St.George Home Loan Lending Policy 2026

A St.George home loan needs a borrower who meets the bank’s credit rules, an acceptable property and a repayment structure they can afford. Choosing the Advantage Package or an offset account changes the product’s features and costs. It doesn’t establish that the mortgage application will be approved.

For brokers, the useful starting point is the income evidence and loan purpose. Compare the file within the broader lender policy guide. Match those to the selected product, then explain how the deposit, security and repayments support the requested loan.

Borrower and Income Rules

St.George assesses the income available to repay the loan alongside the borrower’s expenses and existing commitments. As at October 2026, its residential product pages exclude non-Australian resident borrowers. Record residency, employment type, dependants and the purpose of the loan before selecting an assessment route.

Match the Income to Its Evidence

St.George’s February 2026 minimum documents checklist separates salary, casual earnings and non-base income.

• For pay as you go (PAYG) base income, provide two consecutive non-year-to-date payslips or one year-to-date payslip covering two pay cycles.
• Casual income has a listed route using one year-to-date payslip covering six months.
• Non-base income can use a year-to-date payslip covering three months.

These payslips must be no more than two months old at formal approval. Match each income amount to its period and employer. A document proving a bonus was paid doesn’t establish that the whole bonus counts in servicing.

For rental income, the checklist distinguishes tenanted property from a property awaiting tenants. Keep the lease or agent’s rental evidence with the property details. List each loan and credit limit separately, including debts the borrower plans to close.

Choose the Self-Employed Assessment Route

St.George’s self-employed guidance has Fast Track, one-year and standard two-year assessment routes. Its standard qualification asks for more than two full financial years of self-employment and a registered Australian business number (ABN). A one-year assessment means one year of documents, not a business with only one year of trading.

Fast Track uses the last two personal Australian Taxation Office (ATO) notices of assessment and requires a 20% deposit under the published consumer route. The one-year route starts with the latest business and personal tax returns, the personal notice of assessment and business liabilities. Sole traders need personal tax returns only.

The standard route uses two years of business and personal returns, business financial statements and the latest personal notice of assessment. It suits more complex structures or applications needing additional business income assessed.

The broker self-employed page adds conditions for one-year assessment. Borrowers must be individuals, the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) must be 80% or less and each borrower’s credit bureau score must be at least 650. Under Fast Track, rental income already in the notices of assessment mustn’t be entered again unless it started after that period.

Retain the calculation that connects taxable income or business profit to the amount used in servicing. Bulma’s Policy Advisor quotes the lender policy behind an answer, so you can keep that wording with the income calculation.

Home Loan Packages and Repayment Options

St.George’s Basic variable home loan, Standard Variable Rate loan and Fixed Rate loan remain distinct current options as at October 2026. The loan selector explains which features attach to each.

Product or structure	Features that affect the choice	Cost or limitation to compare
Basic variable home loan	Extra repayments and redraw	No offset, package or building option
Standard Variable Rate loan	Optional 100% offset and building option	Establishment and monthly fees unless packaged
Fixed Rate loan	Repayment certainty during the fixed term	No offset, with break costs possible for changes or excess prepayments
Split loan	Separate fixed and variable portions	Offset applies only to an eligible variable portion

The Basic home loan page lists no lending establishment or monthly account-keeping fee. Other charges can still apply. Redraw accesses extra repayments already made into the loan, while offset leaves money in a separate linked transaction account.

What the Advantage Package Changes

St.George’s home loan package has a $395 annual fee in Australian dollars. It waives the listed establishment and monthly loan account fees and includes discounts on eligible Standard Variable Rate and Fixed Rate loans.

The published eligibility requires natural-person applicants, at least $150,000 in total residential borrowing and a Complete Freedom account. Applicants must hold or have pre-approval for an eligible loan. Basic loans can’t be packaged.

An eligible credit card is an optional addition, with its annual card fee waived when linked to the package. Approval for that card is separate. Include its proposed credit limit in the borrower’s liabilities.

Compare the package fee against the features the client will use. A borrower who needs redraw but holds little spare cash has a different cost comparison from someone who keeps substantial savings in offset.

Open and Link the Offset Account

Complete Freedom remains St.George’s transaction account, with no account-keeping fee. It becomes an offset account through the required link to an eligible loan.

St.George’s offset guide describes full offset against its Standard Variable Rate loan. Up to 10 accounts can be linked to the home loan. Principal-and-interest loans use Full Mortgage Equaliser Offset, while interest-only loans use Full Repayment Offset.

For a new loan, nominate the account and eligible portion during the application. For an existing loan, a home loan expert can open or link accounts by phone, through an app call, callback or branch visit. The bank can also identify which account is linked to the loan.

Keep the bank’s linkage confirmation with the account number and nominated loan portion. Compare the loan statement’s interest charge against daily loan and offset balances. A transaction account statement proves the money is there, but the bank’s linkage record establishes which portion it offsets.

In a hypothetical split loan, the variable portion owes $320,000 and its linked offset holds $25,000 throughout one day. The interest-bearing balance for that day is $295,000. The fixed portion is unaffected, and the offset deposit doesn’t reduce the contractual loan principal.

Interest-Only and Repayment Frequency

St.George’s interest-only guidance allows up to five years for owner-occupied loans over the loan’s life. Investment loans can have up to 15 years, subject to approval and eligibility. The requested purpose and term must be entered correctly in the application.

After interest-only expires, repayments switch to principal and interest unless another approved arrangement applies. Assess the client’s ability to meet that later payment. A lower interest-only payment now doesn’t demonstrate capacity to repay principal over the remaining term.

Use St.George’s servicing calculation for the requested structure. Its repayment calculator warns that the bank makes its own assessment and can use a higher assessment rate.

The loan management guide permits weekly, fortnightly or monthly scheduled repayments, with weekly and fortnightly unavailable on interest-only. Keep the minimum contractual payment separate from any extra recurring transfer. Check the new schedule and due date when changing repayment frequency.

Deposit, Security and Group Boundaries

St.George’s LVR uses the bank’s valuation of the security, so a purchase price alone doesn’t establish the available loan amount. As at October 2026, its Basic product page defines LVR on that basis.

In a hypothetical purchase, a $640,000 loan against a bank valuation of $800,000 has an 80% LVR. If the valuation is $760,000, the same loan has an LVR of about 84.2%. The borrower must cover the resulting funding gap or change the requested borrowing.

Trace the contribution to savings, a sale settlement or another documented source. Budget purchase costs separately. St.George’s February 2026 checklist requires evidence of 5% genuine savings for mortgage-insured applications where the base LVR exceeds 90%.

Record the property’s address, title, use and valuation conditions. An apartment, unusual title or remote location needs assessment against the applicable security rule. A deposit that meets the funds requirement doesn’t resolve a property restriction.

Professional Concessions and Brand Ownership

St.George’s professional home loan page describes lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) waivers for eligible professions. Listed doctors and dentists can apply up to 95% LVR without a minimum income requirement. Listed allied-health professions have different conditions, including a $90,000 annual income minimum and up to 90% LVR.

For eligible employed healthcare, emergency-service and trade professionals, the published route can count 100% of overtime and allowances. It requires six months of income evidence with the same employer. Self-employed applicants and office-based emergency-service staff are excluded from that income concession.

St.George Bank is a division of Westpac Banking Corporation. Use St.George’s policy and the St.George scenario-support owner. Group ownership doesn’t establish that a Bank of Melbourne construction or bridging rule applies to a St.George file.

For access and support destinations, use the St.George broker portal guide. A predominantly business-purpose enquiry belongs with the St.George business loan guide.

Submission and Exception Record

A complete St.George submission connects the requested loan to evidence of income, liabilities, contribution and security. As at October 2026, its online application process separates conditional approval from full approval, which includes valuation and final checks.

Keep the following documents and records together.

• Identification, residency evidence and the signed application consents.
• Income documents for the chosen assessment route and the servicing calculation.
• Declared expenses, credit limits and debts to remain or be repaid.
• Deposit evidence, purchase contract and valuation conditions.
• Selected product, package, offset account and repayment instructions.
• For an exception, the policy provision, version or update date, requested departure and written lender response.

Remove tax file numbers from supporting documents, as the bank’s February 2026 checklist requires. Record an unresolved LVR or product condition precisely, with the borrower’s relevant facts. A business development manager (BDM) discussion needs a written outcome before you rely on a departure from policy.

Refinance Evidence and Approval Timing

For a St.George refinance, reconcile the outgoing payout balance with the loan limit and any redraw. Record repayment conduct, discharge costs, fixed-rate break costs and the proposed remaining term. Include cash-out purpose and the new valuation in the comparison.

St.George’s February 2026 checklist says repayment-history statements aren’t needed for most applications when comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) provides the evidence. Request statements where the lender’s required evidence or an unexplained commitment calls for them.

The bank’s application page makes FASTRefi conditional on the new loan, outgoing lender and insurance guidelines being eligible. It doesn’t remove credit assessment. Apply the same distinction to any cashback: only an eligible offer incorporated in the application belongs in the client’s cost comparison.

St.George advertises possible conditional approval within one business day on its home loan comparison. That isn’t a full-approval deadline. Valuation, document completeness and final conditions affect the time to an unconditional outcome.

Contact the Right St.George Team

The home loan tools page lists 1300 304 660 for home loan enquiries and an online enquiry form. It also lists 13 33 30 for assistance. Existing borrowers can use the bank’s loan management page for account changes and servicing tasks.

For broker policy and scenario support, contact your St.George BDM or call 1300 137 532. St.George’s construction flyer lists that broker hotline. Give the team the application reference, exact policy question and evidence supporting the requested structure.

St.George Bridging or Relocation Finance

St.George calls its current bridging product a Relocation Loan, as at October 2026. The Relocation Loan page describes a loan of up to 12 months for buying before selling.

The published route is for owner-occupier purposes, excluding investment purchases, debt consolidation and residential lending through family or company trusts. Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents over 18. The bank also includes owner-occupiers buying vacant land to build with a building contractor.

During the bridging period, required repayments are deferred and interest is capitalised. Optional repayments can’t be redrawn. Sale proceeds repay the relocation balance, and any end debt continues under the chosen standard home loan.

Prepare valuations for the relevant properties, current mortgage balances and a sale plan with expected net proceeds. Show peak debt, interest during the overlap and end debt after selling costs. A slower sale increases capitalised interest, so model the longer overlap as well as the expected sale date.

St.George’s broker product-options flyer says servicing for its interest-capitalised relocation loan uses end debt where applicable. Obtain the bank’s assessment for the proposed exit and remaining mortgage. An extension beyond the published term is subject to credit criteria.

Construction Loans and Progress Payments

St.George’s current construction route is the building loan option on its Standard Variable Rate home loan, as at October 2026. The building loan guide describes staged advances and interest-only payments until construction finishes and the loan is fully drawn.

For a licensed builder’s fixed-price contract, St.George’s broker construction process requires the client’s full contribution at settlement for a single land-and-build application. The bank orders a to-be-erected valuation to assess the completed project.

Prepare the signed contract, plans and specifications, payment schedule and any variations or separate trade quotes. Council approvals and builder insurance form part of the drawdown requirements. A quantity surveyor’s report can be required by the valuer.

For each stage, the borrower authorises the builder’s invoice after the work is completed satisfactorily. Submit the payment request through the St.George app or send signed authorities and invoices to the bank’s Progress Payments team. St.George’s construction flyer, current at 23 February 2026, identifies progresspayments@stgeorge.com.au and 1300 130 586.

For example, a slab-stage invoice must correspond to the approved slab-stage payment in the contract. A variation that increases that amount needs resolution before the borrower authorises payment. Keep the invoice, authority and payment record together.

St.George requires inspections at relevant stages. Before final release, obtain the satisfactory final inspection, full valuation and the client’s building insurance. Completion certificates or survey documents depend on the property’s state or territory.

Compare the completed building and final invoice against the approved project. Set the ongoing repayment arrangement against the fully drawn balance, so the finished home and the borrower’s repayment obligation match the approved loan.