Athena lending policy depends on the product and distribution channel: Apollo is Athena-funded lending through LMG, while Mortgage Choice Freedom has its own broker channel. Establish that identity before applying commission terms or assessing the borrower. This guide follows Apollo, with Athena Mortgage Pty Ltd providing the credit.
Broker Channel, Upfront Pay and Trail
Apollo uses the LMG broker channel. An Athena direct application and a Mortgage Choice Freedom application follow different distribution arrangements. The Apollo product page identifies the lender and channel. The Mortgage Choice Freedom factsheet describes its separate network.
For an Apollo file, the relevant remuneration terms are the Apollo schedule under your aggregator agreement. Separate the lender’s payment to the aggregator from the share payable to your brokerage. A customer fee, an upfront commission and an ongoing trail payment are different amounts.
Build the payment expectation from the settled transaction. Record the commissionable balance and upfront calculation, including the schedule’s treatment of funds in offset or redraw. For trail, record the eligible balance, commencement rule and any arrears condition. Apply the schedule’s GST treatment before comparing the expected payment with your statement.
Keep the schedule with the settlement record. This gives your accounts team a basis for investigating a payment difference without treating a consumer-facing loan feature as a commission entitlement. The Athena broker-channel access guide explains the separate access question.
Clawbacks and Refinance Treatment
An Apollo early payout must be assessed under the clawback terms attached to that origination. Match the original product and upfront payment to the payout event. The borrower paying off a loan and the lender recovering broker commission are separate transactions.
Treat each refinance direction separately:
- An incoming external refinance is a new Apollo origination. Any clawback on the outgoing loan belongs to that lender’s terms.
- An outgoing external refinance closes the Apollo facility. Apply the Apollo schedule to the settlement age and repayment event before recognising a recovery.
- An internal product switch stays with Athena. Apollo’s broker brochure describes switches between its products, including a move from lite-doc to full-doc lending. A switch does not by itself establish a new upfront payment or a clawback exemption.
Keep a written determination for an internal replacement that changes the loan account or closes the original facility. That determination must address the original upfront recovery and the commission treatment of the replacement separately.
To monitor exposure across your book, Track My Trail’s Clawback Risk lists loans within their clawback period, with days remaining and the upfront at stake. It groups them under the applicable aggregator or lender rules.
Top-Ups and Loan Splits
Apollo Pro’s product conditions allow top-ups and post-settlement splits. Its Apollo Pro target market determination identifies these uses. A credit approval for extra funds and a commission entitlement require separate decisions.
For a top-up, distinguish the existing balance from the approved increase. Ask the channel to classify the transaction as an increase or a replacement facility before applying its remuneration schedule. For a split-only change, reconcile the new accounts to the original balance so the accounts team does not count existing debt as new lending.
In a hypothetical case, a borrower with $500,000 owing requests another $40,000 and two splits. Show the $40,000 increase separately from the $540,000 total. The commission calculation follows the approved transaction classification, rather than assuming the whole balance attracts another upfront payment.
Income, Residency and Borrower Eligibility
Apollo separates full-doc lending from self-employed lite-doc lending. Choose the evidence route before assembling the file. The Apollo broker brochure describes these product differences.
For PAYG applicants, collect payslips and evidence of employment. Identify variable income separately so the assessor can determine the acceptable amount. A payslip showing overtime does not establish that all overtime will be used.
Self-employed applicants with complete financial records can use the full-doc route. Assemble personal and business tax material with the financial statements supporting the income claimed. Apollo Pro’s self-employed lite-doc route requires a borrower declaration plus an accountant’s letter, six months of BAS statements or three months of business transaction statements.
Apollo’s target market determinations require Australian residence. Their residency tables specify Australian/NZ permanent residents living in Australia. Collect identity and residence evidence before lodging. Escalate a temporary visa or overseas-resident case with the exact status and location rather than treating it as eligible under that category.
Apollo Plus is the product family for company or trust borrowing. Establish the borrower and trustee structure at the outset. An individual-borrower product selection cannot carry an entity application merely because the same person controls the entity.
Security and Purpose Restrictions
Apollo Max covers owner-occupied and investment residential lending, including purchase and refinance. Its target market determination requires an acceptable postcode, building type and land size. The property must be maintained and must satisfy its restrictions on construction and business use.
Assess the actual security address before relying on a product’s maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR). Supply the property type and occupancy, with details of any unusual title or condition. A residential address alone does not establish acceptable security.
For a refinance with additional funds, itemise the payout and each extra purpose. Apollo Pro permits acceptable non-predominant business purposes and debt consolidation under its product conditions. Commercial security and predominantly business borrowing need a different assessment from a residential refinance.
Apollo Next is the bridging product family. Keep a buy-before-sale proposal in that route, with its sale and end-debt assessment, instead of treating it as an ordinary top-up. A construction proposal needs a lender decision on the security and purpose before it progresses.
Documents and Exception Enquiries
Prepare an Apollo submission around the selected product and the issue the assessor must decide:
- Record the broker channel and proposed product, with the borrower and any entity structure.
- Attach identity and residence evidence, then the income documents for the chosen verification route.
- Supply the security address, property details and valuation information, with the contract or refinance statement as applicable.
- Break down the requested lending by existing payout, additional funds and purpose. Include the proposed splits.
- State the exact exception, attach the evidence and request a decision on that point. Record the response with the application.
For example, an enquiry about a temporary resident must name the visa status and remaining term. An unusual-security enquiry needs the address and property characteristics. Send these details to the Apollo business development manager or credit team so the response addresses the actual case.
If the borrower or security falls outside the supported route, consider another Apollo product only where its eligibility fits. Otherwise, select another lender through your panel and retain the reason for the change. Use the lender-policy directory to continue that assessment without carrying Apollo’s remuneration terms into the next lender’s file.
