Settlement gifts work best when they suit the client’s household: a plant, useful homewares or a shelf-stable hamper are sensible starting points. Set one spending limit per settlement and confirm the delivery details after the loan settles. Then check the tax treatment and your licensee’s gift policy before ordering.
Settlement Gift Ideas Clients Keep
Choose a settlement gift for the person receiving it and the property they will use, starting with these options.
- First home buyers can use a first-week box with tea towels, pantry basics and a supermarket voucher. A small plant suits a home with space and someone willing to care for it.
- Upgraders may prefer a serving board or a local nursery voucher. Ask before buying decorative homewares that must match their furniture.
- Investors can enjoy a gift at their own home, such as a local food hamper. Send it to the investor’s confirmed delivery address, not a tenanted property.
- Refinancers may appreciate coffee, a bookshop voucher or an experience near home. A refinance does not involve moving, so a moving-day pack has little purpose.
A local pottery mug chosen for a client who mentioned their morning coffee feels more personal than another item with your logo. Useful real estate gift ideas also account for apartment storage, pets and the client’s interests. Check a plant’s suitability for a household with pets before choosing it.
Wine needs an explicit preference check. A client may avoid alcohol for health, religious or personal reasons. Food also needs allergy and dietary checks, while an experience needs suitable location and availability. A restaurant meal or event ticket has different tax treatment from a physical gift.
Keep client onboarding gifts separate from settlement gifts. If you send something before settlement, make it modest and unconditional. Avoid a congratulatory message that assumes approval or settlement has already happened. The mortgage broker customer service guide covers the service around those milestones.
Settlement Hampers and Gift Boxes
A settlement hamper suits clients who will use its contents, while a single-item gift is easier to tailor to a known preference. Compare the total delivered cost and the work the client must do to receive it.
| Gift format | Cost decision | Shelf life | Delivery considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable food hamper | Compare the contents with packaging and freight costs | Check each product’s best-before period | Avoid items that melt or need someone home immediately |
| Fresh-food hamper | Include temperature-controlled delivery in the budget | Short storage and consumption window | Confirm the recipient will be available and has refrigeration |
| Custom gift box | Allow for personalisation and minimum orders | Depends on the selected contents | Production time comes before dispatch time |
| Single homeware or plant | Spend the allowance on one item the client wants | Homewares last, while plants need ongoing care | Protect fragile items and check plant delivery restrictions |
A good settlement gift hamper has a few items the client will actually use. For example, combine coffee or tea with packaged snacks that meet their dietary needs and a handwritten card. Ask the supplier to disclose substitutions, ingredients and storage instructions. A large box full of filler adds disposal work during a move.
Local Australian suppliers can assemble custom gift boxes using regional food or locally made homewares. Start the enquiry a few weeks before the expected settlement as a planning allowance, then use the supplier’s quoted production and delivery time. Confirm the personalisation proof before production. Arrange to hold dispatch until settlement is confirmed, and keep an unpersonalised alternative for a short-notice order.
Setting a Budget
Set a standard delivered amount per settlement that the brokerage can afford across the year. These are example spending policies you can choose, not supplier prices or market averages.
- Up to $40 can fund a small client gift with a personal card, such as pantry goods or a small plant.
- $40 to $80 can fund a compact hamper, useful homewares or a locally supplied gift box.
- $80 to $150 can fund a larger property settlement gift or personalised item, subject to approval.
Treat each amount as a cash limit including any GST, packaging, personalisation and delivery. Get a delivered quote before deciding what fits. A higher allowance buys flexibility, but it does not guarantee a better gift.
For a hypothetical brokerage expecting 80 settlements, a $70 delivered allowance gives an annual settlement gift budget of $5,600. Add a chosen $560 contingency for replacement deliveries and price changes, giving a $6,160 cash budget. Keep Christmas gifts in a separate budget so they do not consume the settlement allowance.
Apply the same allowance to comparable clients regardless of loan size. Let preferences change the item, rather than making a larger loan the reason for a larger thank you. Review actual expenditure against completed settlements during the year, and adjust future orders if settlement volume changes.
Timing: Settlement Day, Move-In and Christmas
Send the gift when the client can receive it, after settlement is confirmed. Settlement day can be busy, so the best timing depends on access and the delivery method.
| Timing | When it works | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement day | The client has a reliable delivery address and wants delivery that day | Settlement has completed and someone can receive the parcel |
| Key handover | The client and real estate agent agree to a handover gift | The agent can hold the item and the handover time is confirmed |
| After move-in | The gift would otherwise arrive during packing or travel | The client has moved in and has a suitable delivery window |
With the client’s permission, coordinate the gift category and timing with the real estate agent. Ask the conveyancer about settlement confirmation through the agreed communication channel. You do not need to share the client’s financial details to prevent duplicate hampers or a delivery before access is available.
If settlement is delayed, pause dispatch and update the supplier. If a parcel fails, contact the client about a suitable redelivery location before sending a replacement.
Run Christmas client gifts as a separate, lower-cost programme for the existing book. A personal card or small shelf-stable item can fit that purpose. Set eligibility and a total annual cap in advance, then check preferences and address details again. Put the contact itself into your post-settlement client retention calendar.
Branding and Personalised Gifts
Use a handwritten card and discreet packaging so the thank you remains the focus. A heavily logoed household item asks the client to display advertising in their home.
A serving board with the client’s names, a print of the new address or a locally made house-number item can make a personalised settlement gift. Confirm spelling with the client and use the name they want displayed. Check the address, unit number and whether everyone named wants to appear on the item. A borrower name on a loan document may differ from the household name they use.
Approve the supplier’s proof and record who checked it. Avoid permanent address details on a gift for an investor unless they want the investment property’s address shown. If you cannot confirm the details in time, choose a standard item and personalise the card.
Are Client Gifts Tax Deductible?
Yes, client gifts can be tax deductible when the brokerage gives them to produce future assessable income and no exclusion applies. The ATO’s Taxation Determination TD 2016/14 covers gifts to current and former clients. A personal gift fails that business-purpose test.
A non-entertainment settlement gift intended to encourage future business can meet the rule. A Christmas client gift uses the same business-purpose test. Keep the receipt and a record of the recipient and business reason. You do not need a promised referral to have a business purpose.
Client entertainment is generally non-deductible, even when you discuss business. Sporting tickets, restaurant experiences and recreation need that treatment checked before purchase. A bottle of wine given to take home differs from hosting the client for drinks. A food hamper can also be a physical gift, but its contents and how it is provided matter. Ask your accountant to confirm the treatment of the actual order, especially a mixed gift and experience package.
Can You Claim GST on Client Gifts?
Yes, a GST-registered brokerage can claim eligible GST credits on business gifts when the purchase contains GST and meets the credit rules. The ATO’s GST credit guidance sets out the conditions. Retain the supplier’s tax invoice and claim only the eligible business portion.
GST-free food has no GST to claim, so a mixed hamper does not automatically produce a credit of one-eleventh of its total price. Non-deductible client entertainment generally also prevents a GST credit. A brokerage that is not registered for GST cannot claim GST credits. Have your accountant confirm the gift’s GST treatment and exclude any credit entitlement from the income tax deduction.
Gift Registers, Conflicts and Your Licensee’s Policy
Check your licensee’s written gift and conflict policy before buying or accepting a gift. A policy typically sets value limits, approval requirements and a register covering gifts given and received. Use the actual policy limits for your brokerage. A tax deduction does not establish that a gift is permitted.
Record the recipient or giver, gift description and value, plus the date and business purpose. Keep the approval and invoice with the entry. Record the lender or other business involved where relevant, so repeated benefits can be assessed together. If the policy requires approval above a limit, get it before ordering.
A gift you give a client differs from a benefit you accept from a lender or aggregator. Part 3-5A of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 governs mortgage broker conflicted remuneration. For received non-monetary benefits, regulation 28VH(2) provides an exception below $300 per final recipient, provided similar benefits are not frequent or regular.
Apply that exception only when both requirements hold, and follow any stricter licensee rules. The best interests duty guide explains the wider obligations.
Keep a settlement gift unconditional. Never make receiving it depend on a review or referral. Google prohibits review incentives, including free goods. The ACCC’s review guidance requires disclosure and equal treatment of positive and negative incentivised reviews. Google’s prohibition still applies on Google.
Keep any referral partner arrangement separate from your client thank you.
Before sharing an address with a gift supplier, confirm that the delivery use fits the purpose for which the client supplied it. For businesses covered by the Australian Privacy Principles, APP 6 limits secondary use and disclosure unless an exception applies. A related purpose the client reasonably expects can qualify, as can consent.
Ask the client to confirm a delivery address and permission to pass it to the supplier. Share only the delivery details needed, and keep loan documents and financial information out of the order.
Before dispatch, confirm settlement has completed, the order stays within the approved allowance and the client can receive it. Save the gift-register entry and delivery confirmation with the invoice.
