You Can Still Buy a Home as a Single Mum on Maternity Leave

Yes. You can be assessed for a home loan while you are pregnant, while you are on maternity leave, and in the months after you go back to work. Most lenders have a written policy for exactly this situation, and the heart of it is the part almost nobody expects: they assess you on the income you will earn when you return to work, not the reduced income you receive while you are on leave.

What they want in return is evidence. A letter from your employer confirming when you go, when you come back and what you will earn. Proof that you can cover the gap between your income and your repayments while you are off. That is the test. It is a documentation exercise, not a judgment about whether you should be buying a home right now.

Why this one is personal

I built Matilda Tree while I was pregnant. I was working through my own housing questions at the same time, and I remember how fast the assumption sets in that everything has to wait until you are back at work and life looks tidy again.

It does not.

There is a version of this conversation that happens without me. A woman decides on her own, at two in the morning, that she is not a candidate. She never asks, because she already knows the answer. Then she waits three years and buys at a higher price on the same income.

I would rather give you the actual policy, so the decision is yours and you make it with real information.

I will be straight with you about the limits too. You still need income. You still need to be able to service the loan. No lender policy and no government scheme changes that, and you would not want one that did. What they change is the shape of what is possible around a baby, and for a lot of single mums that is the difference between waiting and moving.

Can you be assessed for a home loan while pregnant or on maternity leave?

Yes, and there is nothing unusual about it.

Lenders have named policies for this. They are called parental leave, maternity leave or extended leave policies, and they sit in the same credit manuals as every other income type.

The common threads across the lenders I work with:

• Your return to work income is what gets assessed. If you earned $95,000 before leave and you are returning to the same role, that is the figure in the calculator.
• The leave window is usually capped at 12 months. Several lenders write this in explicitly. If you are planning a longer break, that needs a different conversation rather than an assumption.
• You have to show you can cover the leave period itself. This is the buffer, and it is the part that actually decides most applications. -** Going back part time is fine, as long as you say so.** If you are returning three days a week, the reduced figure is what gets assessed. Declaring it up front is not a weakness in your application. It is what keeps it clean.

Some lenders go further and count the parental leave payment itself as income. One major lender uses employer and government paid parental leave at 90 per cent for servicing, entered as its own income type. Others ignore the leave payment altogether and simply use your return to work salary.

That variation is real, and it is the practical reason a broker helps here. The same set of facts produces different answers at different lenders, and none of them are wrong.

What do lenders actually need to see?

Two things, mostly.

A letter from your employer. This is the hinge document. Between them, lenders ask for:

• The date your leave starts, or started
• The date you return to work
• What you are paid while on leave, broken down (for example, six weeks at half pay, then government Parental Leave Pay)
• What your employment looks like when you come back: same conditions, reduced hours, or a different arrangement
• Your base salary on return
• How long you have been with that employer

Not every lender asks for all of it. If your letter covers all of it, you are ready for any of them.

Ask HR or payroll for it early, because it can take a couple of weeks to come back. It needs to be on company letterhead showing the business name or ABN.

For context on the numbers in that letter, government Parental Leave Pay is 130 days, or 26 weeks based on a five day work week, for a child born or adopted from 1 July 2026.

Evidence of savings to cover the gap. Here is how the buffer test actually works. It is more mechanical than it sounds.

The lender runs your servicing calculation twice. Once on your return to work income, which is the loan you are being approved for. Once on your income during leave, with your real expenses, to find the monthly shortfall.

Then they multiply.

If the shortfall is $1,200 a month and you are taking six months of leave, you need to show $7,200 in savings. It has to still be there after settlement. Not money going into the deposit. Money left over.

Some lenders add a statutory declaration confirming you understand those savings may be needed. One asks you to complete a specific extended leave form.

That number is the thing to work backwards from. If you know your leave plan, you can calculate your own buffer tonight and know whether you are ready or whether you want another few months of saving first.

One more thing to build in. A new baby is a new dependant, and your declared living expenses rise accordingly. At least one lender's policy instructs the assessor to specifically account for the cost of an additional dependant. Put it in your own numbers early rather than meeting it at assessment.

What happens to Centrelink, child support and family payments?

This is where single mums get the most inconsistent answers, and it is worth understanding why.

Most lenders count some government and support income. What varies is which payments, how much of them, and for how long.

Three rules move the needle.

1. Which payment it is. Family Tax Benefit Part A and B are widely accepted. Parenting Payment Single is where lenders split hard. I have credit policy in front of me from one lender that accepts it at 100 per cent for servicing, and another that lists it as an unacceptable income type outright. Same payment. Opposite answers.

2. Your child's age. This is the one nobody sees coming. Lenders want an income stream to continue for a reasonable period, often five years, before they will rely on it. Because family payments and child support end at set ages, your child's current age quietly decides whether the money counts at all. Thresholds I see in live policy: family payments usable while the child is 12 or 13 and under, Parenting Payment Single usable while the child is 9 and under, child support usable while the child is under 12 or 13.

A mum with a three year old and a mum with an eleven year old can receive identical payments and end up with very different borrowing capacity.

3. What proportion of your income it is. Several lenders cap it. One states that combined Centrelink and child support cannot exceed 50 per cent of total income on any application. Another accepts family payments as supplementary income only, meaning you need other income alongside it. A third accepts child support only where it is less than all your other income combined.

None of this is a reason not to apply. It is a reason to check policy before you accept a number, because the spread between lenders here is wide and it is knowable in advance.

To use any of it, you will generally need a letter from Services Australia confirming the payment amount and that it is ongoing, or three months of bank statements showing the credits landing consistently. Child support usually needs to be a registered arrangement rather than a private one.

Which government schemes can help a single mum buy?

Two of them name single parents directly.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, Single Parent Stream

This is the successor to the Family Home Guarantee, and the settings are generous:

• A deposit of 2 per cent instead of 5, so you can borrow up to 98 per cent of the value
• No Lenders Mortgage Insurance, because the government guarantees the gap
• You do not have to be a first home buyer. Single parents who have owned before can apply, as long as you do not currently hold an interest in Australian land
• The application is in a single name
• You need at least one dependent child

What to know before you build a plan on it:

• Property price caps apply by region, checked by suburb on the Housing Australia website
• The loan must be principal and interest for the full term
• Top-ups are not permitted on scheme loans
• The deposit must be genuine savings, though a rental ledger and gifts can help in some circumstances
• One lender's scheme guidance states that a person who is separated but not yet divorced is not eligible, because they still legally have a spouse. If you are separated, confirm this before you rely on it

There is one interaction worth flagging if you are combining this scheme with maternity leave. The scheme limits how much savings you can hold after settlement, commonly around six months of expenses plus six months of repayments. Your leave buffer needs to fit inside that ceiling. For most leave plans it does comfortably. For a long unpaid stretch it can get tight, so map both numbers at the same time.

Help to Buy

Help to Buy is shared equity. The government does not lend you money and does not charge you interest or rent on its share. It buys a portion of the home alongside you.

• The government contributes up to 30 per cent of the value of an existing home, or up to** 40 per cent** of a newly built one
• Minimum deposit is 2 per cent
• Income caps are $103,000 for a single applicant and **$165,000 **for single parents and joint applicants
• 10,000 places each year
• Single parents have an exception to the no-prior-ownership rule where they are buying out a co-owner's share or selling an existing property

This one is powerful for single mums specifically because it reduces the loan you need rather than just the deposit you need. If borrowing capacity is your constraint, and on one income with children it very often is, a shared equity contribution closes a servicing gap in a way that a deposit guarantee simply cannot.

The trade is real and worth holding clearly. The government shares proportionally in the growth, so as the home rises in value, so does its share. You can buy that share back down over time in blocks of at least 5 per cent of current value. Some women would genuinely rather borrow less and own all of it, and that is a legitimate answer too.

Both schemes have more detail than fits here, and both change. Check current settings at firsthomebuyers.gov.au before you decide anything.

What if you already have a mortgage and leave is coming?

Different question, and your options here are narrower than most people assume. Better to know that now than in month four.

Interest only is possible, but it is not a given

Switching an owner occupied loan from principal and interest to interest only is a real option and lenders do write it. Three things limit it:

• Your LVR. Interest only on an owner occupied loan is commonly capped at 80 per cent of the property value. If you owe more than that, the answer at a lot of lenders is no, whatever your reasons
• Whether it is a scheme loan. Loans written under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme must be principal and interest for the full term. If you bought with a 2 per cent deposit under the Single Parent Stream, this option is closed
• It is a full credit assessment. Going from principal and interest to interest only is treated as a new application at most lenders. Full documentation, full serviceability. Going the other direction is usually a simple variation. So the change that helps you is the harder one

There is also a catch worth understanding before you ask. An interest only period does not remove the principal, it defers it. When the period ends you repay the same principal over a shorter remaining term, so your repayments step up and you pay more interest overall. Lenders assess you on those higher future repayments, not on the lower ones you are asking for. That is why an interest only request can be declined even when the immediate repayment is obviously easier to meet.

None of that makes it a bad option. It makes it a planned one. If you want it, ask before you go on leave, while your income is at full strength and your employer letter is current.

The options that do not need a full application

Less dramatic, and often more useful:

• Drop back to your minimum contractual repayment. If you have been paying above the minimum, and plenty of people have without really tracking it, you can simply stop. That is not a loan variation and it needs no credit assessment. For a lot of households it frees up more each month than an interest only switch would
• Use your offset or redraw. Money you have already paid ahead is money you can reach. Building the offset balance before leave is the most flexible single thing you can do, because it lowers your interest now and sits there as your buffer later. Check whether fixing your rate would lock redraw away
• Ask early rather than late. Every lender has a hardship team, and they are a normal part of how lending works rather than a last resort. They can arrange reduced repayments or a pause without you passing a fresh serviceability test. Coming to them early gives you far more room than coming to them late

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a home loan while I am pregnant?

Yes. Lenders assess you on the income you will be earning when you return to work, supported by a letter from your employer confirming your leave dates and your salary on return. You will also need savings to cover any shortfall during the leave period itself. Being pregnant is not a reason for a lender to decline you, and it is not something you need to hide or apologise for.

How much do I need in savings to cover maternity leave?

Work out your monthly shortfall during leave, which is your reduced income minus your repayments and living expenses, then multiply it by the number of months you will be off. If you are short $1,200 a month for six months, that is $7,200, and it needs to be money still in your account after settlement rather than money going into the purchase.

Will Parenting Payment Single count towards my borrowing capacity?

It depends entirely on the lender. Some accept it at 100 per cent for servicing where your child is young enough that the payment will continue for several years. Others exclude it altogether. Family Tax Benefit is more widely accepted, usually with age limits on the child and a cap on what proportion of your total income it can represent. This is a question worth asking across a panel rather than at one bank.

Do I have to be a first home buyer to use the 2 per cent deposit scheme?

Not as a single parent. The Single Parent Stream allows applicants who have owned property before, as long as you do not currently hold an interest in Australian land. You do need at least one dependent child, the application must be in your name alone, and the property has to sit under the regional price cap.

Where this leaves you

Here is what I want you to take from this.

There is a version of the story where having a baby on your own means everything financial goes on hold. It is a very common story and the policy does not support it.

The policy says something much plainer. Show us what you will earn when you go back. Show us you can hold the gap in between. Show us a letter from your employer. That is it. Those are answerable questions, and you can answer most of them yourself on a quiet evening with a calculator, long before you speak to a broker.

You still need income. You still need to service the loan. I will not soften that, because false hope costs more than a clear no. But between "I can comfortably service a loan" and "I cannot do this at all" there is a wide middle ground with real policy sitting in it, and a lot of single mums are standing in that middle ground convinced they are outside it.

Whether you are having a baby on your own by choice or rebuilding after a relationship ended, housing security is not a reward you earn back later once things look respectable again. It is something you are allowed to work towards now, while the baby is small and everything is loud.

Ask the question. The answer takes about an hour to find.

If you want to know what buying looks like on your actual numbers, book a discovery call. We will map out your borrowing capacity, your leave buffer, and whether the 5% Deposit Scheme or Help to Buy fits, so you know exactly where you stand.

Sources and references

• Australian Government Help to Buy Scheme, First Home Buyers (Australian Government): https://firsthomebuyers.gov.au/australian-government-help-buy-scheme
• Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, First Home Buyers (Australian Government): https://firsthomebuyers.gov.au/australian-government-5-percent-deposit-scheme
• Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme FAQs, First Home Buyers (Australian Government): https://firsthomebuyers.gov.au/australian-government-5-percent-deposit-scheme/5-percent-tools-and-resources/faqs
• Property price caps, Housing Australia: https://www.housingaustralia.gov.au/support-buy-home/property-price-caps
• Parental Leave Pay days increasing from 1 July 2026, Services Australia: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay-days-increasing-from-1-july-2026
• Parental Leave Pay, Services Australia: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/parental-leave-pay
• Family Tax Benefit Part A eligibility, Services Australia: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/family-tax-benefit-part-eligibility

The lender policy positions described in this article are drawn from current broker credit policy manuals and income assessment guides held by Matilda Tree Finance. These are broker-access documents rather than publicly linkable pages, so they are not listed above as URLs. Lender policy changes regularly and without public notice.

Scheme settings described in this article are current as at August 2026. Government schemes change, sometimes at short notice, so confirm the current rules with a participating lender or at firsthomebuyers.gov.au before making a decision.

This article is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not credit, legal, tax or financial advice. Before acting on any of it, consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and seek advice from a qualified professional. Eligibility for any government scheme is determined by Housing Australia and participating lenders, not by Matilda Tree Finance.

Rielle Berglund is a mortgage broker and the founder of Matilda Tree Finance, working with women navigating life transitions, first home buyers, and self employed Australians with complex income. She is also the founder of Runa, a free financial literacy app for Australian women.

matildatreefinance.com.au | runaapp.com.au

Rielle Berglund (Credit Representative Number 552381) and Matilda Tree Pty Ltd 86642433896 (Credit Representative Number 552382) are credit representatives of Purple Circle Financial Services Pty Ltd ABN 21 611 305 170 Australian Credit Licence Number 486112.