A loan writer is a broker who writes loans for clients under another brokerage’s licence and aggregator arrangements, usually for a share of commission. Before taking one on, decide whether the working arrangement creates employment, how you will pay them and what happens to their trail when they leave.
What is a Loan Writer?
A loan writer handles the borrower-facing work that turns an enquiry into a loan application and a settled loan. The brokerage supplies the business arrangements through which the writer operates, including access to its licensee and aggregator.
A processor gathers documents, prepares applications and follows progress through to settlement. A writer also assesses the client’s needs and recommends a credit option within their authority. Some businesses combine these duties in a loan processor/writer role. Combining the job titles does not remove the training or authorisation needed to give credit assistance.
If your bottleneck is paperwork after recommendations are made, compare the mortgage loan processor role before hiring another writer. If client meetings and recommendations are backing up, a writer addresses that workload.
Loan Writer Job Description
A loan writer job description must identify the client work the writer owns and where another person reviews or takes over the file. List the actual duties so applicants understand the job and you can assess the employment classification.
- Hold client meetings and complete the fact find.
- Analyse the client’s needs, objectives and financial position.
- Research suitable products and document the recommendation and its reasons.
- Prepare and lodge applications within lender accreditation and credit authority limits.
- Resolve lender questions and coordinate with processing staff through settlement.
- Make post-settlement contact and record agreed client reviews.
For third-party home loan credit assistance, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requires at least a Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking. RG 206 Credit licensing: Competence and training explains that minimum. The licensee must assess competence for the work being allocated.
Record the association membership required by your aggregator and lenders. The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has a diploma requirement, with a 12-month completion pathway for entrants holding a Certificate IV. The Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) accepts the specified Certificate IV or equivalent and requires mentoring for applicants with less than two years’ experience.
Obtain the lender accreditations needed for the writer’s proposed panel before they lodge business. Keep evidence of current qualifications, membership and approved mentoring beside the accreditation record. Allocate support work separately using your assistant training process.
Employee or Contractor
Employee or contractor status follows the applicable legal test, even when both parties sign a contract calling the writer self-employed. An ABN or a commission split does not settle the question.
For constitutionally covered businesses, the Fair Work Act’s whole of relationship test examines the relationship’s substance and practical operation alongside the contract. Most trading companies use this test. Control over work, financial risk, equipment, delegation rights, hours and continuing work all matter.
The start of relationship test applies to some other national-system businesses and qualifying opt-outs. Confirm which workplace system covers your business first. Historical work can also require a different test.
Tax classification needs its own assessment. The Australian Taxation Office’s TR 2023/4: Income tax and superannuation guarantee: who is an employee? examines the contractual rights and obligations as a whole. Control and delegation matter, as do payment for results, equipment and financial risk. A Fair Work assessment does not replace that tax assessment.
For example, requiring a writer to work fixed hours personally using your systems points towards employment. A genuine right to delegate work and responsibility for business profit or loss point towards contracting. Assess the complete arrangement before using either example to classify someone.
Sham contracting can expose the brokerage to penalties. Misclassification can also leave unpaid wages, leave and super to be recovered.
A genuine mortgage broker contractor can still attract super. The ATO’s contractor rule covers contracts mainly for personal labour where payment is not for a specified result and the work cannot be delegated. Assess those conditions separately. Calling every settlement-based payment a labour payment, or assuming every contractor is exempt, can give the wrong result.
Commission-Only and Salary-Plus-Commission Pay
Choose the pay structure after assessing employment status and minimum entitlements. A loan writer salary buys predictable capacity while commission links part of the cost to revenue received.
| Structure | Brokerage cost | Writer’s income |
|---|---|---|
| Commission only for a genuine contractor | Agreed share of received commission, plus any applicable super and other obligations | Changes with settlements and the existing trail book |
| Salary plus commission | Guaranteed salary and employment costs, with a percentage paid under the commission agreement | Stable salary with additional pay as the agreed revenue grows |
| Base plus bonus | Guaranteed base and employment costs, with a defined bonus when the threshold is met | Stable base with a payment tied to a specific target |
For an employee covered by an award or enterprise agreement, commission-only pay is allowed only where that instrument permits it. Award- and agreement-free employees can receive commission payments but must still receive at least the National Minimum Wage.
The Banking, Finance and Insurance Award has minimum wages and does not provide a commission-only arrangement. An employee covered by it must receive the applicable minimum pay and entitlements even during a month with no settlements. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s commission guidance explains the distinction. Real estate sales commission rules do not automatically apply to loan writers.
Hypothetical Annual Pay Comparison
Assume a writer generates $120,000 in upfront and $12,000 in trail received by the brokerage over a year. These are illustrative revenue amounts excluding GST, not market salary estimates. Assume each employee base meets all applicable minimum entitlements for the hours worked.
- A contractor receiving 60% of both amounts earns $79,200 before their business costs and tax. The brokerage retains $52,800 before its costs.
- An employee on a $70,000 salary plus 10% of upfront earns $82,000 before tax. At 12% super on that pay, the direct cost is $91,840.
- An employee on a $70,000 base plus a $10,000 bonus for reaching the upfront target earns $80,000 before tax. Including 12% super, the direct cost is $89,600.
The employee examples exclude payroll tax, workers compensation premiums and other operating costs. Paid leave also reduces available writing time. The contractor example needs a separate super assessment.
Hypothetical Split and Clawback
Assume the brokerage receives $3,000 upfront and $75 monthly trail on one loan, excluding GST. Under a 60% writer split, the writer receives $1,800 upfront and $45 trail each month. The brokerage retains $1,200 upfront and $30 monthly trail before expenses.
If the lender later claws back $1,500, a contract allocating 60% of that exposure to the writer allocates $900 to them. A genuine contractor agreement can specify recovery from future commission, subject to its enforceability and a clear statement showing the adjustment.
For employees, a signed clawback clause alone does not authorise a wage deduction. Fair Work rules restrict deductions and repayment demands. Have the proposed recovery mechanism assessed before applying it, including any effect on minimum entitlements or final pay. Keep the lender’s clawback and the writer’s legally recoverable share as separate amounts.
Define whether each split applies before or after aggregator fees and how GST is treated. For the broader economics, compare commission sharing with flat-fee arrangements.
Award, Super and Payroll Obligations
Award coverage depends on the brokerage’s industry and the writer’s duties, so the title alone cannot identify the correct minimum wage. Assess the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2020, including its coverage clause and classification schedule. It covers relevant finance-industry employers and employees whose work fits its classifications.
Where it applies, the award sets classification-based minimum pay, ordinary hours, overtime, allowances and leave conditions alongside the National Employment Standards. Match the role to its duties and responsibility level before choosing a rate. If coverage is unclear, obtain a coverage assessment from the Fair Work Ombudsman before issuing the offer. Include any applicable enterprise agreement in that assessment.
Employee commission forms part of ordinary time earnings for super purposes. Under payday super, the calculation uses qualifying earnings, which include all employee commissions. A commission payment therefore needs its super calculation even when paid separately from salary.
The ATO’s payday super guidance sets the guarantee rate at 12% of qualifying earnings. Pay super with wages and allow for fund receipt within seven business days of payday. Specific extended timeframes apply in some cases, including new employees. Build fund receipt into payroll processing instead of relying on a quarterly payment routine.
Payroll tax is a separate state or territory assessment. Rates, thresholds and contractor provisions differ by jurisdiction. In NSW, payments under relevant contracts can be taxable even where the writer is a genuine contractor, unless an exemption applies. Review each arrangement and retain exemption evidence. Include taxable contractor payments when assessing whether registration or payment is required.
Budget these costs before committing to a split. The brokerage team planning guide helps place the writer’s cost beside the other roles supporting their settlements.
Appointing a Loan Writer Under Your Credit Licence
The licensee determines the loan writer’s authority to provide credit assistance. If your brokerage operates under an aggregator’s Australian credit licence (ACL), the relevant licensee must control the appointment.
Under ASIC’s credit representative rules, a licensee’s direct employees can act for it without formal credit representative authorisation. Employment by an unlicensed brokerage does not automatically create that exception. A corporate credit representative can sub-authorise an individual with its licensee’s written consent.
A directly authorised credit representative needs Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) membership before authorisation. Individual employees or directors sub-authorised by a corporate credit representative do not need separate AFCA membership under ASIC’s rule. Confirm the membership arrangement for the actual appointment structure.
Complete the onboarding in this order.
- Obtain qualifications and background checks. Complete the ASIC reference-checking process with the writer’s consent where it applies.
- Settle the authority structure and required AFCA membership. Record the written authorisation or employee basis before credit work begins.
- Notify ASIC of a credit representative appointment using Form CL30 within 15 business days. A direct-licensee employee using the exception does not require that appointment.
- Confirm the writer’s activities are covered by appropriate professional indemnity insurance. Retain evidence under the licensee’s compensation and insurance arrangements, including any group policy.
- Complete aggregator onboarding and required lender accreditations. Allocate broker codes and commission reporting identifiers, then confirm access before lodgement.
- Name the person who reviews files and supervises the writer. Record escalation and training requirements, including mentoring where required.
The licensee retains ongoing responsibility for monitoring and supervision. Contractor status does not transfer that responsibility away from the licensee.
Who Owns the Trail When a Loan Writer Leaves
The writer’s contract and the brokerage’s upstream agreements determine the writer’s entitlement to trail after departure. Receiving trail through a brokerage does not by itself give the writer an ongoing share.
Specify the loans covered and whether entitlement depends on settlement, receipt of commission or continued engagement. A contract can provide for trail to remain with the brokerage, continue to the writer under defined conditions or end on departure. Have the terms assessed for enforceability and consistency with employee entitlements and aggregator restrictions.
Include the following exit terms before the writer starts.
- Identify who receives trail on existing loans and who services those clients after departure.
- Set the payment frequency and reporting access for any continuing trail entitlement.
- Define the treatment of loans in progress, including settlements occurring after the writer leaves.
- Allocate outstanding clawbacks, the calculation method and the lawful recovery process.
- Set out file handover, confidentiality and return of business records.
- Define any client non-solicitation restraint, with legal advice on its scope and enforceability.
Clients retain their own choices about who assists them. Separate any restraint on soliciting clients from the practical handover needed to continue servicing their loans. Prepare a final schedule of pipeline loans, continuing trail and unresolved clawbacks so both parties can reconcile later payments.
Reporting Each Loan Writer’s Trail
Report upfront and trail by writer using the aggregator’s payment records and the signed split agreement. Match each loan to its writer before calculating that month’s entitlement.
Keep the commission received, GST treatment, split percentage and resulting writer payment visible. Show adjustments separately, including clawbacks and changes to the person servicing a loan. Reconcile the total paid to writers with the brokerage’s receipts and retained share.
For the trail breakdown, Track My Trail’s Trail by Broker shows each broker’s trail on every plan. Any analysis can be filtered to one writer when calculating their share. Apply the agreed split to that writer’s figures, then check the result against the payment statement before authorising the monthly payment.
