BOQ Home Loan Lending Policy 2026

A BOQ home loan broker submission starts with the client’s existing-customer status: BOQ has paused new home loan customers through brokers since 31 August 2024. Existing BOQ customers remain supported, including for new lending. For an eligible file, match the income evidence and property to the particular BOQ product before relying on a headline borrowing limit.

Where BOQ Policy Comes From

For an existing-customer broker file, use BOQ’s lending policy and written updates supplied through its broker support channel. Keep the document title, version and effective date in the file notes. A product fact sheet describes that product’s limits, while a credit policy determines how BOQ assesses the borrower and security.

The BOQ Broker Portal notice, as at October 2026, gives the broker-channel pause an effective date of 31 August 2024. It expressly preserves support for existing customers and new lending to them. BOQ’s public product pages also describe branch enquiries, so the broker pause must not be treated as closure of all BOQ home loans.

BOQ, ME Bank and Virgin Money have separate branded lending material. Use the name on the application and proposed product to choose the policy. A ME Bank income rule cannot establish whether BOQ accepts the same income, even within the same banking group.

Keep ME Bank lending policy separate from this BOQ assessment. The BOQ broker portal guide covers access and file support. For other lenders’ requirements, use the lender policy guides.

Income and Employment Evidence

BOQ’s home loan appointment checklist, as at October 2026, accepts salary evidence and specifies a separate self-employed document set. Supplying evidence establishes the income source. It does not make every dollar on that document assessable income.

Income source	BOQ’s published evidence	Treatment in the file
Pay as you go (PAYG) salary	Two recent payslips, or three consecutive months of non-BOQ statements showing salary credits and employer name	Separate ordinary salary from variable pay
Self-employed individual	Two years of individual tax returns and tax assessment notices	Reconcile declared personal income with the business
Partnership, company or trust income	Most-recent-year accountant-prepared profit and loss and balance sheet, showing two consecutive years of profit and loss, plus two years of business tax returns	Explain ownership, distributions and liabilities
Rental income	Signed current lease, recent managing-agent statement or three months of identifiable rental credits	Identify the property and gross rent separately

BOQ’s checklist calls for the most recent financial year’s returns and financials after 1 March. If that set is not ready, include the accounting position in the scenario request before proposing an income figure.

For casual work, distinguish employment history from income history. Record the start date, occupation and any gaps, then separate regular hours from overtime. Include prior work in the same occupation when the current tenure alone does not explain the income pattern.

For overtime, commission, bonuses or allowances, show the amount and period earned alongside base pay. Ask BOQ to specify the averaging period and percentage it will count when the application depends on that component. A payslip proving a payment does not establish BOQ’s ongoing-income treatment.

Short casual tenure, a recent business start, an unusual add-back or reliance on irregular income needs a focused written decision. Identify whether the question is about standard-policy interpretation or an exception. Do not describe an exception as already accepted income.

BOQ Specialist’s home loan range, as at October 2026, addresses doctors, dentists, veterinarians and accountants. Route a client seeking profession-specific assessment to the relevant Specialist product. The profession’s benefits cannot be carried into a retail BOQ application automatically.

Deposit, LVR and LMI Settings

BOQ’s borrowing limits depend on the product and loan purpose, so a 95% headline is not a universal limit. Loan-to-value ratio (LVR) compares the loan with the accepted property value. Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) protects the lender and can consume part of the available borrowing limit.

BOQ’s May 2025 Clear Path fact sheet sets out these maximums. Its Clear Path page, as at October 2026, also lists 95% principal-and-interest lending and 90% construction lending.

Clear Path purpose	Published maximum LVR	LMI basis
Owner-occupier or investor purchase, principal and interest	95%	Includes LMI
Owner-occupier interest only	90%	Includes LMI
Investor interest only	90%, capped at 95% after LMI	Excludes LMI at the 90% limit
Construction	90%	Includes LMI
Refinance of an external loan or vacant land	90%	Excludes LMI

Clear Path’s current product page limits eligibility to new lending for new and existing customers. It excludes refinancing or restructuring existing BOQ lending. The external-loan refinance ceiling does not make an existing BOQ loan eligible for refinance into Clear Path.

The fact sheet requires LMI above 80% LVR and above 70% for certain security properties. The lower insurance threshold means the property category matters even when the loan is below 80%.

BOQ’s Fixed Rate Home Loan page, as at October 2026, lists different limits. Owner-occupiers can borrow up to 95% with principal and interest or 90% with interest-only repayments. Investors are limited to 90% for either repayment type, and the fixed product has no construction option.

A 95% limit inclusive of LMI does not mean 5% cash covers the purchase. In a hypothetical $600,000 purchase with the same accepted value, the $570,000 ceiling must also contain any capitalised LMI. The client needs funds for the balance and purchase costs.

Separate the deposit amount from genuine savings, which is money accumulated or held over a qualifying period. Show savings history, gifted funds and sale proceeds as separate amounts. Attach evidence of each source and request the applicable genuine-savings treatment where gifts or short-held funds are needed.

BOQ Specialist’s package page, as at October 2026, describes borrowing up to 90% without LMI. Its medical-professional guidance discusses case-specific higher finance. Apply the written Specialist terms to the eligible profession and transaction instead of importing a 100% claim into retail BOQ policy.

Security and Property Limits

BOQ’s May 2025 Clear Path fact sheet requires residential property as security. The maximums above are product ceilings, so a particular property still needs BOQ’s security assessment. The fact sheet’s lower LMI threshold for certain properties also changes the funding calculation.

Present the security with enough detail for a property-specific decision.

Property scenario	Facts to include	Decision the broker needs
House or townhouse	Address, title, occupancy and valuation	Accepted security value and applicable LVR
Apartment	Internal area, building size, use and title restrictions	Unit eligibility, location category and valuation requirements
Rural residential property	Land area, zoning, access and services	Residential eligibility and any size or postcode restriction
Multiple dwellings or specialised accommodation	Dwelling count, title structure and permitted use	Security category and any reduced LVR
Vacant land or construction	Land details, contract, plans and building costs	Purpose-specific limit and valuation conditions

Treat the apartment’s internal area and the land’s area as separate measurements. For a rural property, state whether income-producing use is proposed. A residential address alone does not resolve the security classification.

BOQ’s Clear Path page, as at October 2026, includes a residential valuation by a BOQ-approved valuer for each application. A free valuation concerns its cost, not acceptance of the property or purchase price. If the accepted value is lower, recalculate the LVR and client contribution before relying on the requested loan amount.

For construction, provide the signed building contract and approved plans with specifications or the builder’s quote. BOQ’s appointment checklist also calls for the builder’s insurance certificate. Keep any valuation condition with the approval so the file shows what must happen before funding.

Ask BOQ for an Exception

An exception request must isolate the condition outside BOQ policy and show how the proposed loan manages it. BOQ’s broker portal, as at October 2026, directs assistance enquiries to BOQBroker@boq.com.au. Start with the existing-customer position so the request addresses an eligible broker-channel file.

Include the following material in the scenario pack.

• The customer’s BOQ relationship, loan purpose, requested amount and repayment type.
• The policy document’s title, version, effective date and relevant clause.
• Income calculations, employment history and the documents supporting each component.
• Deposit sources, proposed LVR and treatment of any capitalised LMI.
• Property address, area, title details and valuation concerns.
• The exact departure requested, its reason and proposed conditions that address the risk.

Keep a request for clarification distinct from a request to waive a rule. This fictional clarification request makes the unresolved point specific.

Existing BOQ customer proposes a Clear Path owner-occupier purchase with principal-and-interest repayments at 85% LVR. The May 2025 Clear Path fact sheet gives a 95% limit inclusive of LMI. The applicant has eight months of casual employment, supported by payslips and bank credits. Which current income-policy clause governs the minimum history, and does this tenure fit standard policy or need an exception?

Retain BOQ’s response with the cited policy and supporting evidence. Record the conditions and whether the response is a preliminary scenario view or formal approval. Proceed on the written decision for this file, including any separate insurer or valuation conditions.