Home Loans With a New Job or Probation in South East Melbourne, What Lenders Check
Starting a new role is exciting, and for a lot of buyers across South East Melbourne it also raises an immediate question: does being on probation mean you can't get a home loan? The short answer is no, but the longer answer depends on which lender you approach and how your situation is presented.
Lender policies on new employment vary more than almost any other assessment area. Some lenders won't touch a probationary borrower; others will approve at full serviceability the day you sign your offer letter. The difference between those two positions is often a broker who knows which lenders take which approach, because it's not published anywhere you can easily find it.
Our team helps buyers across South East Melbourne work through exactly this kind of situation, comparing across a panel of 60+ lenders. The home loan assessment process looks different depending on your income type, your role, and how long you've been in your field, and that's worth a conversation before you assume the timing is wrong.
Key takeaways
- Many lenders will approve a new-job application before probation ends.
- Staying in the same field strengthens your case significantly with most lenders.
- A signed employment contract is often enough to start a formal application.
Can you get a home loan while on probation in South East Melbourne?
Yes, you can get a home loan on probation, and plenty of buyers across South East Melbourne do it every year. The key variable is which lender you apply to. Some require probation to be completed before they'll issue formal approval; others are comfortable approving mid-probation, or even from a signed offer letter alone, particularly where the borrower has been in the same industry for several years.
What lenders are actually assessing is income stability over time, not whether you've technically passed a three-month mark. A borrower who has spent eight years as an engineer, changed companies last month, and holds a permanent full-time offer letter presents a very different risk profile to someone entering a new field entirely. Both are technically on probation, but most lenders treat them very differently.
How do lenders assess income when you've just started a new role?
The assessment comes down to two things: your income evidence and your employment history. For a salaried employee who has just started, most lenders will accept a signed employment contract or appointment letter showing your start date, role, salary and that the position is ongoing. Some also want to see your first payslip before formal approval, even if that hasn't arrived yet.
Where your history matters most is the field question. Lenders treat same-field moves quite differently from career changes. If you've worked in healthcare for ten years and just moved hospitals, lenders generally read that as stable income in a stable profession. If you've left that field to start something unrelated, most lenders want a longer evidence period before they're comfortable.
What income evidence lenders typically want:
- › Employment contract or offer letter: must confirm the role is permanent or ongoing, your start date, and the agreed salary.
- › First payslip: required by some lenders before formal approval, accepted by others alongside the contract alone.
- › Prior employment history: recent payslips or a separation certificate from your previous role to confirm the field hasn't changed.
- › Tax returns: where there has been a gap between roles, some lenders ask for the most recent return to confirm the broader income pattern.
"We see a lot of buyers who assume the timing is simply wrong because they've just started a job. In most cases it isn't. What actually matters to the lender is the field continuity, not the date on the contract. Most clients are further along than they think, and the conversation changes as soon as that's clear."
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
What eligibility conditions apply when you're in a new role?
There's no single industry standard here, which is exactly what makes this situation tricky. The conditions that matter vary between lenders, but these are the ones that most often determine whether an application succeeds.
The factors lenders weigh:
- › Same industry or new field: same-field moves are treated as stable; a career change to an unrelated field requires a longer income history at most lenders before they'll assess at full salary.
- › Employment type: permanent full-time carries the most lender support on probation; fixed-term contracts and casual roles require more evidence of income history and pattern.
- › Gap between roles: a short transition period between jobs is generally fine; a gap of several months with no clear explanation requires a lender that will look at the fuller picture.
- › Probation length: standard three-month probation is manageable with the right lender; longer probation periods of six or twelve months narrow the panel significantly.
- › Credit file and savings history: a clean credit file and genuine savings are more important on a new-job application than on a settled-employment one, because they offset the one area of uncertainty.
How much can you borrow in South East Melbourne with a new job?
Your borrowing capacity is calculated the same way as any other borrower's, once a lender accepts your income. The APRA serviceability buffer of 3.0% is added to the actual loan rate, so you're assessed at roughly 9% regardless of what you'll actually pay. That buffer applies to your confirmed salary as written in the contract, not to a projected income or a previous role's pay.
Where a new job changes the picture is when your new salary is materially different from what you earned before. If you've stepped into a senior role at a higher income, most lenders will assess you on the new contract figure from day one, which can meaningfully improve your capacity compared to what it would have been twelve months ago. If the income has dropped for any reason, that lower figure is what lenders use.
In South East Melbourne, where house medians across most approved suburbs sit well above $1,000,000, unit prices are often where new buyers find their entry point. CoreLogic data shows unit medians from $470,000 in Ripponlea and $500,000 in Prahran through to $740,000 in Port Melbourne, with most sitting under the $950,000 First Home Guarantee price cap, which means a 5% deposit with no LMI is accessible for eligible first home buyers in those suburbs.
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, June 2026) and APRA.
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What government schemes can new-job buyers use in South East Melbourne?
Being on probation doesn't affect your eligibility for most federal government schemes. The First Home Guarantee lets eligible first home buyers purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI, with a price cap of $950,000 across every approved South East Melbourne suburb. The Family Home Guarantee offers single parents a 2% deposit with the same cap, and doesn't require first home buyer status.
Help to Buy, the federal shared-equity scheme, is also available for eligible buyers. Income caps apply: $103,000 for a single applicant and $165,000 for joint or single-parent applicants in the 2026-27 financial year, with the government contributing up to 40% on a new home or 30% on an existing one. The same $950,000 price cap applies across the approved South East Melbourne postcodes.
If you're a first home buyer, the Victorian First Home Owner Grant of $10,000 is available on new homes valued at $750,000 or less. The first-home duty exemption applies to properties valued at $600,000 or less, with a partial concession tapering to $750,000. Given that unit medians in suburbs like Prahran, Windsor and Oakleigh sit under the $600,000 threshold, the full duty exemption is achievable for first home buyers targeting off-the-plan or newly built stock.
Source: Housing Australia and State Revenue Office Victoria.
When does a new job make a home loan harder to get approved?
There are situations where the timing genuinely works against you, and it's worth being clear about them. If your new role is a six-month fixed-term contract in a field you've just entered, most lenders will want to see that contract play out before they'll assess your income at full value. Applying during a long probation on a short contract, in an unfamiliar industry, is the scenario where the panel narrows most sharply.
A career change that coincides with a large purchase is the other pressure point. Lenders like income patterns they can trace through payslips, tax returns and employment history. The more those patterns change at once, the harder it is to present the application cleanly. That's not a reason not to proceed, but it is a reason to be deliberate about which lender you approach first, and how the application is framed.
"Where the income has only just changed and the contract is short-term, I'd usually suggest waiting one reporting period before submitting rather than pushing through early. The approval is cleaner, the lender's options are wider, and we're not burning a credit enquiry on a file that isn't quite ready."
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
How to get a home loan approved in South East Melbourne with a new job, step by step
The process isn't materially different from any other home loan application, but the order of steps matters more when your employment is recent.
Step 1: Talk to us
We start by reviewing your employment situation and identifying which lenders on the panel are likely to assess your income at full value before probation is complete.
Step 2: Gather your employment evidence and assess your position
We'll confirm what documentation the shortlisted lenders need, help you pull together your contract, prior payslips and savings history, and model your borrowing capacity on your current income.
Step 3: Match to the right lender and submit your application
We submit to the lender best suited to your situation, with the application presented to address the employment change directly, rather than leaving it for the credit team to find.
Step 4: Manage conditional approval through to settlement
Some lenders issue conditional approval mid-probation and lift the condition once your first payslip arrives. We stay across that timeline so nothing stalls your settlement.
What approval challenges do new-job buyers face?
Where things tend to get complicated:
- › Applying to the wrong lender first: a lender that requires completed probation will decline the file and leave a credit enquiry on your record before you've approached one that would have said yes. Application order matters more than most buyers realise.
- › Variable income in the new role: if your package includes commissions, bonuses or allowances, most lenders want a history of receiving them before they're counted. Your base salary is usually the only assured figure at application.
- › Gap between jobs: a period of unemployment between your previous role and your new one raises questions about income continuity. A clear explanation and a strong savings record both help, but this is the most common reason files are referred for manual review.
- › Conditional approval with a payslip condition: some lenders will approve mid-probation but attach a condition requiring the first payslip before unconditional approval. That's workable, but it creates a timing dependency with your vendor or developer that needs to be managed carefully.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get pre-approval on a home loan while still on probation?
Yes, a number of lenders will issue pre-approval mid-probation, particularly where you can demonstrate same-field employment history. Some attach a condition requiring your first payslip before unconditional approval is issued.
Do lenders treat a career change differently from a same-field job change?
Yes, most lenders treat a same-field move as stable employment and are comfortable lending mid-probation. A change to an unrelated field generally requires a longer period of evidence before they'll assess your income at full value.
Is a signed offer letter enough to start a home loan application?
At some lenders, yes. A signed permanent offer letter confirming your salary and start date is sufficient to begin a formal application. Others require at least one payslip before they'll proceed to conditional approval.
Does your new salary get counted in full when assessing borrowing capacity?
Usually yes, once a lender accepts your employment documentation. Your base salary from the contract is assessed in full; variable components like bonuses or commissions typically require a history of payment before they're included.
Should you wait until probation is finished before applying for a home loan?
Not necessarily. If your employment is permanent, same-field, and your documentation is solid, many lenders will proceed mid-probation. Waiting is worth considering where the contract is short-term or the field change is significant.
Is a mortgage broker better than going direct to a lender when you're on probation?
A mortgage broker, every time. Lender policies on probation vary significantly and aren't published; a broker knows which lenders will proceed before probation ends, which protects your credit file from unnecessary enquiries.
Your Next Steps
A new job changes the assessment, but for most buyers in South East Melbourne it doesn't close the door. The lender you approach, the field you're moving within, and how your application is presented are what actually decide the outcome, and those are things a broker can get right before you submit anything.
The right lender for a new-job application depends on the specifics of your contract and your history, and that's a conversation worth having before you assume the timing is off. Contact the EverLend team or call 03 7036 3356. We'll compare your options across 60+ lenders and find the most suitable approach for your circumstances.
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External Resources
EverLend · South East Melbourne · Ever Lend Pty Ltd (ACN 625 080 515), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.
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