Borrowing power
How much can I borrow for a home loan in Australia?
A practical guide to borrowing power, lender serviceability, and why your capacity can change from one bank to the next.
9 min read · Updated 30 May 2026
One of the first questions every home buyer asks is: how much can I borrow? The honest answer is that it depends on your household profile, the property you want to buy, and the lender assessing your application.
Key takeaways
- Borrowing power changes materially between lenders because each bank applies different serviceability rules.
- Income is only one part of the assessment; debts, credit-card limits, dependants, expenses, deposit and loan purpose all matter.
- A useful borrowing estimate should help you compare lender policy, repayment comfort and purchase readiness before you apply.
What determines borrowing power?
Borrowing power is the amount a lender may be willing to lend after testing whether repayments look affordable. It is not just a multiple of income. Lenders review the whole household position, then apply their own serviceability rules.
The same borrower can receive meaningfully different results because each lender treats income, expenses, credit limits, debt repayments, dependants, and buffers differently.
- Income from salary, wages, business earnings, rental income, overtime, bonuses, and commissions.
- Employment type, probation status, income consistency, and length of time in the role.
- Existing debts such as personal loans, car finance, buy-now-pay-later accounts, HECS or HELP, and existing mortgages.
- Credit card limits, even when the card balance is low.
- Living expenses, household size, dependants, school fees, insurance, transport, and recurring subscriptions.
- Credit history, conduct on existing accounts, and the deposit available for the purchase.
Example borrowing scenarios
The examples below are illustrative only. They are designed to show how household structure can change borrowing capacity even when income looks similar. Actual borrowing power depends on lender policy, interest rates, debts, expenses, deposit, credit profile, and loan purpose.
| Household | Income | Approx. borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $100k | ~$500k |
| Couple | $180k | ~$900k |
| Couple + 2 children | $180k | ~$750k |
Why most borrowing calculators are wrong
Many online calculators use broad assumptions and a simple income multiple. That can be useful for a quick estimate, but it misses the policy detail that often decides whether a lender says yes, says no, or offers a lower amount.
Most basic calculators do not properly account for lender policy, living-expense benchmarks, credit-card limits, existing commitments, repayment buffers, property type, or whether the loan is owner-occupied or investment.
What lenders actually assess
A lender is trying to answer a practical question: can this borrower afford the loan without relying on optimistic assumptions? To do that, lenders usually look at serviceability, debt-to-income ratios, loan-to-value ratio, credit score, repayment conduct, genuine savings, and the type of security property.
This is where lender selection matters. A borrower might qualify for about $750,000 at one lender and about $920,000 at another because the servicing model, income shading, expense treatment, and policy exceptions differ.
Use the borrowing power calculator
Use this calculator as a planning tool before you speak with a lender or broker. It is intentionally simple, so treat the result as a starting point rather than formal credit approval.
Estimated borrowing power
$792,680
Estimated monthly repayments
$4,855
Estimated purchase price
$972,680
20% deposit guide
$194,536
Indicative only. This calculator uses simplified assumptions and does not represent approval from any lender.
Why borrowing power changes between lenders
Different lenders use different assessment rates, minimum expense assumptions, credit-card repayment assumptions, income rules, and risk settings. Some lenders are stronger for PAYG employees. Others may be more flexible for self-employed income, investment debt, bonus income, or complex household structures.
That is the core problem Borro.ai is built to solve: helping Australian borrowers understand their position and compare lending options before they waste time on the wrong lender.
Check your borrowing power in under two minutes.
Get a clearer view of your income, debts, deposit, and lender options before you apply.
Start my assessmentFrequently asked questions
A single borrower on $100,000 might see an indicative range around $500,000 in simple examples, but actual borrowing power depends on debts, credit limits, expenses, dependants, deposit, rate assumptions, and lender policy.
Lenders assess income, expenses, existing debts, credit limits, dependants, loan purpose, deposit, property type, and a stressed repayment rate to test whether repayments remain affordable.
Yes. Dependants usually increase assessed living expenses, which can reduce borrowing capacity compared with the same income and no dependants.
Yes. Lenders often assess the limit, not just the balance. Reducing unused credit-card limits can improve borrowing capacity for some borrowers.
It depends on your full profile. Different lenders have different serviceability models, so the strongest lender for one borrower may not be the strongest for another.