Good News for WA Home Buyers

09/07/2026

Keystart Just Made It Easier to Buy a Home in WA

For many Western Australians, the biggest hurdle to buying a home is not necessarily being able to afford the repayments. It is getting a lender to recognise their full income or meeting traditional deposit requirements.

That has just become a little easier.

On 8 July 2026, Keystart announced a number of significant changes to its lending policy, effective immediately. The changes improve how certain types of income are assessed and reduce some of the paperwork required when applying for a home loan.

For casual workers, people earning overtime or bonuses, parents on parental leave and self-employed applicants, these changes could make a meaningful difference to borrowing capacity.

What has changed?

Casual income can now be assessed at 100%

Previously, Keystart used 92% of eligible casual income when assessing borrowing capacity.

Under the new policy, 100% of casual income can now be used, provided the applicant meets the minimum six-month employment requirement.

For casual workers with consistent income, this could improve borrowing capacity and potentially make the difference between being able to proceed with a home purchase or having to wait.

More overtime, bonus and commission income can be used

Keystart has increased the amount of eligible overtime, bonus and commission income used in its assessment from 75% to 80%.

While it may sound like a relatively small adjustment, every improvement in assessable income can help when borrowing capacity is tight.

Better support for parents on parental leave

This is one of the most positive changes.

Previously, an applicant generally needed to return to work before their employment income could be assessed.

Keystart can now use 80% of the applicant’s expected return-to-work income, provided their return to work is within 24 months of the application.

This may provide significantly more flexibility for families who are looking to buy or build while one parent is temporarily on parental leave.

A fairer approach for self-employed applicants

Under the updated policy, Keystart will now use the average of the last two financial years.

For a business owner whose income has grown from one year to the next, this can provide a more balanced assessment of their income and may improve borrowing capacity.

This is big step change, as previously the lower of the two years was used.

Applicants will still need to provide two full years of financial information.

Higher liquid asset limits

For Keystart’s 100% ownership loans, the maximum liquid asset limit has increased from $35,000 to $50,000.

This change may allow more applicants with savings or other liquid assets to remain eligible for a Keystart loan.

Less paperwork as well

The changes are not only about borrowing capacity.

Keystart has also reduced some of its minimum documentation requirements to help streamline applications.

Some examples include:

• standard bank statement requirements reducing from three months to one month in many cases;
• PAYG income statements only being required on a case-by-case basis rather than for every application;
• Centrelink transaction history reducing from three months to one month;
• child maintenance transaction history reducing from six months to three months; and
• less reliance on additional loan repayment history where recently repaid debts can be verified through comprehensive credit reporting.

For borrowers, this should mean fewer documents to find and potentially fewer unnecessary hurdles during the application process. Keystart says its income-document requirements have also reduced from four or five documents in some cases to two or three.

Why does this matter for WA home buyers?

Keystart already provides several pathways designed to help eligible Western Australians buy sooner, including low-deposit home loans with deposit requirements that can be as low as 2%, depending on the product and circumstances, without Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

These latest changes address another major barrier: how income is assessed.

A person may be earning enough money to manage a home loan repayment but still fall short under a lender’s assessment rules because they are casual, regularly earn overtime, are on parental leave, or have a growing business.

The new policy does not guarantee approval, and every application is still subject to Keystart’s eligibility requirements, credit assessment and individual circumstances. However, these changes mean some people who previously fell short may now have a stronger opportunity to qualify.

Previously told you couldn’t borrow enough? It may be worth checking again

Lending policies change regularly, and yesterday’s borrowing capacity is not necessarily today’s borrowing capacity.

If you have previously been told that you:

• do not have enough borrowing capacity;
• need to return from parental leave before applying;
• cannot use all of your casual income;
• are self-employed and were limited by a weaker previous financial year,

it may be worth having your position reviewed again.

The combination of these changes and Keystart’s current low-deposit options could open the door for more Western Australians to buy or build a home sooner.

If you’re wondering how these changes could affect your plans, our team can help you understand what options may now be available and what your next step could look like.

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Ray Shanks

Finance Broker

Ray’s career in finance spans over 15 years, before making the move into finance broking. Ray is passionate about helping people into their dream home, whether it’s their first or next, and specialises in working with clients to unlock equity and create opportunities that genuinely align with their goals.

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