Parental leave changes the timing of your income, it doesn’t necessarily change your long-term employment position. What a lender typically wants to understand is when you return, what hours and salary apply after you’re back, what income you receive during leave, and whether there’s enough available to cover any temporary shortfall.
What lenders may ask for
- Return-to-work confirmation, a letter from your employer confirming your intended return date is a recurring evidence requirement across lenders
- Post-return income, some policies can use your expected post-return salary and hours where the return falls within a defined period, rather than your current (reduced) leave income
- Income during leave, some policies use the lower income actually received during leave, or apply an LVR restriction while you’re still on leave
- Funds to cover any shortfall, savings or redraw availability sufficient to cover a temporary gap can be required under some policies
Permanent vs casual parental leave
Casual employees taking parental leave can be treated differently to permanent employees under the same lender’s policy, there’s often no guaranteed return to the same role or hours in the same way a permanent contract provides, which changes the evidence a lender is likely to want. If you’re casual and currently on (or planning) parental leave, it’s worth checking this specifically rather than assuming the permanent-employee pathway applies.
What to prepare
- A written return-to-work letter or confirmation from your employer, including expected date, hours and salary
- Evidence of your pre-leave income and role
- Evidence of any income currently received during leave (parental leave pay, employer top-up, or similar)
- Savings or redraw evidence if a temporary income gap needs to be covered
Next step: talk with KartikKumar about your return-to-work timing and which lender methods are likely to fit your specific leave and return arrangement.