In short: Aged care and disability support workers can absolutely buy a home, but the assessed income is rarely the number on your payslip. Lenders take base hours at close to face value, shade or exclude penalty rates and sleepover payments depending on policy, treat a second employer as either full income or none at all, and assess NDIS sole-trader work as self-employment. Choosing the right lender is worth tens of thousands in borrowing power.
Support work is one of the fastest-growing occupations in Australia and one of the most poorly understood by credit policy. Your roster is irregular by design, your gross pay is built from four or five pay codes, and you may work for two providers plus private clients under your own ABN. Gorakh Timilsina assessed applications as a senior credit officer before founding GNT Finance, so this guide is written from the side of the desk where the decision is made.
How your income is structured, and what a lender counts
Base hours
If you are permanent full-time or part-time, your contracted hours anchor the file. Assessors take contracted base income at 100%, and the letter or contract stating your ordinary hours is the most valuable document you can produce. A permanent part-time contract for 30 hours a week is far stronger than 38 hours of casual work at the same provider.
Casual shifts
Casual pay includes a loading in the hourly rate to compensate for having no leave. Most lenders will count casual income once you have six to twelve months with the same employer, and they usually take the lower of your year-to-date average and your previous full year. Some go further and shade casual income by 10% to 20%. A handful accept three months in the role where you were doing the same work for a different provider immediately before. See casual and contract income home loans for the detail.
Penalty rates, sleepovers and broken shifts
This is where files are won and lost. Weekend and public holiday penalties, night loading, sleepover allowances and broken-shift allowances often make up 20% to 30% of an aged care worker's gross pay. Policy varies enormously:
- Some lenders treat penalty rates as "shift allowance" and count 100% with a two-year history.
- Others classify the same dollars as overtime and count 50% or 80%.
- Some count sleepover payments in full because they are rostered and contractual; others exclude them as an allowance.
- Broken-shift allowances are frequently ignored altogether unless the payslip names them as a regular entitlement.
The fix is documentary. A payslip that itemises each code, plus two years of income statements showing the same pattern, converts an "allowance" into "regular income" in the assessor's mind. Our guide to overtime, bonus and commission income explains the same shading rules in other industries.
Two or three employers
Working across two providers is normal and is not a problem in itself. What matters is whether each role is stable. Most lenders count a second job where it has run for six to twelve months alongside the first and the combined hours are plausible. If your second employer started last month, expect it to be excluded.
NDIS sole-trader and agency support work
If you invoice under your own ABN, whether directly to participants, through a plan manager or through an agency, you are self-employed for lending purposes, even if the work looks identical to your employed shifts. That means tax returns and notices of assessment instead of payslips, usually two years, sometimes one with a supporting BAS. Read the self-employed home loan guide and our self-employed loans page, and if your returns are not lodged, low-doc loans explained sets out the alternative.
Mixed files, part PAYG and part ABN, are common and workable. They need a lender whose policy handles both without forcing the whole application into the self-employed box.
What a lender wants to see
| Income type | Documents that make it count | Typical assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent base hours | Employment contract or letter stating ordinary hours, two recent payslips | 100% |
| Casual ordinary hours | 6-12 months with the employer, two payslips, most recent income statement | 100% of the 12-month average, sometimes shaded 10-20% |
| Penalty rates and night loading | Payslips itemising the codes, two years of income statements | 50% to 100% depending on lender |
| Sleepover allowance | Roster or contract showing it is regular, payslips naming it | 0% to 100%, highly policy-dependent |
| Second employer | 6-12 months of payslips, employment letter | 100% once the history is established |
| NDIS or ABN support work | Tax returns, notices of assessment, ABN and GST registration dates, BAS | Net profit after add-backs, over one or two years |
Add three to six months of transaction statements, clean recent conduct and no undisclosed buy-now-pay-later accounts. The home loan documents checklist covers the rest.
Worked example: the same worker, two lenders
Sunita is a permanent part-time personal care assistant. Her contract is 30 hours a week at a base of $58,000 a year. Over the last two years her payslips also show penalty rates, night loading and sleepover payments averaging $22,000 a year, so her gross is around $80,000. She is single, has no dependants, no car loan and one credit card she pays off monthly.
| Item | Lender A (shades the extras) | Lender B (counts the extras) |
|---|---|---|
| Base income counted | $58,000 | $58,000 |
| Penalty, night and sleepover income counted | 50% of $22,000 = $11,000 | 100% of $22,000 = $22,000 |
| Assessed gross income | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Tax and Medicare levy (2026-27 rates) | $12,600 | $16,120 |
| Net income | $56,400, or $4,700 a month | $63,880, or $5,323 a month |
| Declared living expenses used | $2,300 a month | $2,300 a month |
| Monthly surplus | $2,400 | $3,023 |
| Assessment rate (6.00% p.a. plus the 3 point APRA buffer) | 9.00% p.a. | 9.00% p.a. |
| Repayment per $100,000 at 9.00% over 30 years | $804.62 | $804.62 |
| Indicative loan capacity | $2,400 ÷ $804.62 × $100,000 = about $298,000 | $3,023 ÷ $804.62 × $100,000 = about $375,000 |
Same worker, same payslips, roughly $77,000 of difference. Only the lender's treatment of her sleepover and penalty income changed. Figures are illustrative, use a nominal 6.00% p.a. rate, and ignore lender expense floors and surplus requirements. Run your own numbers with the borrowing power calculator.
If Sunita were buying at $580,000 with a 5% deposit of $29,000 under the First Home Guarantee, her loan would be $551,000, repaying about $3,304 a month at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years. Lender B gets her there. Lender A does not.
What to fix in the 6 to 12 months before you apply
- Stop changing providers. Twelve unbroken months with one employer turns shaded income into counted income at most lenders. If you must move, move to the same role in the same sector and keep every payslip.
- Ask for permanent part-time. Converting even 20 hours a week from casual to permanent gives the assessor an anchor that no shading policy can touch.
- Keep every income statement. Two years of statements showing the same penalty and sleepover pattern is the evidence that unlocks 100% treatment.
- Clear and close small debts. A $2,000 credit card limit is assessed at roughly 3.8% of the limit each month whether you owe anything or not. Closing two unused cards can add tens of thousands of borrowing power. See how to improve borrowing power.
- Cut buy-now-pay-later. Assessors read your statements line by line. Frequent instalment purchases read as expense pressure even when they are small.
- Tidy the transaction account. Six months of clean conduct, no dishonours, no gambling, a visible savings pattern. Your file is judged on behaviour, not intentions.
- Check your credit file early. A telco default from a house share four years ago is fixable, but not in the week before settlement. Read credit score and home loans.
- If you invoice under an ABN, lodge on time. Late returns are the most common reason mixed PAYG and ABN files stall.
Frequently asked questions
Do lenders count penalty rates and sleepover shifts as income?
Many do, but not all, and not to the same extent. Lenders that classify penalty rates as shift allowance often count 100% with a two-year history, while lenders that classify them as overtime commonly count 50% to 80%. Sleepover payments sit in the grey zone and are excluded by some lenders entirely. Payslips that itemise each pay code, plus two years of income statements, give you the best chance of full recognition.
I am a casual aged care worker. How long do I need in the job?
Most lenders want six to twelve months with your current employer before they will use casual income. A smaller group will accept three months where you moved from an identical role with another provider without a break, and where the pay rate is comparable. If you have just started, waiting a few months is usually cheaper than applying with a lender that will shade your income heavily.
I work for two providers. Will both incomes count?
Generally yes, once each role has six to twelve months of history and the total hours are realistic. Lenders are checking that the second job is sustainable, not a short-term top-up. Provide payslips and an employment letter for each employer. If the second role is brand new, expect it to be excluded from this application even though it will count on your next one.
I do NDIS support work under my own ABN. Am I self-employed?
Yes. Even if the work is identical to your employed shifts, invoicing under an ABN makes you self-employed for lending purposes. You will need tax returns and notices of assessment, usually two years, plus your ABN and GST registration dates. Some lenders accept one year of returns supported by BAS. Depreciation and one-off expenses can often be added back to lift your assessed income.
Can I buy with a 5% deposit on a support worker's wage?
Often yes. The First Home Guarantee lets eligible first home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, and since October 2025 there are no income caps and unlimited places. The constraint is usually servicing rather than deposit, which is why getting your penalty and sleepover income counted in full matters so much. Check eligibility with the First Home Guarantee eligibility calculator.
Does working through an agency hurt my application?
Not by itself. If the agency pays you as a PAYG employee, you are assessed as an employee of the agency and the usual casual rules apply. If the agency pays your ABN against invoices, you are assessed as self-employed. Read your payslip: if it shows tax withheld and superannuation, you are PAYG. If it is a remittance against an invoice, you are not.
Talk to GNT Finance
We know which lenders on our panel count sleepover and penalty income in full, which ones accept three months of casual history, and how to present a file that mixes PAYG shifts with ABN support work. Gorakh Timilsina spent years assessing exactly these applications from the credit side, and there is no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
This page is general information only and not legal, tax or financial advice. Lender policies and tax rates change. Confirm current rules with the ATO, the State Revenue Office or a licensed professional.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.