Brighten lending policy separates expatriate and visa-holder applications from its non-resident products, with different income evidence for each route. Broker remuneration also depends on the distribution agreement. Match each applicant’s residency and income source to the product before assessing the property or forecasting commission.
Broker Entitlement and Trail Basis
Brighten residential commission through My Local Broker’s direct-lender route is listed at 0.75% upfront and 0.15% trail, plus GST. Its remuneration schedule caps upfront commission at $20,000 per successful application. These are that distribution route’s terms, not a universal broker entitlement.
Separate the settled loan amount from the ongoing commission balance in your reconciliation. Record the agreement’s upfront calculation, trail balance deductions and payment conditions against the loan. A headline trail rate alone cannot establish the expected monthly payment.
My Local Broker also states that another broker introducing a variation or principal increase can end your trail entitlement on the loan. Keep the introducing broker and variation records with the settlement and commission statements.
Early Exit and Refinance Events
Brighten commission clawback and the borrower’s early repayment fee are separate charges. The Full Doc rate card lists no early repayment fee for a variable loan while stating that commission clawback applies.
My Local Broker’s Brighten schedule lists 100% upfront clawback in months 1 to 12 and 50% in months 12 to 18. It also describes an upfront refund condition within six months for offset balances that exceed loan funds or reduce payments to Brighten. Retain the actual agreement when calculating the event and any boundary-month adjustment.
An inbound external refinance brings a loan from another lender to Brighten. An internal refinance replaces or changes an existing Brighten facility. Treat the internal transaction as a review of the existing entitlement, including any extra lending and broker change. A replacement account number or new split alone does not establish fresh commission.
For a top-up, separate the added funds from the existing debt. Keep the old and new account identifiers together so the commission reconciliation shows the continuing loan and the additional advance.
Residency, Visa and Income Location
Brighten Elevate covers Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible temporary residents with Australian-dollar income or an accepted foreign currency. Brighten Evergreen’s non-resident page covers temporary residents and non-residents, including salaried and self-employed applicants.
Citizenship, immigration status and income location are separate facts. An Australian citizen working overseas is different from a foreign national living overseas. A temporary resident in Australia can also have overseas income. Record each fact for every applicant before selecting the route.
Brighten’s Brighten lending niches identifies Evergreen and Platinum as non-resident products with Full Doc or Alt Doc pathways. Do not attach an expatriate rule to every borrower paid overseas.
Income Verification
Brighten’s Elevate checklist requires two consecutive payslips for PAYG income. Its checklist adds the latest PAYG or Single Touch Payroll summary when servicing relies on extra employment income. Full-doc business evidence includes financial statements and tax returns, with two-year and eligible one-year pathways.
Evergreen’s salary checklist pairs three months of bank statements with an employer-signed Brighten income verification form or qualifying payslips. For self-employed applicants, it lists six months of personal bank statements with two years of business financials or an accountant-signed Brighten verification form.
Elevate accepts specified foreign currencies, including US dollars and Singapore dollars. Currency acceptance does not determine how much income enters servicing. Keep the original currency and source documents beside the converted servicing figures. Where documents need translation, include the original and translation in the scenario evidence so credit can resolve the document standard.
Property and Loan Purpose
Brighten Elevate supports purchase, refinance and equity release for owner-occupied or investment property. Its published maximum loan-to-value ratio is 80%. Accepted security includes houses and townhouses, plus apartments larger than 50 square metres in category 1 and 2 locations.
Evergreen also lists purchase, refinance and equity release. A purchase needs evidence of the acquisition and funds to complete. A refinance needs the existing title and debt history. Cash-out adds the proposed use of the released equity to the assessment.
Construction uses Brighten Easy Builder with progress payments. The niche list includes Full Doc Prime, Alt Doc Prime, expat and non-resident borrowers in that route. Construction approval therefore needs its own product assessment rather than applying an established-property approval to a building contract.
Deposit and File Documents
Brighten’s non-resident checklist traces identity, income and ownership alongside the funds needed for the transaction. Assemble the relevant file documents:
- Certified passport and identity card copies, plus the credit report from the applicant’s country of residence.
- Salary or business evidence for the selected income pathway.
- Evidence of funds to complete an unsettled purchase and the contract of sale.
- Title evidence for refinance or equity release, with six months of mortgage statements for a refinance.
- Rental evidence or investment statements when those income sources support servicing.
Elevate also lists its Supplementary Residency Form and address evidence when the driver’s licence does not confirm the address. Explain transfers between accounts so the funds supplied match the applicant and transaction. List overseas debts alongside Australian commitments in the servicing submission.
Written Scenario Resolution
A mixed Brighten scenario needs an applicant-by-applicant summary that connects the residency facts to the proposed income and security treatment. Include citizenship, visa status, residence country and the proposed borrowing entity. For each income source, name the country and currency, employment or business type and available evidence.
Add the property postcode, type and internal apartment area where relevant. State occupancy, purchase or refinance purpose, requested lending and any cash-out. Identify the existing lender and Brighten account numbers when the transaction changes an existing facility.
For example, a hypothetical joint application could combine an Australian citizen earning overseas salary with a temporary resident earning in Australia. Present both applicants separately, then ask credit to resolve the joint product route and the treatment of each income. Keep the written response with the documents it assesses.
Use the Brighten broker access and enquiry guide for the support route and the lender policy directory to compare another lender’s treatment. The written decision must address the actual applicant combination before you proceed with that loan structure.
