Quick Policy Guide
Last updated: 10 Nov 2025
This quick reference guide is designed to help our brokers find the answers to common policy questions.
Pease note, the information here is designed to be used as a guide only and this is not a representation of our complete policy, for more information or to workshop a deal, please reach out to your local BDM.
1. Borrowers
Acceptable Borrowers/Guarantors are outlined below
Individuals
- Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents (appropriate VISA confirmation required if foreign document supplied) living in Australia or acceptable jurisdictions for expat loans.
- Other visas or in-flight PR applications are acceptable provided at least one borrower/guarantor is a citizen or Permanent Resident.
- Expats – An Australian or New Zealand citizen or permanent resident living overseas (See Expat Product)
- Minimum age of borrower is 18.
- Maximum 4 borrowers per loan
Company Borrowers
- The company must have a valid ACN.
- All directors must be guarantors of the borrowing entity.
- Maximum of 4 directors
Trust Borrowers
- Loans to a trust must be in the name of the trustee in its/their own right and also in its/their capacity as trustee.
- Discretionary, Unit, or family trusts permitted.
SMSF Borrowers – see SMSF section for the Residential and Commercial SMSF Policy
- The Borrower is required to be the SMSF corporate Trustee (Non-trading entity), which holds the beneficial interest in the security property.
- The SMSF being corporate trustee must not be a trading entity.
- The legal title and legal ownership to the security property must be held on trust by an independent non-trading corporate trustee (the security custodian trustee) and the SMSF must have the ability to acquire the legal interest in the property on repayment of the loan.
- Up to 6 members/directors
2. Product parameters
| Loan Term | 10 to 40 years (30 years for some products and calculate serviceability over 30 years) |
| Interest Only | Up to 5 years |
| Offset sub account | Yes (excludes SMSF) |
| Can access redraw | Yes (excludes SMSF) |
3. Income qualification and acceptable documentation
For the assessment, 100% of the income is used unless mentioned otherwise
| Income Type | Requirements | |
| PAYG
(Full Time, Part Time, Contract, Casual)
|
Evidence
OR the most recent payslip plus at least one of the following must be obtained for each borrower:
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| PAYG Other
(Overtime and Allowances) |
6 Months evidence
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| Commission & Bonus | Evidence
Prime:
All Other Products:
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Self-Employed
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Product qualifiers
Prime:
Near Prime:
Specialist/Specialist+:
Evidence Full Doc:
Alt Doc: Provide one of the below income verifications:
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| Investment income (interest, dividends) | Evidence
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| Rental Income from residential and commercial properties
All rental income is shaded to 80% |
Existing Property:
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Proposed Property:
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Commercial Lease
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| Other income
Refer to BDM for further information |
Evidence
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Examples
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4. Accepted credit impairment and refinance
| Prime | Near Prime | Specialist | Specialist+ | |
| Mortgage Conduct | No arrears greater than 14 days | Less than 1 month arrears evident in last 6 months | Less than 2 months arrears evident in last 6 months | Less than 3 months arrears evident in last 6 months |
| Personal Loans / Credit cards | No arrears greater than 14 days | Conduct exceptions accepted subject to reasonable explanation | ||
| Defaults/Judgements
|
No unpaid defaults
Paid defaults up to $500 |
Up to $2,000 or greater than 24 months considered | Up to $2,000 or greater than 12 months considered | Conduct exceptions accepted subject to reasonable explanation |
| Discharged Bankruptcy or Part 9/10 agreements | Not accepted | Discharged > 2 years | Discharged > 1 day | |
| Repaying Part 9 and Part 10 agreements | Not accepted | Yes – provided the loan is being paid out and 6 months clear conduct is evident | ||
| Current Hardship | Not accepted | |||
5. Maximum loan and LVR
The table below shows the maximum loan amount and LVR for Residential Products.
For other products, see the Product Specific chapter for their respective tables.
Residential
| Metro | ||||
| LVR | Prime | Near-Prime | Specialist | Specialist+ |
| ≤60% | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,750,000 |
| ≤70% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,500,000 |
| ≤75% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,500,000 |
| ≤80% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,000,000 |
| ≤85%* | $1,750,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,500,000 | n/a |
| ≤90%* | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | n/a | n/a |
| Non-Metro | ||||
| LVR | Prime | Near-Prime | Specialist | Specialist+ |
| ≤60% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,750,000 |
| ≤70% | $2,250,000 | $2,250,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,500,000 |
| ≤75% | $2,250,000 | $2,250,000 | $1,750,000 | $1,500,000 |
| ≤80% | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,000,000 |
| ≤85%* | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | n/a |
| ≤90%* | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | n/a | n/a |
*If the LVR is over 80% or loan amount over $3 million, reach out to your local BDM for personalised broker support here
To determine whether a security is located in Metro or Non-Metro you can use Bluestone’s Acceptable Security Locations can be found Here.
Please note:
- Min Loan Size = $100,000
- Aggregate Exposure Limits = $10,000,000
6. Serviceability
Bluestone’s serviceability calculator can be found here
| Expense Type | Requirements |
| Assessment rate | Stress repayments calculated on a rate of the higher of floor rate and actual rate + buffer
Residential: Floor = 5.25%, Buffer =1.5% for LVR ≤70% AND Product is either Prime, Near Prime, Construction Prime or Construction Near Prime, otherwise buffer of 2.0% applied Commercial: Floor = 5.25%, Buffer = 2.0% |
| Living Expenses | Assessment
Higher of Income and Family Structure Based HEM or borrower’s declared figure. Income-based HEM determined on:
Other Expenses:
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| Notional Rent Expense | Where the borrower is said to reside with family or friends either rent free or at an unusually low rent, a notional rent expense of $650 per month will be included as an existing commitment when determining serviceability. |
| All Mortgage debts
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Evidence
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| Debts with a non-loan party
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For applications where the applicant owns a property jointly with a non-loan party, we can use the full rental amount (i.e. 100% received, with shading of 80% applied accordingly). We can also attribute the full negative gearing amount for our applicant. 100% repayment to be applied. |
| Personal Loan Repayments and Credit Cards/Overdrafts
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Assessment
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| ATO Debt on Repayment Plans
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An existing ATO debt can remain without being paid out and cleared where the ATO has a formally agreed repayment plan which is being met in accordance with the agreement. The following criteria must be met:
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7. Loan Purpose
Lending may be approved when it fits within this policy and Bluestone’s risk appetite.
| Acceptable Purposes | Unacceptable Purposes |
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¹ Excludes Residential SMSF and Expat loans
² Excludes SMSF and Expat loans
8. Cash out
| Prime | Near Prime | Specialist | Specialist+ | |
| Cash-out* | Unlimited | Unlimited <= 80% LVR
$200k >80% LVR |
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*Cash-out greater than $100k – cash–out purpose/evidence required to be provided
9. Exit strategy and Independent Legal Advice
Exit strategy
All borrowers seeking owner-occupied finance aged 50 or older at the time of assessment must provide an acceptable exit strategy.
Independent legal advice
Independent Legal advice (ILA) – where required, must be from an independent solicitor and is required for any applicant:
- elderly (60+ years old) with owner occupied security
- that does not speak or have the ability to understand English (ILA with interpreter’s certificate).
- Where Bluestone is made aware the borrow is a potentially vulnerable customer.
10. Securities (residential)
For Commercial securities go to the Commercial Property Loans section
| Acceptable Securities | Unacceptable Securities |
|
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Vacant Land
- Permitted only Max LVR of 70%
- Land must be registered (no off-plan, house and land packages acceptable)
- Land must be vacant entirely (e.g. no partial works, other facilities/dwellings on site)
- Land must be able to connect with essential services (water, electricity/gas)
- Maximum loan amount $1.5M
11. Product specific – Commercial property loans
In addition to the verification and income/expense assessment above the following specific criteria relate to loans secured by commercial security.
| Borrower Type | Prime & Near Prime (Full and Alt) and SMSF only |
| Maximum Loan Size | $3M loan size |
| Security location | Metro & Non-Metro |
| Maximum LVR by Loan size | ≤80% Metro
≤75% Non-Metro |
| Valuation Criteria | Full valuation by specialised commercial valuer |
| Maximum Loan term | 30 years |
| Commercial Lease | Full commercial lease (if in place) to have a legal review. |
| Acceptable Securities | Unacceptable Securities |
Multi use, high demand, non-specialised or industry specific commercial security including;
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Specialised, single use securities, such as:
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Maximum loan and LVR
| Metro | ||
| LVR | Commercial Prime | Commercial Near-Prime |
| ≤60% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤70% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤75% | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 |
| ≤80% | $2,000,000 | n/a |
| Non-Metro | ||
| LVR | Commercial Prime | Commercial Near-Prime |
| ≤60% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤70% | $2,250,000 | $2,250,000 |
| ≤75% | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| ≤80% | n/a | n/a |
12. Product specific – Construction loans
| Borrower Type | Prime and Near Prime (Full and Alt) – no owner builder / related builder |
| Maximum Loan Size | $3M |
| Maximum LVR | 80% of the expected on-completion valuation. |
| Security Location | Metro only |
| Maximum Loan term | 30 years (including construction period) |
| Repayment | IO during the construction period (with monthly interest payments) that converts to a standard loan post completion. Max 5 years total IO followed by P&I. |
| Other | Valid development consent, plans, specifications, and builder’s fixed price contract must be provided.
Builder must be a registered third-party (no owner-builders or subcontractors). Evidence of home warranty insurance and builder’s risk insurance is required before construction begins. |
Maximum loan and LVR
| Metro | |
| LVR | Construction Prime & Near Prime Loans |
| ≤60% | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $2,500,000 |
| ≤70% | $2,500,000 |
| ≤75% | $2,000,000 |
| ≤80% | $1,500,000 |
13. Product specific – Expat home loans
| Borrower Type | Prime only |
| Purpose | Refinance/Purchase investment residential property in Australia. (Cash Out allowed) |
| Security location | Metro only |
| LVR | Max 80% |
| Cash-out | Unlimited |
| Foreign Income | PAYG/Contract income verified as per current policy evidenced by:
Self-Employed
Overseas Net Income after Tax, shaded to 90% (use 100% foreign income in Serviceability Calculator) |
| Expenses | Higher of HEM or actual converted to AUD |
| Other |
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Maximum loan and LVR
| Metro | |
| LVR | Expat Prime |
| ≤60% | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $3,000,000 |
| ≤70% | $3,000,000 |
| ≤75% | $3,000,000 |
| ≤80% | $1,750,000 |
1. Borrowers
Acceptable SMSF Borrowers/Guarantors are outlined below
- The Borrower is required to be the SMSF corporate Trustee (Non-trading entity), which holds the beneficial interest in the security property.
- The SMSF being corporate trustee must not be a trading entity.
- The legal title and legal ownership to the security property must be held on trust by an independent non-trading corporate trustee (the security custodian trustee) and the SMSF must have
- the ability to acquire the legal interest in the property on repayment of the loan.
- Up to 6 members/directors
2. Product parameters
| Loan Term | 10 to 30 years |
| Interest Only | Up to 5 years |
| Max LVR | 80% |
| Min Loan | $100,000 |
| Max Loan (Metro) | $1,500,000 residential
$3,000,000 commercial |
| Max Loan (Non metro) | $1,000,000 residential
$3,000,000 Commercial |
| Number of members | SMSF can have a maximum of 6 members |
| Investment/Owner Occupied | Residential: Investment Only
Commercial: Investment or related party (Business real property) |
| Acceptable Purpose | Purchase, Refinance |
| Unacceptable Purpose | Debt Consolidation, Cash-out |
3. Income qualification and acceptable documentation
| Contribution Profile | Verification | |
| PAYG Option 1 |
Servicing met from super guarantee contributions (SGC) |
2 recent payslips with at least 1 dated within 4 weeks of the application date |
| PAYG Option 2 |
Servicing met from SGC and a minimum of 12 months of regular additional concessional contributions |
The above points PLUS 12 months of SMSF Cash Management Account statements or 12 months retail or industry superannuation fund statements. |
| PAYG Option 3 |
Service on Proposed Contributions | Provide following documents: Completed Member acknowledgment – Increasing superannuation contributions
|
| Self Employed Option 1 |
Servicing met from historic annual contributions | Existing fund – 2 years SMSF Returns and Financial Statement (audited) reflecting super contributions. or Newly established SMSF – 2 years history retail superannuation fund statements. |
| Self Employed Option 2 |
Servicing from proposed contributions (No history) | See PAYG Option 3 |
4. Document Requirements
| Requirement | ||
| SMSF Documents Required |
SMSF Trust Deed | Full deed – Dated and fully executed |
| Security Trust Deed | Full deed – Dated and fully executed | |
| Financials | • 2 years audited SMSF returns and financial statements • Last 6 months Cash management Account statements • For newly established SMSFs – Most recent retail superannuation fund statements |
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| Purchase Document Requirement | Property purchase contract | Property purchase contract executed in the name of the Corporate Trustee of the Security (Bare) Trust |
| Funds to complete purchase | • Funds already held by SMSF – evidence sufficient funds held by SMSF to complete the purchase (can be same statements obtained to evidence member contributions) • Funds to be paid into SMSF – evidence that the deposit moneys to be paid are allowable contributions (e.g. rollover from another superannuation fund, acceptable lump sum contributions to the SMSF) |
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| Rental/lease Income | Residential: Real estate agent’s appraisal or Valuation amount
Commercial: Commercial Lease |
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| Refinancing Document Requirements |
Existing loan statements | 6 months loan statements |
| Rental/lease Income | Existing Residential Property:
Rental income statements if the property is rented through a managing agent/real estate OR; Evidenced through bank statements evidenced for a minimum of 3 months.
Existing Commercial Property: Commercial Lease
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| Proposed Property:
Valuation rental figure if funded OR agent appraisal if unfunded |
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| Independent legal advice | Evidence of past advice if received |
5. Serviceability
SMSFs must be able to service the loan from proposed rental, member concessional contributions (current and proposed additional), and existing SMSF income and assets.
| Acceptable Income | Shading Applied in calculator | |
| Income | Super Guarantee Contributions (SGC) | 100% |
| Concessional contributions may be considered to support serviceability, provided they are regular and evidenced. Maximum concessional contribution cap |
100% | |
| Rental income from residential investment properties held by SMSF, including proposed rental income where the loan is for a purchase | 80% (use unshaded amount in serviceability calculator) | |
| Existing lease income from commercial investment properties held by the SMSF less non-recoverable outgoings. | 80% | |
| Expenses | Annual expenses of SMSF used (minimum of $1,500) | |
| Liabilities | Stress repayments calculated on a rate of the higher of floor rate and actual rate + buffer
Residential: Floor = 5.25%, Buffer 1.5% for LVR ≤70%, otherwise buffer of 2.0% applied Commercial: Floor = 5.25%, Buffer 2.0% |
|
| Assets | Deeming rate of 3.5% used on liquid assets (cash, term deposits, listed management funds and listed shares). | |
| The SMSF should hold minimum net assets of $200,000 prior to the purchase/refinance (Net assets=Total fund assets less any existing borrowings) | ||
| No minimum liquid asset balance is required post-settlement. |
6. Independent Legal Advice (ILA)
Purchase
- SMSF borrowers and guarantors are to obtain independent legal advice. A declaration will be provided in the loan documentation pack.
Refinance
- Not required if evidence can be provided that independent legal advice has previously been obtained for the loan being refinanced
7. Securities
Residential
| Acceptable Securities | Unacceptable Securities |
|
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Commercial
| Acceptable Securities | Unacceptable Securities |
Multi use, high demand, non-specialised or industry specific commercial security including;
|
Specialised, single use securities, such as:
|
8. Maximum loan and LVR
| Metro | ||
| LVR | Residential SMSF | Commercial SMSF |
| ≤60% | $1,500,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $1,500,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤70% | $1,500,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤75% | $1,500,000 | $2,500,000 |
| ≤80% | $1,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Non-Metro | ||
| LVR | Residential SMSF | Commercial SMSF |
| ≤60% | $1,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤65% | $1,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| ≤70% | $1,000,000 | $2,250,000 |
| ≤75% | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| ≤80% | $1,000,000 | n/a |