A mortgage broker business plan records how you will get appointed, lodge files and get paid. Build it around your licensee, aggregator, authorised credit work and cash needed before the first commission arrives.
Use the five-part template below to turn those decisions into a working plan for a new or growing Australian brokerage. Keep the appointment evidence and monthly cash sheet beside it.
What a Broker Business Plan Does
The plan gives you and your licensee a record of the files you intend to write and the resources needed to complete them. It has six practical uses.
- Strategic planning sets the file types and lodgement target for your first 90 days.
- Funding and investment planning shows how much cash you need before settlement receipts begin.
- Market understanding connects national demand with the clients you can serve. The MFAA’s quarterly market-share figures reported brokers facilitating 81.6% of new residential home loans in its 2026 market-share release.
- Operational guidance names the aggregator portal and the person who reviews your files.
- Risk management budgets for clawbacks, your insurance excess and periods without settlements.
- Performance monitoring compares actual lodgements, settlements and commission receipts with the plan.
Use the brokerage launch guide for the setup sequence. Keep this document focused on the targets and assumptions you will review.
Qualifications and Appointment
Record your Certificate IV in Finance and Mortgage Broking (FNS40821) or Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management (FNS50322). Attach the qualification evidence your licensee requires.
The MFAA qualification rules require Certificate IV holders to complete the Diploma within 12 months of joining to renew membership. That timing is an MFAA membership requirement, not a universal ASIC statutory deadline.
If you work as a credit representative, name the Australian Credit Licence holder and the activities covered by your appointment. Retain the licensee’s written appointment letter.
The appointment notification uses ASIC form CL30 under section 71 of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. ASIC specifies notification within 15 business days after appointment. Form CL50 is the licensee’s annual compliance certificate.
Include professional indemnity (PI) insurance arrangements and the complaint process in your plan. Confirm that cover applies to your appointed entity and work.
ASIC requires credit representatives to have AFCA membership. Individual directors and employees sub-authorised by a corporate credit representative do not need separate membership. Record which arrangement covers your brokerage.
Document Privacy Act obligations and the licensee’s rules for storing client information. State who performs identity checks and which anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) duties apply to your services. An appointment does not make every business’s AML/CTF obligations identical.
Business Structure and Legal Setup
A sole trader, company, partnership or trust changes ownership, tax and how the business receives income. The structure does not create a broker licence or replace credit authorisation.
Record the appointed entity, ABN, business name and owners in the plan. Keep the appointment letter, PI evidence and Credit Guide with those records. Use the mortgage broker business structures guide for the structure decision.
Market, Services and Client Acquisition
Name the suburbs you will serve and the employment types you can assess. Specify the documents those clients need, such as payslips for PAYG applicants or business financials for self-employed applicants.
List only the credit work your appointment covers. Owner-occupier purchases, investment lending and refinancing belong in the plan only when your authority and lender accreditations support them.
Estimate monthly enquiries and the share likely to become complete applications. Work backwards from the settlement target, allowing for declined files and clients who delay buying.
For example, a hypothetical plan might need ten enquiries to produce four complete applications and two settlements. Record the assumptions, then replace them with your own conversion figures.
Choose a lead source you can service and budget for the cost per lodged file. Put the licensee details on your website before paying for traffic. Follow ASIC RG 234 advertising guidance when making credit-service claims.
Keep channel selection in your mortgage broker marketing plan. This business plan needs the expected enquiries, conversion assumptions and spending limit.
Financial Plan and the Cash-Flow Gap
Your financial plan must show when cash reaches the brokerage. Upfront commission and trail arrive after settlement under the lender and aggregator payment arrangements. A lodged application is pipeline, not cash available for wages.
List start-up costs separately from monthly expenses. Include qualifications, PI cover, association fees, aggregator onboarding and any CRM seat excluded from your package. Add household drawings so the forecast shows what you need to live on.
Build one column for each of the first six months. Use your written commission schedule, retained split and payment timetable for the figures below.
| Forecast Line | Base Case | Slower-Settlement Case |
|---|---|---|
| Settlements | Expected count and loan value for the month | Move delayed files into the month they can settle |
| Upfront received | Cash payable after settlement and the aggregator split | Move the receipt with the payment delay |
| Trail received | Expected trail on eligible balances under the schedule | Start new trail later and retain existing-book assumptions |
| Clawbacks | Cash deducted under the applicable agreements | Allow for an early discharge where exposure exists |
| Wages and drawings | Staff costs and the owner’s cash needs | Keep committed payments in place |
| Overheads | Aggregator fees, insurance, software and other running costs | Retain fixed costs and identify spending you can stop |
| Closing cash | Opening cash plus receipts less payments | Calculate the additional funding needed to stay above zero |
For a hypothetical timing check, assume opening cash of $15,000 and monthly cash payments of $3,000. A $6,000 commission receipt in month three leaves $12,000 at that month’s end. If it arrives in month four, month three closes at $6,000.
Those figures illustrate payment timing, not a typical commission rate. Keep GST, tax payments and the aggregator’s deductions consistent throughout your own sheet.
Run a second test with six months of zero settlements. A brokerage without existing commission receipts needs enough cash for all six months’ payments plus start-up costs. If the balance goes negative, reduce commitments or secure funding before taking them on.
Use the Australian cash-rate guide for rate context. Your plan must still use each lender’s actual pricing and the commission agreement, not a hard-coded cash-rate assumption.
Risk, Compliance and Operations
Plan for a declined first file, a clawback and a complaint. Write the response and the person responsible for each risk. A decline needs a client update and a revised settlement forecast. A clawback needs an agreement check and a cash adjustment.
A complaint needs the documented complaint process and escalation path. Keep the Credit Guide’s complaint details consistent with the membership and authorisation arrangements recorded in your plan.
Use the licensee’s file-note standard and audit calendar. Record the client’s needs, assessment and reasons for the recommendation in the approved system.
Log each enquiry in the customer relationship management (CRM) system the same day. Assign the next action and the person responsible. Keep supporting documents in approved storage so a colleague or auditor can follow the file.
If enquiries rise but lodgements stay flat, inspect incomplete document packs before increasing advertising spend. If settlements occur but receipts lag, reconcile the payment timetable against commission statements.
Choosing an Aggregator and Technology
Compare the retained commission split, fixed fees, included software and audit workload. Record who supplies credit authorisation, mentoring and file support. Use the aggregator comparison guide to build the shortlist.
Vision Aggregation can be one example in your comparison if it is on the shortlist you are quoting. Record the contracting entity and written terms before treating the choice as settled.
AFG includes Flex within Suite360 for customer data, product selection and deal lodgement. Budget training around the tools your office will use.
Finsure promotes Infynity as its CRM and presents Metanoia as its next-generation broker platform with demo bookings. Its Metanoia page describes AI tools and configurable workflows. Use the platform assigned during onboarding when budgeting access and training.
List the systems you need to lodge and manage files, plus any paid add-ons. Use included calculators and support before buying overlapping software.
Growing the Brokerage
Expand after files settle cleanly and the cash forecast supports another commitment. Before hiring, record the workload the role removes and the wages the slower-settlement case can fund.
Put referral arrangements with agents or accountants on one page. State the introduction process, client consent and any disclosed fees. Follow the licensee’s restrictions on referral payments.
Community events belong in the plan when you can name the follow-up and its cost. Use growth modules already included with the aggregator before adding another technology subscription.
State whether the business will remain owner-operated, add employed brokers or use a franchise arrangement. Record how the chosen model affects fees, supervision and ownership of trail income.
Include an eventual owner exit even if selling is distant. The plan must identify who owns the book and which contract terms affect a transfer. Use the mortgage brokerage valuation guide for the later valuation work.
Business Plan Template: Five Parts to Complete
Complete these five parts in order. Attach supporting records instead of repeating the same plan under separate executive-summary, marketing and operations headings.
1. Client Problem and Offer
Write the client problem, your authorised service and the suburb served. Name the appointed entity, ABN, owners, licensee and aggregator. State the qualification held and the evidence attached. Write the one-paragraph executive summary after completing the remaining parts.
2. Market and Lead Volume
Enter the client employment types, monthly enquiry target and expected complete applications. Name the lead source and cost limit. Record the lodgement and settlement targets, the conversion assumptions and the competing service clients already use.
3. Operating and Compliance Measures
Name the CRM and the owner of each file stage. Set the enquiry response time, same-day logging rule and file review process. Record the complaint path, privacy controls and applicable AML/CTF duties. Attach the appointment letter, qualification, PI evidence and Credit Guide.
4. Monthly Forecast
Complete the six-month forecast lines for both settlement cases. Enter opening cash, start-up payments and the first expected commission receipt. Calculate closing cash each month. Record how you will fund the lowest balance and repeat the zero-settlement test.
5. Owners and Review Dates
Assign one owner and a review date to every unfinished action. Record the business model and eventual exit preference. Review actual results after the first settlement or within 90 days, whichever comes first. Update the cash sheet and targets when the assumptions change.
Before You Extend the Plan
Check the appointment letter, published Credit Guide, working CRM login and six-month cash sheet before writing a five-year forecast. The plan is usable when you can trace an enquiry through lodgement to the expected cash receipt and identify who handles each step.
Finish any missing appointment or operating evidence. If the six-month cash sheet falls below zero, resolve the funding gap before adding growth costs.
