Buying Property in AustraliaFrom Dublin
Home loan, refinancing and investment lending advice for Australians and expats buying from Dublin. We’re former bankers, we compare 40+ lenders, we’re paid by the lender (not by you), and we work Dublin hours.
- Australian citizens in Ireland and the eurozone face no FIRB approval and no foreign-buyer ban: the whole Australian market is open to you, established homes included, and permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia.
- Euros sit on the preferred currency list, so lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders.
- Dublin runs nine hours behind Melbourne: a 7am Dublin call lands at 4pm in Melbourne. We work your evening, not ours.
- The full journey, documents to settlement without a flight, is in our step-by-step overseas buying guide. This page covers what is specific to Dublin.
What a euro salary supports in Australia
Euro earners clear the first hurdle before they start: the currency sits on the major preferred lists, and lenders assessing euros commonly count around 80 per cent of net salary, with acceptance of overtime, allowances and bonuses varying by lender. Most lenders model the salary at Australian tax scales regardless of the actual local rate. The lender you end up with matters more than most buyers expect: on the same payslip, that single choice routinely moves the budget by six figures.
Dublin has become the anglophone gateway for Australians working across Europe, and one guide covers every euro earner, Berlin to Amsterdam to Paris.
Start with the treatment, because it is generous: euros carry preferred-list status, which means lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders. The quirk worth knowing sits in the tax line. Most lenders assess the salary as if Australian tax applied to it, even where your actual rate is lower, and that modelling gap is part of why the same file lands so differently from one credit team to the next.
To put your own payslip through it, pull the live EUR rate from xe.com, the same converter credit teams reach for, then feed it into the shading calculator on our expat guide. Hold on to one caveat while you do: take the same Dublin payslip to the kindest lender and the harshest one and the answers sit six figures of budget apart, so the lender question comes before the property search.
Dublin’s Australian contingent skews tech and pharma, riding the European headquarters boom, and the same euro treatment follows Australians in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. Euro earners often hold savings across two or three countries, so the deposit-traceability work is worth starting early.
Recalculates as you type. The 80 per cent tier and the debt-to-income cap of five are indicative assessment settings only; the figure a lender actually offers turns on tax modelling, your commitments and full serviceability, and can sit six figures away at a different lender. Whatever you type here stays on this page, unsaved, unsent and unseen by us. General information only, not credit advice.
Our August 2026 house-median tracking reads: Sydney $1,282,020, Brisbane $1,126,149, Perth $1,050,354, Adelaide $950,703, Melbourne $812,621. An indicative ceiling of about $730,400, as in the worked example, sits below the big-capital house medians, so the search bends toward units, regional markets, a larger deposit, or a co-borrower. Remember that the ceiling was built on an illustrative rate: run today’s rate through the calculator above and the comparison updates itself. The full median tracker carries every city’s detail when you want the longer view.
Five years of the euro, in Australian dollars
Reserve Bank of Australia monthly data tells the story plainly: one euro was worth about A$1.61 in August 2021, A$1.68 in August 2023, A$1.79 in August 2025, and about A$1.64 now. Put a €100,000 deposit against the strongest and weakest months of those five years and it lands anywhere from $179,019 down to $145,455 Australian, a gap of about $33,564. That gap is the argument for planning transfer timing alongside lender selection rather than after it.
Nobody times this market, and the plan should not require you to: what matters is knowing in advance what a few cents of movement does to your deposit, splitting large transfers into stages instead of trusting a single morning’s rate, and keeping the settlement-transfer safeguards wrapped around every leg. The live rate sits at xe.com whenever you want fresh inputs for the calculator above. Exchange-rate figures are RBA monthly averages, general information only, not financial or FX advice.
One eurozone reference point helps Dublin savers frame the waiting period: the European Central Bank has held its deposit facility rate at 2.25 per cent since 17 June 2026, which shapes what parked euro savings earn in Ireland while a purchase plan comes together, and it has no bearing on how an Australian lender assesses or prices a loan.
Buying from Dublin: the practicalities
Practicalities for Dublin-based buyers: the time difference of nine hours behind Melbourne shapes call scheduling rather than preventing it; documents follow the standard expat file of employment evidence, bank statements and recent payslips; documents are typically in English, simplifying the file; and inspections, contracts and settlement all complete remotely as covered in the step-by-step guide.
- Time zones: Dublin is nine hours behind Melbourne. A 7am Dublin call lands at 4pm in Melbourne, and our calendar shows slots in your local time.
- Documents: the standard expat file applies: employment contract or letter, three months of salary credits, two payslips no older than about 60 days. Payslips and contracts are typically issued in English, which keeps the document file straightforward.
- On the ground: The same euro treatment applies across the eurozone. Inspections, exchange and settlement all run remotely: the mechanics are Steps 5 and 6 of the main guide.
- Partner visas: For mixed Irish and Australian households planning the move from Dublin, Australia’s first Working Holiday visa, subclass 417, lists the Republic of Ireland as an eligible country with an age range of 18 to 35 years on the Department of Home Affairs eligibility list, one practical route for an Irish partner to be on the ground in Australia while a purchase completes; visa advice itself sits with a registered migration agent, not a mortgage broker.
- Irish tax: Whether Ireland still taxes you turns partly on day counts, and Revenue treats you as resident for tax purposes after 183 days or more in a tax year, or 280 days or more in total across the current and preceding tax years together, so before selling or restructuring anything from Dublin, speak to an Irish tax adviser.
- The market you are buying into: premium values fell 3.2 per cent in the three months to July while clearance rates sit under 50 per cent: the case for this cycle is in our buyer’s market analysis and buy-back window piece.
In Dublin? Start with one email. Email ahmed@everstonefinance.com.au, the link pre-fills a short template, and we reply within a day, your time. Or book a slot that lands in your evening.
Australians elsewhere: our guides for London, Amsterdam, Berlin, or the full overseas playbook.
Already own in Australia? Refinance and equity release, from Dublin
Australians in Dublin who already own at home can refinance and release equity at select lenders without flying back, assessed on the same EUR basis described above. The equity route deserves particular attention here, because the hardest part of a second deposit for many Dublin-based buyers is not the saving, it is the paper trail: euro earners often hold savings across two or three countries, and every account in the chain has to be traced and seasoned. According to Everstone Finance, an Australian in Dublin can refinance an Australian mortgage without leaving Ireland: identity certification happens locally, the paperwork is signed electronically, and settlement completes inside PEXA, the electronic platform Australian property transactions run on.
Equity released from a property you already own in Australia skips that entire exercise. It is already in Australian dollars, already sitting with an Australian lender, and it never crosses the currency market that turned €100,000 into anywhere between $179,019 and $145,455 across five years. For the loan itself, run the repricing-then-refinance playbook in our negotiate-your-rate guide first, then weigh the current cashback market, which pays switchers who qualify. Both work by email from Dublin, and if a move within Europe is on the cards, the same euro treatment follows you across the eurozone, so the refinance does not need to wait for the next posting. Serviceability across both loans on shaded income, current valuations and LVR caps set the boundaries, and the structuring is one conversation with a former banker.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Australian living in Dublin buy property in Australia?
Yes. An Australian passport keeps you outside the definition of a foreign person, and the answer does not soften with years away: no FIRB application, no fees and no ban to navigate, whatever kind of home you buy. Permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia, though a PR holder who has lived overseas for an extended period can be treated as a foreign person under FIRB rules and should confirm their position before signing a contract. The genuine work sits in lending and logistics, and both run comfortably from Dublin.
How much of a EUR salary will an Australian lender count?
Commonly around 80 per cent of net salary, since euros sit on the preferred currency lists, with overtime, allowances and bonuses now accepted at select lenders. Policies differ enough between lenders to move the budget by six figures. For Dublin buyers the shading question usually matters more than the paperwork, since Irish payslips and contracts are already in English and need no translation step.
Do I need to fly back to Australia to buy?
No. Inspections run by video and local eyes, contracts sign electronically in most cases, and settlement completes electronically between your conveyancer and lender. The step-by-step mechanics are in our main overseas buying guide. With Dublin nine hours behind Melbourne, a morning call from Ireland lands in the Melbourne afternoon, which is how the whole file tends to run.
What documents do I need from Dublin?
Start with the employer: a contract or employment letter comes first, then bank statements showing the salary landing for three months, then the two newest payslips, no older than about 60 days. Anything beyond base pay, bonus or allowance income, wants extra evidence. Irish paperwork is typically in English already. Dublin files rarely need the NAATI translation step that German or Dutch documents require, which keeps the checklist short.
Does this guide cover me outside Ireland, elsewhere in the eurozone?
Yes. The lending treatment follows the currency, not the country, so euro earners in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris or Madrid are assessed identically. Only the practical details, like local document languages needing NAATI translation, differ city to city. Dublin simply happens to be the anglophone doorway most Australians in Europe start from, which is why this page is written from there.
Will my Dublin bonus count towards an Australian loan?
At select lenders, yes: foreign bonuses, commission and incentives are now accepted in servicing, evidenced by bank statements showing the credits plus employer letters or payslips covering the most recent year. Lenders differ on averaging and haircuts, which is part of the matching exercise. Dublin’s tech and pharma packages lean on bonuses often enough that this evidence step is worth preparing from the first conversation.
When should I convert my EUR savings into Australian dollars?
Predicting a conversion day is a coin toss dressed up as a strategy; the five-year spread above says plainly what the toss can cost. Staged transfers take the single-day risk off the table. Lenders add a requirement of their own, deposit funds that are traceable and seasoned, which pushes the movement plan to the front of the process instead of settlement week. For Dublin savers holding accounts in more than one country, the tracing work matters as much as the timing, so start the paper trail alongside the transfer plan.
Can my Irish or EU partner be on the loan with me?
Yes, structures exist: co-borrowing with an Australian citizen or permanent resident typically preserves the strongest policy treatment, while a non-resident partner changes which lenders fit and can affect stamp duty surcharges depending on the state. The combinations are exactly the kind of matching a broker maps before you commit. Plenty of Dublin files involve exactly this pairing, and because the same euro treatment follows you across the eurozone, the structure holds even if you later move within Europe.
I already own a property in Australia. Can I refinance or release equity from Dublin?
Yes, at select lenders: expat policy covers refinancing and equity release as well as purchases, assessed on the same shaded EUR basis, and the process runs remotely from Dublin. Equity released from an existing Australian property is already in Australian dollars and already traceable, which sidesteps the multi-country deposit paper trail many euro earners in Ireland face, subject to serviceability across both loans, current valuations and LVR caps.
Can I refinance my Australian investment property from Dublin if it is rented out?
Usually, yes. The Australian rental income can be assessed alongside your EUR salary, and an investment loan that has not been reviewed since you left Australia is often the first place to look. The whole process runs remotely on the assessment described on this page, and refinancing a property you already own involves no FIRB approval.
Dublin to Melbourne is one conversation. Start it tonight, your time.
Your EUR salary through the right lender’s eyes, your real budget in both currencies, and the whole purchase run remotely by former bankers. No cost, no obligation.
Book a chat with a former bankerThe people behind Everstone
You’re trusting someone with one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make. Here’s who you’ll actually be working with.
Ahmed Lotfi
A former major-bank lender who now works entirely for you. Ahmed handles structuring, refinancing and investment lending across the 40+ lender panel.
Zappelin Heng
Co-founder with deep lender experience, focused on getting complex and self-employed files assessed on their real strength, not a tick-box.
About the author. Ahmed Lotfi is co-founder of Everstone Finance and a former banker who now works as a mortgage and finance broker in South Yarra, Melbourne, arranging home, investment and commercial lending for Australians at home and abroad. Everstone Finance operates under the Best Interests Duty as Credit Representative 574314 of LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 517921.