Sole traders, partnerships, company directors and trust beneficiaries are all generally treated as self employed by lenders, even if you also draw a wage from your own business.

Most lenders like to see two years of financials, but some will consider one year, particularly if you have a strong trading history in the same industry beforehand. It comes down to which lender fits your specific timeline.

Typically your last two years of tax returns and notices of assessment, plus business financials. We'll give you the exact checklist for your structure once we understand your business.

Possibly. Some lenders will accept one year of tax returns if your income is trending well and your industry experience supports it. It's worth a direct conversation about your specific numbers.

Low doc lending uses alternative evidence of income, like BAS statements or an accountant's declaration, instead of full tax returns. It suits business owners whose paperwork doesn't tell the full income story yet.

Yes, lenders assess sole traders, companies and trusts differently, since the income flows through each structure in its own way. We'll look at how your specific structure is likely to be read by different lenders.

Generally yes, though some lenders treat contractors on long-term single-client arrangements more like PAYG borrowers, which can actually work in your favour. Worth flagging your specific arrangement early.

Not necessarily. Lenders typically average income across your recent tax years rather than judging you on your quietest month, and some are more flexible with variable income than others. That's where matching you to the right lender matters.

Being self employed doesn't rule you out of government deposit schemes, though not all lenders participating in those schemes take the same approach to self employed income, so the lender choice matters here too.

Yes, this comes up a lot when someone's gone from PAYG to running their own business since their last loan. We'll reassess your position against current lender policies rather than assuming your old approval still applies.

Yes. Lenders will look at your business income alongside the rental income the investment property is expected to generate, and we'll structure the application to reflect both properly.

Yes, commercial property lending sits under its own set of lender criteria, separate from a residential self employed application, even when the same business income is behind both.

SMSF lending has its own rules regardless of your employment structure, and self employed income adds another layer to consider. This one's genuinely worth a direct conversation about your fund's position.

Not a different broker, but it does help to work with one who deals with self employed applications regularly, since the lender comparison looks quite different once business income is involved.

Yes, we work with self employed clients across Australia, mostly through online meetings with full screen sharing, so distance has never been an obstacle for this kind of application.