Track My Trail Team A residential loan funds a home to live in or an investment property, and in Australia both sit under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act as consumer credit. That framework drives most of what you do on a home file: responsible-lending obligations, serviceability buffers and disclosure duties that commercial lenders largely escape. This guide sets … Read more
A commercial loan funds a business purpose rather than a personal one, and in Australia that changes both the assessment and the rules that apply. Most genuinely business-purpose facilities sit outside the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, so the consumer responsible-lending obligations that shape home lending often do not apply to them. A mixed-use case, … Read more
Reserve Bank decisions move the cost of money across Australia, but they never set your client’s home-loan rate directly. The board adjusts the cash-rate target, which stood at 4.35% after its 11 August 2026 meeting, and each lender then decides how much, if anything, to pass through. For a mortgage broker the working consequences sit … Read more
An auto loan is a credit contract secured over a vehicle, used by households buying cars and businesses buying work vehicles. In Australia the lender sets the rate, shaped by its funding costs and the Reserve Bank’s cash-rate environment. Two points make these loans relevant to a mortgage brokerage in 2026: the Reserve Bank held … Read more
Clawback is a contractual recovery, not a regulatory penalty. When a client pays out a loan early or moves it to another lender inside the clawback window, the lender takes back some or all of the upfront commission it already paid you. The window length, the reclaimed percentage, any sliding scale and any exceptions come … Read more
A 2026 investment-loan specialisation is a credit appointment plus a tax-agent and AFSL referral list. You can arrange the loan. You cannot tell the client which property to buy. Advertising as an “investment specialist” does not extend a broker’s authority to give buy, hold or yield advice. That is personal financial advice. Keep the Credit … Read more
Buy a mortgage broker trail book through the aggregator desk, a finance-business broker or a retiring broker who can assign the book in writing. Trail is paid under the aggregator and licensee contract. A handshake does not transfer it. Ask the aggregator to confirm the assignment, trail code, lender balances and transfer conditions before paying … Read more
Credit history helps an Australian lender decide whether to approve a mortgage, which products the borrower can use and what conditions may apply. Pull the client’s consented Equifax and Experian reports before selecting a lender. Both providers use a score range of 0 to 1200. Australia has no statutory minimum home-loan credit score. Each lender … Read more
Use the client’s current contract to advise refinance timing. National headlines do not include the costs on that file. Run the new comparison rate against break cost, discharge fees and any new LMI before you recommend a switch. Waiting for a cash-rate cut before calling every client can produce poor refinance timing. The RBA target … Read more
In 2026, check the property type before discussing rates on a foreign-buyer file. From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign persons, including temporary residents, generally cannot buy an established dwelling. Many mortgage brokers still quote a home loan before the solicitor has checked that test. Permanent residents and New Zealand citizens stay outside … Read more