Run a mortgage broker consultation by sending the Credit Guide, completing onboarding and the fact-find, then documenting your recommendation before lodgement. Give any required Credit Assistance Quote before providing credit assistance.
The meeting must establish what the client needs and what they can repay. Approval remains the lender’s decision, so record missing information before you promise a borrowing amount or a settlement timeframe.
Understanding the Role of a Mortgage Broker
A mortgage broker tests the client’s position, explains available loans and records why the recommendation fits. Hold an Australian credit licence or work within your authorisation as a credit representative.
Keep these four responsibilities in the consultation file.
- Test borrowing capacity on the current lender calculator using the lender’s assessment settings.
- Explain the products you can actually lodge, including panel or accreditation limits.
- Recommend the loan that fits the client’s needs, even when it pays you less.
- Own lodgement and the lender’s condition list after the client authorises the application.
Residential broking commonly involves lender-paid upfront and trail commission. Disclose any borrower fee and explain how you are paid in the required disclosure documents. Older upfront illustrations of 0.65% to 0.70% plus GST are not a live commission grid. Use the lender and aggregator agreement for the actual file.
Your records must explain the recommendation against the mortgage broker best interests duty. Commission differences cannot replace the client’s needs as your reason for choosing a loan.
Client Onboarding Checklist
Client onboarding establishes the documents, permissions and objectives you need before loan research starts. Use this checklist for each new client.
- Send the Credit Guide and privacy documents through the brokerage’s approved process. Record delivery and any consent required for the next step.
- Check identity using the approved method for the brokerage and relevant lender. Record completion in the file.
- Complete the fact-find and discuss the client’s objectives, priorities and expected changes in circumstances.
- Request only the supporting documents this matter needs. Explain what each request establishes.
- Record gaps before research starts. Assign the follow-up to a named person and set the next expected update.
Copy this client onboarding template into a spreadsheet or your approved client file system, then edit it for each matter. Use requested, received, checked or replaced in the status column. Give each gap a named owner, a next action and the next expected update.
| Document or task | Status | Named owner | Next action for any gap | Next update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Guide and privacy documents delivered | ||||
| Identity checked using the approved method | ||||
| Fact-find and objectives discussion completed | ||||
| Required income, statements and liability evidence checked | ||||
| Unresolved information gaps recorded before research |
Add a separate row for each requested document so one missing item cannot disappear inside a completed task. Record identity-check status here and keep identity documents in the approved secure document system.
Track every document as requested, received, checked or replaced. A received payslip still needs checking against the income declared. When a document is replaced, identify the version used for assessment.
Give the client one named contact and tell them when they will hear from that person next. Keep identity documents in the brokerage’s secure document process. They must not sit in email folders or personal notes when that process exists.
Before moving to lender research, check that the file identifies the client, their objectives and every unresolved evidence gap. If an income or identity detail conflicts, resolve it before using that information in an application.
Preparing for the Consultation
Prepare the document pack and a pre-meeting worksheet so the appointment can focus on the client’s circumstances.
Encourage buyers to book this first meeting before they make an offer or bid at auction. The fact-find and document check can then finish before a contract sets a finance deadline.
Check your authorisation on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) register. A licensee notifies ASIC of a credit representative appointment through Form CL30 within 15 business days after appointment. Form CL50 is the licensee’s annual compliance certificate.
Ask for the evidence relevant to the likely application.
- Identity documents, such as a passport or Australian driver licence, through the approved verification process.
- Payslips or tax returns appropriate to the client’s income type.
- Bank statements and details of liabilities, including credit card limits.
- Consent to check credit history and an explanation of any default or late payment.
The worksheet can collect income, living expenses and debts before the meeting. Ask what repayment the client can sustain if rates rise. Treat those answers as information to discuss and verify.
Include the client’s credit report and score where available. Equifax’s consumer score and Experian’s direct Australian consumer score run from 0 to 1200. Compare each score against the model and range printed on its report.
Use a mortgage broker fact-find template to organise the meeting. Keep the worksheet alongside the documents that support its figures.
Conducting the Mortgage Consultation
Run the consultation in an order that connects the client’s evidence to the loan you recommend.
- Confirm the Credit Guide arrived and explain your role and available lender panel.
- Collect the documents and complete the fact-find. Ask about requirements, objectives and foreseeable changes that affect repayments.
- Name the products you can lodge and explain how you are paid. Record the client’s priorities before comparing options.
- Discuss loan features and costs, then explain why the proposed loan fits the evidence.
- Give the required written disclosures and obtain the client’s informed authority before lodgement.
Responsible-lending obligations continue to apply to regulated home lending. The fact-find must support a recommendation that is not unsuitable and is in the client’s best interests. ASIC’s RG 209 Credit licensing: Responsible lending conduct explains the assessment framework. Use the responsible-lending guide for brokers for the detailed inquiry and verification process.
Cover the items the client needs to understand in the quote and written proposal.
- Loan amount, term, repayment type and the product’s interest rate and comparison rate.
- Broker fees, lender fees and the repayment calculated at the product rate and assessment rate.
- Offset access, extra repayments and any restrictions or break costs.
- Fixed or variable pricing and the rate that applies when a fixed term ends.
Use the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash-rate table for the cash-rate target. A cash-rate decision does not set any lender’s variable rate.
Distinguish the fee quote from the loan proposal. Under ASIC’s responsible-lending disclosure guidance, a required quote must be accepted before credit assistance begins. A no-fee exemption can apply when the required disclosure conditions are met. Give the proposal document when you provide credit assistance.
Keep the Credit Assistance Quote, where required, and the written loan proposal on file before lodgement. Show repayment changes in dollars if rates rise. Ask the client to explain the proposed terms in their own words, and resolve misunderstandings before they sign.
When a client asks how long a mortgage broker takes, give a date for the steps you control, such as the written proposal. Explain that the lender sets the timing of its assessment, valuation and conditions. Confirm the next update in writing.
When dealing with difficult clients, identify the disputed expectation before continuing the consultation. If a client expects guaranteed approval, explain which information remains unchecked and what decision belongs to the lender. Agree on the next action and confirm it in writing. Refer a complaint through the brokerage’s dispute process.
For staff training, practise a consultation where a client refuses an income document or demands an earlier settlement. Ask the broker to explain why the evidence is needed, record the unresolved gap and agree on a realistic update time. Keep the same checks when the client challenges them.
Post-Consultation Steps
Turn the meeting notes into a documented recommendation and a complete application, then track every lender condition.
- Re-run the lender calculator using checked figures and current policy. Record the options considered and the reason for the recommendation.
- Give the client the comparison and proposal in writing. Resolve any missing documents or unanswered questions.
- After the client authorises lodgement, submit the formal application with the lender’s required evidence.
- Track valuation, assessment requests and conditions through to the relevant approval and settlement stages. Give the client the next update time.
The client needs these three outcomes recorded in writing.
- More than one suitable option where the panel allows, with the reason you recommend one over the next suitable choice.
- The dollar gap between rates and the calculation behind any savings claim, including the loan amount and comparison period.
- The loan terms discussed and the client’s own explanation of how repayments, fees and material restrictions apply.
If a lender requests an unexplained document or a condition remains open, identify what it proves and who must supply it. Conditional approval does not establish a settlement date. Keep the application process moving by assigning each condition to a person.
Log complaints in the internal dispute file and follow the brokerage’s internal dispute resolution process. Keep the Credit Guide, quote, fact-find and recommendation records with the complaint. Explain the client’s external path to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Use the broker complaints and AFCA guide for that process.
Before closing the consultation stage, confirm that the recommendation has supporting evidence, required disclosures are complete and each outstanding application condition has an owner.
Questions Clients Should Hear Answered
Explain your remuneration and recommendation without waiting for the client to ask.
- How you are paid, including upfront commission, trail and any borrower fee.
- Why the chosen loans meet the client’s needs better than the next suitable option.
- Total fees, including lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) when the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) exceeds the lender’s uninsured limit.
Explain that LVR compares the loan amount with the lender’s accepted property value. Apply the lender’s actual uninsured limit and any eligible exception when discussing LMI.
Ask what the client expects to do when a fixed term ends. Discuss plans to sell or refinance within a commission clawback window and disclose any relevant borrower fee terms. Your commission position must not determine the recommendation.
A home-loan recommendation is credit assistance. Personal advice about financial products requires the relevant Australian financial services licence (AFSL) authorisation. Refer the client to an appropriately authorised adviser when their planning needs cross that boundary.
Mortgage Types to Explain Briefly
Explain the loan types that affect the client’s repayment choices, then use the detailed guides when they need more.
- A fixed-rate mortgage fixes the rate for an agreed period, with possible break costs for an early exit.
- A variable or adjustable-rate mortgage has a rate the lender can change, so explain repayment sensitivity.
- A principal-and-interest mortgage repays the balance as well as interest, including after any interest-only period ends.
- A split home loan divides the balance between fixed and variable portions, each with its own terms.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) sets a minimum serviceability buffer of 3 percentage points for authorised deposit-taking institutions, unless APRA determines otherwise. Use the lender calculator’s assessment settings. Explain that passing the test does not fix a variable repayment amount.
How Credit Scores Affect Mortgage Decisions
A credit score is one input in a mortgage decision. It never overrides failed serviceability or a property security the lender will not accept.
Read the credit report alongside the declared debts and lender policy. If a debt or enquiry is unexplained, ask the client about it before submitting the application.
For a file that is not ready, agree on these actions and book a follow-up appointment.
- Pay listed debts on time and address any overdue amount.
- Reduce credit limits the client will not need, after checking their cash needs and the lender’s treatment of those limits.
- Stop new credit enquiries before lodgement.
- Get each bureau’s free credit report and dispute genuine errors in writing. Moneysmart explains access to credit reports.
- Check the likely effect before closing an old clean credit card, because credit history length can affect scoring.
At the next appointment, check the corrected report and updated evidence before re-running serviceability. Record which issue is resolved and what still prevents the application from proceeding.
