First Home Buyers · September 2026 · 6 min read
The difference between a first meeting that gives you a real number and one that gives you a guess is what is sitting in your inbox on the day. Here is the list, including the extra bits a Defence file needs.
Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Two people book a first meeting in the same week. Same income, same deposit, same sort of purchase.
One walks out with a real borrowing number and a shortlist of lenders that suit their situation. The other walks out with a rough guess and a list of things to go and find, and we pick it up again a fortnight later when the good property has already sold.
The only difference was what was sitting in their inbox on the day.
So here is the actual list. Not a sales pitch for being organised. Just the documents that turn a first meeting into an answer instead of a conversation about getting the documents.
A complete file turns the first meeting into an answer. An incomplete one turns it into a list of things to find.
Under responsible lending obligations, nobody is allowed to take your word for your income and your expenses. It has to be verified with documents. That is not a broker being nosy, it is the law the whole industry works under, and a lender will knock back a file that is not evidenced properly no matter how strong the borrower looks on paper.
The starting file
Usually two forms. A passport, a driver licence, a birth certificate, a Medicare card. Take a photo of both sides of anything with two sides, and check the expiry date before you send it, because an expired licence is the single most common thing that bounces straight back.
Salary or wage
Your last two payslips and your most recent notice of assessment or tax return. A new role, overtime, bonus, commission or shift penalties can mean a longer history is needed.
Self employed
The last two years of personal tax returns and notices of assessment, plus company or trust financial statements. Recent BAS statements may also be needed.
If your last financial year was unusual in either direction, say so early rather than letting it turn up as a surprise.
Bring three months of transaction accounts, and that means all of them, including the one you barely use. Download full statements as PDFs from internet banking, with your name and the account number visible at the top and every page included. Not screenshots, not a photo of your phone, and not the summary page on its own.
Show where the deposit is and where it came from. Three to six months of savings history in the account is the standard ask. If some of it is a gift from family, the lender will want that confirmed in writing and it is a lot easier to organise that at the start than three days before finance is due. If it came from selling something, bring the paperwork that proves it.
Bring everything, and remember that the limits matter more than the balances. A credit card with a fifteen thousand dollar limit and nothing owing on it still gets assessed as though it is drawn, because you could draw it tomorrow. Bring the card statements, any car or personal loan statements, and a note of what is left on your study debt.
The ones people forget
None of these get missed on purpose, and all of them turn up in the statements anyway, so it is better if they come from you first.
You do not need a spreadsheet down to the coffee. You do need a realistic picture of what actually goes out each month, and what you say should roughly match what the bank statements show. A borrower who declares two thousand a month of living expenses on statements that clearly show four thousand creates a problem that has to be explained, and explaining it is worse than just being accurate up front.
Now the Defence part, because a serving member's file needs a few things a civilian file does not.
Bring twelve months of payslips, not two. A Defence payslip is a base salary with a stack of allowances sitting on top of it, and every one of those lines gets assessed on its own history. Two payslips shows a lender what you were paid last fortnight. Twelve shows them what is durable, and durable is what gets counted.
Know your posting date and say it out loud in the first meeting. Not at the end, when the application is already built around the wrong assumption. A posting can change which allowances a lender will count and it can change the timing of the whole application.
If you are currently in a service residence or you are paying rent on base, bring evidence of what you actually pay. It is treated differently to a private rental and it is worth getting right.
If you are looking at the schemes, bring that up early too. The Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme is a subsidy paid towards the interest on an eligible loan, and eligibility and the amount are determined by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Not by a lender and not by a broker. The current rules and calculator are at dhoas.gov.au, or you can call 1300 434 627.
The Home Purchase Assistance Scheme is a separate Defence scheme with its own application. Your broker needs to know if either is in play because it affects how the loan is structured and when things need to happen, but neither one is an eligibility question the broker answers for you. Read more about Defence member lending before the meeting.
Before you press send
None of this is a fixed national checklist. Lenders differ on what they want and how recent it has to be, and a straightforward salaried purchase asks for less than a self employed refinance with an investment property in the background. Treat it as the starting list rather than the final one.
Turn up with the documents and the first meeting produces a number you can rely on, a lender that actually fits your situation, and a clear idea of what happens next. Turn up without them and the first meeting produces a guess, and a guess is the thing people go and make offers on.
Start preparing
Check an indicative number with our borrowing power calculator, review the first home buyer process, or contact Vairo Finance when you are ready to put the file together.
This page provides general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. We recommend that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and your full financial situation will need to be reviewed prior to acceptance of any offer or product. It does not constitute legal; tax or financial advice and you should always seek professional advice in relation to your individual circumstances. Subject to lenders credit assessment with terms and conditions, fees and charges and eligibility criteria apply. Vairo Finance Pty Ltd is a credit representative (581146) authorised under Australian Credit Licence 389328.
The information in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Speak with a qualified mortgage broker before making lending decisions.
