Home Loans for New Graduate Vets: HECS, Low Deposits and First Home Schemes

Recent changes to government schemes mean buying sooner may be more realistic than you think.

If you are a new graduate vet thinking about buying your first home, you are probably assuming it is years away. A HECS debt, a starting salary, and not much saved up can feel like a combination that rules you out for a while yet. The reality is more encouraging than that, and recent changes to government schemes have made it considerably easier for first home buyers, including new graduate vets, to get into the market sooner than they think.

Your HECS Debt Is Less of an Obstacle Than You Think

From July 2025, the HECS repayment threshold rose from $54,435 to $67,000, indexed to $69,528 for the 2026 to 27 financial year, and the system moved to a marginal structure where you only pay the higher rate on income above each threshold, not your whole income once you cross it. Combined with the one-off 20% reduction applied to outstanding HECS balances in mid-2025, most new graduate vets are now in a considerably better position than graduates a few years ago.

Lenders do still factor your compulsory HECS repayment into how much you can borrow, but the impact is smaller under the new system, particularly in the first few years of your career when your income is still building.

The First Home Guarantee Scheme: Bigger Changes Than You Might Realise

If you have looked into the First Home Guarantee scheme before and dismissed it, it is worth a second look. As of October 2025, two of the biggest restrictions were removed entirely.

• The income caps that previously limited the scheme to singles earning under $125,000 and couples under $200,000 have been removed

• There is no longer a cap on the number of places available each year

• You can purchase with as little as a 5% deposit, with the government guaranteeing the remaining amount needed to avoid Lenders Mortgage Insurance

For a new graduate vet without a large deposit saved, this scheme alone can move your home buying timeline forward by several years, since you no longer need to save the traditional 20% to avoid LMI.

Stacking the Vet LMI Waiver With First Home Buyer Schemes

Separately from government schemes, a number of lenders waive LMI specifically for veterinarians at high LVRs, sometimes up to 95%, regardless of first home buyer status. Depending on the lender and your specific situation, it is sometimes possible to access better terms through a profession-based waiver than through the government scheme, or in some cases to combine elements of both. Which path is better depends entirely on your specific numbers, the property price, and the lender's individual policy, which is exactly the kind of comparison a broker is built to do.

What This Looks Like for a Typical New Graduate Vet

Picture a vet one to two years out of university, earning a starting salary, with a HECS balance and a smaller deposit than they would like. Under the old rules, this person may have been told to wait several years and save aggressively. Under the current settings, with the relaxed first home buyer scheme and accurate treatment of their HECS and starting salary, the same person may be in a position to buy considerably sooner than they expect, particularly with guidance on which lender will assess their starting career trajectory most favourably.

Why Timing Matters More Than People Realise

Vet salaries tend to grow meaningfully in the first five years. Getting into the property market earlier, even modestly, often means benefiting from that income growth while you are already a homeowner, rather than continuing to rent while you wait for the deposit to feel comfortable. That is not a universal rule, and renting and saving longer is the right choice for some people, but it is a conversation worth having with real numbers rather than assumptions.

Our Take on This Stage

We specifically understand the early-career vet position because it is where so many of our clients start. Shelley's own early years in the profession looked a lot like this: building income, carrying HECS, and wondering whether buying was realistic yet. Knowing how the schemes and the lender policies fit together for a vet specifically is where we add real value at this stage.

Wondering if you could buy sooner than you think?

Book a free discovery call. We will run your actual numbers against the current schemes and lender policies.

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