I'm a US citizen who has married an Aussie. We would like to buy a house, but aren't sure if I can help us get a loan. The temp spouse visa lasts 2 years before the government will grant permanent residency. So I guess my question is, will my income/employment be considered by someone lending us money before I'm a permanent resident?
Not a problem with you being a co-borrower on a mortgage as well as on the property title, it's just a matter of finding a suitable bank with the right policy. Certainly from the point of view of our government, "foreign persons purchasing, as joint tenants, with their Australian citizen spouse property that is zoned residential" is allowed.
Your income/employment is considered, even if you were currently living overseas as many of our banks have home loans for offhore investors and for foreigners temporarily living in Australia and earning income from overseas, eg.multi national company employees on temporary assignment here. If you are currently living and working in Australia with temp spouse visa, I don't foresee any problems.