Lending Categories

Authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) use of expenditure indices in the mortgage lending process is widespread. To support this process, standardised categories are utilised.

Listed below are industry standardised categories for employment and other income, living expenses and other commitments.

Financial Passport categories – Income

Employment income
  • Employment income: Employment-related income payments. These can come from PAYG (full time, part time, casual) or self-employed employment types.
  • Other employment credits: Outlier transactions paid outside of the regular employment income pattern. These can be bonus or commission-related payments paid separately from the usual salary payment, or expense reimbursements.
Other income
  • Annuities: Annuity related payments (based on merchant).
  • Dividends: Dividend payments.
  • Government benefits – family allowance: Payments received for family support e.g. ‘Aus Gov Family’ payments. Includes Youth Allowance.
  • Government benefits – other: Payments received from Centrelink outside of family and unemployment allowances.
  • Government benefits – unemployed allowance: Payments received from JobSeeker or Centrelink.
  • Interest income: Income related to receiving interest on money lent.
  • Other income: Miscellaneous credit transactions (excluding internal transfers).
  • Other recurring income: Regular and recurring credit payments paid out which cannot be confirmed as employment income e.g. regular peer transfers.
  • Rental income: Income related from renting out a property, or being paid rent from a sub-tenant.
  • Superannuation: Payment received from a superannuation fund.
  • Worker compensation: Payments made in addition to an employee’s base rate of pay and are usually to either compensate employees for work-related injuries or sickness.

Financial Passport categories – Expenses

Household
  • Groceries: Groceries (food and non-alcoholic beverages), toiletries and cleaning products. Excludes alcohol and tobacco.
  • Clothing and personal care: Clothing, footwear, general merchandise purchases, cosmetics and personal care.
  • Medical and health: Medical and health care services includes GPs, specialists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dental and opticians. Medicines, pharmaceuticals, prescriptions, glasses, purchase or hire of therapeutic appliances and equipment, hospital charges, nursing home charges. Excludes health insurance and ambulance insurance.
  • Pet care: Pet food, grooming, minding services, care products, health products, veterinarian fees.
  • Recreation and entertainment: Meals in restaurants, hotels and clubs, fast food and takeaway including coffee. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. Purchase, hire, repair of recreational personal belongings including electronics, computers, games, consoles, AV equipment, cameras. Toys, hobbies, stationery, arts, crafts, sports, camping, fishing and recreation equipment including musical instruments and accessories. Non-subscription TV, video, games, and audio content, books, newspapers, magazines (including physical material and digital content). Recreation, gym, and health and fitness studio fees, court hire, sports lessons, admission fees and tickets (sports, theatre, gallery, museum, music events). Domestic holidays (fares, fuel, accommodation, theme parks, zoo tours). Recreational gambling, including lottery-type games, scratch cards, poker machines, club and casino gaming, and sports betting. Excludes travel insurance.
  • Telephone, internet, pay TV and media streaming subscriptions: Telephone accounts (home and mobile), internet, pay TV and media streaming subscriptions (such as Netflix and Spotify).
  • Transport: Public transport, taxis, ride-sharing and non-holiday domestic airfares (excludes overseas airfares). Running costs for essential vehicles including fuel, serving, repairs, parking, tolls (excludes insurance) and registration of motor vehicles (excludes recreational vehicles).
Household
  • Rent or board: rent or board commitments.
  • Residence running costs: All costs associated with maintaining a property (primary, secondary or investment) including utilities and other bills, repairs, maintenance, furniture and homewares. Excludes land tax, body corporate and strata fees, telephone, internet, pay TV and insurances.
  • Body corporate and strata fees: Land tax, body corporate and strata fees.
Education
  • Childcare: Childcare including nannies and non-compulsory pre-school.
  • Public or government primary and secondary education: Public or government, primary and secondary school tuition, school and sports fees including compulsory kindergarten/pre-primary/prep/reception. Books, uniforms and associated costs.
  • Private schooling and tuition: Tuition fees, school fees, sports fees, books, uniforms and associated costs for private schooling, including independent schools (Catholic or non-Catholic), private tuition and compulsory age kindergarten/pre-primary/prep/reception.
  • Higher education, vocational training and professional fees: Higher education and vocational training fees (including TAFE, business college, drama, music, dance) excluding HECS, and professional fees (union dues, professional association subscriptions, legal, accountant and tax agent fees).
Insurance
  • General basic insurances: General basic insurances include ambulance, car (not recreation vehicles), travel, and personal belongings insurance. Excludes property (house and contents), health, sickness and personal accident, life, income protection and pet insurance.
  • Personal insurances: Hospital, medical and dental health insurance, sickness and personal accident insurance, life insurance.
  • Other insurances: Any other insurance cover, outside of General and Personal. Includes insurance of recreational vehicles.
Other
  • Child and spousal maintenance: Maintenance for either dependent or non-dependent children, and spousal or de facto partner maintenance.
  • Other recurring expenses: Other ongoing or recurring items not included within the other categories including, but not limited to overseas holidays, gifts, jewellery, household services including cleaning, gardening, housekeeping, security and pest control services.
  • Other discretionary expenses: All other type of expenses not captured in other categories e.g. child dependent expenses, electronics, advertising, gift, office expenses and maintenance, printing etc.