville, we work with self-employed borrowers across the Sunshine Coast and Australia-wide who have the capacity to service a loan but whose paperwork does not fit neatly into the standard PAYG box. Across 50+ lenders, we find options that work for how your income is actually structured.
Source: MFAA Quarterly Market Share Report, March 2026 quarter, compiled by Cotality. More than eight in ten new residential home loans in Australia are now facilitated by a mortgage broker.
What documentation is typically required?
Every lender has its own requirements, and this is exactly why working with a broker who knows the panel matters. Common documentation used in alt doc and low doc applications includes:
- Business bank statements. Typically 6 to 12 months, used to verify income flow and business trading activity.
- BAS statements. Generally the last two to four quarters, showing GST turnover as a cross-reference for declared income. It is important that we see the ATO lodged version of these BAS. We are unable to accept the Xero or MYOB BAS for low doc lending.
- Accountant declaration. A letter from your accountant confirming your income and length of trading. This one is harder to achieve. Many accountants do not want to provide income details where it has not been verified and checked, which takes time. This type of accountant declaration lending is the lesser used option.
- ABN registration. Most lenders require the ABN to have been active for at least one to two years. Lenders in certain types of loans can consider a shorter ABN timeframe.
- Business Activity Statements combined with a borrower income declaration in some lender policies.
Not every application will require all of the above. Some lenders lean heavily on bank statement analysis alone. Others want a combination. We will tell you upfront what each lender needs and we will only approach lenders whose criteria actually align with what you can provide.
Working for yourself was never the problem. Finding a lender who gets that, this is what we are here for.
The Broker Society
What is the difference between alt doc and low doc?
These terms are often used interchangeably, and the distinction is not always consistent across lenders. But here is a plain English way to think about it.
Low doc loans
Low doc loans reduce the volume of income documentation required. Instead of two years of full financials, you might provide a shorter period of business bank statements, a BAS summary, or an accountant's declaration confirming your income. The emphasis is on less paperwork, not no scrutiny.
Some lenders have different verification methods for low doc home loans, Notice of Assessment or director wage income only. The only way to know which option is your option is to go through the documents together so we can understand your business, how it operates, and help you come up with a plan.
Alt doc loans
Alt doc loans use alternative forms of income evidence altogether. Rather than tax returns and financial statements, verification might come from business bank statement analysis, accountant letters, or BAS history. The income is still being verified, just through a different lens.
This is a great option for clients who have had changing trading results since their last set of financials. Your business might have let go of a number of staff yet retained the revenue, so your costs are lower than they were previously, resulting in a higher net profit. Another example is where a business has implemented cost reduction strategies recently. A final scenario is where business revenue has grown, costs have not risen as much, and the business income is now in a more profitable situation than last year.
In practice, the right loan type depends on how your income flows, what documentation you can provide, how long you have been trading, and which lenders on our panel are best suited to your circumstances. That is the conversation we have before we make any recommendations.
A word on lender panels and policy
Not all lenders offer alt doc or low doc products, and those that do each have their own approach to income verification, acceptable documentation, LVR limits, and loan conditions. Some are better suited to company structures, others prefer sole traders. Some require longer ABN history, others will work with borrowers who have been trading for twelve months.
This is the part of the job that takes knowledge and experience. An incorrect application to the wrong lender creates a declined credit enquiry on your file, which can affect your ability to apply elsewhere. Getting the match right from the outset matters. At The Broker Society, we do not guess at which lender to approach. We match.
How does the assessment process work?
The starting point is always a conversation about how your income is structured. We will ask about:
- How long your ABN has been active
- Whether you operate as a sole trader, through a company, or through a trust
- What your business bank statements show in terms of consistent income
- Whether you have BAS statements available and how many quarters
- Your current financial position, assets, liabilities and existing commitments
From there, we can shortlist the lenders whose policies suit your specific situation and put your best case forward. Unlike going direct to a bank, we are not limited to one set of lending criteria. If one lender's policy does not work for your structure, we move to one that does.
Who are these loans suited to?
Alt doc and low doc loans are commonly used by:
- Business owners, particularly those whose taxable income is structured to minimise tax, meaning it understates their real capacity
- Sole traders and contractors, especially in industries like trades, consulting, healthcare and creative services
- Self-employed borrowers who are early in their ABN history and cannot yet provide two full years of financials
- Borrowers with fluctuating income, seasonal workers, commission-based earners, or those whose business revenue is irregular but substantial
- Professionals who operate through a company or trust structure where the income verification path is less straightforward
If your income is genuine and your capacity to repay is real, the right lender exists. The job is finding them, and that is what independent brokers do.
Based in Noosaville. Working Australia-wide.
Our office is in Noosaville, and we work with self-employed borrowers across the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Tewantin, Peregian Beach, Cooroy, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Yeppoon, Rockhampton and anywhere else in Australia where the right home loan conversation needs to happen.
If you are self-employed and you have been told your income does not meet the standard requirements, or if you have been avoiding the conversation because you assumed it would not work, book a call with our team. We will take the time to understand your business structure, your documentation and your goals, and we will tell you honestly what your options look like across our panel of 50+ lenders.
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Self-employed lending questions, answered
The terms are often used interchangeably and lenders are not consistent about them. Broadly, a low doc loan reduces the volume of income documentation required, so instead of two years of full financials you might provide business bank statements, a BAS summary or an accountant's declaration. An alt doc loan uses alternative forms of income evidence altogether, such as business bank statement analysis or BAS history, rather than tax returns. In both cases the income is still verified, just through a different lens.
Yes. Being self-employed does not rule you out. What changes is how your income is verified. If your income is genuine and you have the capacity to repay, there are lenders on our panel of 50+ whose policies are built for exactly this. The work is in matching your business structure and documentation to the right lender from the outset.
Most lenders require the ABN to have been active for at least one to two years. Some lenders, for certain types of loans, can consider a shorter ABN timeframe. This is one of the main reasons lender selection matters so much, because policies differ significantly on this point.
It depends on the lender and the loan type. Commonly used documents include business bank statements covering six to twelve months, BAS statements from the last two to four quarters, an accountant's declaration, and ABN registration details. Not every application needs all of these. Some lenders lean heavily on bank statement analysis alone, others want a combination. We will tell you upfront what each lender requires.
No. For low doc lending we need to see the ATO lodged version of your BAS. The Xero or MYOB generated version cannot be accepted. This catches people out regularly, so it is worth checking early which version you have access to.
Not all lenders offer alt doc or low doc products, and those that do each have their own approach to income verification, acceptable documentation, LVR limits and loan conditions. Some suit company structures, others prefer sole traders. An application to the wrong lender creates a declined credit enquiry on your file, which can affect your ability to apply elsewhere. Getting the match right from the outset genuinely matters.
It is common, and it is precisely why these loan types exist. Many business owners structure their taxable income to minimise tax, which means it understates their real capacity to service a loan. Alt doc lending looks at the income as it actually flows through the business rather than only at the taxable figure on your return.
This is one of the strongest cases for alt doc lending. Your business might have reduced staff while retaining revenue, implemented cost reductions, or grown revenue faster than costs. In each case your current position is stronger than your last set of financials suggests. Alt doc verification lets a lender assess where the business is now rather than where it was.
No. Our office is in Noosaville, but we work with self-employed borrowers right across Australia. Whether you are in Noosa, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Yeppoon or anywhere else in the country, we can work with you online or in person.