Self-employed serviceability, decoded.
Self-employed clients are where lender disagreement is biggest — a 90% vs 80% shading swing on a AUD 220k net-profit average is the difference between a "yes" and a "refer". LendScope runs every lender's policy at once so you place the deal right first time.
The problem
Self-employed serviceability is famously inconsistent across the Australian panel. Major banks usually take an 80% haircut on two-year-average net profit + addbacks — but that "usually" hides a 15-percentage-point spread. Some non-banks go to 90%; some majors haircut harder for casual-leaning industries. The result: brokers manually re-running spreadsheets for every lender, and clients waiting 3–5 days while the desk works out who'll fit.
How LendScope handles it
Plug the client's two-year financials into a single screen. LendScope:
- Calculates the relevant net-profit average per lender (some use the lower of the two years; others take the simple average).
- Adds addbacks back — depreciation, interest on existing business loans, one-off non-recurring expenses.
- Applies each lender's shading multiplier (see table below).
- Tax-grosses to gross income; nets the household; runs through APRA buffer + HEM + liabilities.
- Ranks max-borrow across the panel, refer/pass/fail per lender.
Self-employed shading by lender (May 2026)
Updated as policy changes — sign in for the live per-lender numbers; this is a snapshot of the 2026-05 panel.
| Lender category | Typical shading | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Major-four banks | 80% | 2-year average net profit + addbacks |
| Major subsidiaries (STG, BOM, BSA…) | 80% | Same as parent major |
| Macquarie | 80% | Tightened from 90% in early 2026 |
| ubank, Suncorp, ME Bank | 85% | Lower of last 2 years (more conservative) |
| Regional & mutual | 85% | 2-year average; some use last year only |
| Pepper Money, Liberty, Resimac, La Trobe, Bluestone | 90% | 2-year average, sometimes 1-year for established trade |
| Athena, Well Money, Loans.com.au | 85% | 2-year average net + addbacks |
What we surface that other tools don't
- Per-lender addback policy. Some lenders cap depreciation addbacks at 100% of declared D&A; others allow only physical-asset depreciation. We track which.
- Trading history requirements. Most lenders want 24 months of trading; a few non-banks will go 12 months. The serviceability run flags which lenders the borrower can even apply to.
- BAS-based shading variants. For lenders that allow BAS-only income verification (Pepper, Resimac, La Trobe), we calculate against turnover with a separate shading curve.
- Director / company structure handling. Distinct treatment for sole-trader vs Pty Ltd-director (where dividends and director-loan repayments enter the picture).
A worked example
Sole trader, two years of net profit AUD 195k and AUD 245k, AUD 14k of depreciation addback per year, looking at AUD 950k OO P&I against an AUD 1.3M property:
- 2-year average net + addbacks = ((195+245)/2) + 14 = AUD 234k
- Shaded at 80% (major bank): 234 × 0.80 = AUD 187k — likely pass at most majors with tight HEM
- Shaded at 90% (Pepper Money / Liberty): 234 × 0.90 = AUD 210k — clear pass with surplus headroom
- Shaded at 85% (ubank): 234 × 0.85 = AUD 199k — marginal pass
Inside LendScope you'd see all three (plus the other 39 lenders) ranked in a single screen, with the surplus headroom visible per row. Pick the right lender first time, place the deal in one sitting.
FAQ
Does LendScope handle Pty Ltd structures with director salary + dividends?
Yes — the engine separates salary (PAYG, 100% shaded) from net company profit (80–90% shaded per lender), so company structures are modelled accurately. For trust structures it's similar — distribution treatment follows the same shading curve.
What about BAS-only income evidence?
The major banks won't accept BAS-only for serviceability — they need tax returns and ITR notices of assessment. Pepper, Resimac and La Trobe have BAS-based products; LendScope flags those separately so you don't waste time submitting BAS to a lender that won't take it.
How do you handle one bad year (e.g. COVID-affected 2020 or 2021 returns)?
Most lenders allow you to apply for an income-explanation override. LendScope flags lenders that publicly accept 1-year financials with an explanatory letter (currently Pepper, Liberty, La Trobe, Resimac). For the rest you'd note the policy exception in your submission.
Run a self-employed scenario →
Read the full mechanics in How serviceability works in Australia (2026 edition), or check the broker terms in our glossary.