MPA 26.03

TOP BROKERAGES 2026: WINNERS REVEALED

MPAMAG.COM/AU ISSUE 26.03

AUSSIE REDEFINED Dino Pacella is here to lead nation’s largest retail broking brand through a modular change AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE A united front at a pivotal moment for broking

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS Loyalties put to test in latest survey

ALT-DOC LENDING Mainstream momentum powers ahead

Dino Pacella Aussie

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JULY 2026

CONNECT WITH US

CONTENTS

Got a story or suggestion, or just want to find out some more information? x.com/MPAMagazineAU facebook.com/Mortgage ProfessionalAU

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

Scrutiny makes us stronger

12 FEATURES

49

NAVIGATING REFINANCING

Increasing refi complexity is driving greater demand for broker guidance

Broker loyalty remains high, but expectations of aggregators are rising

DINO PACELLA Aussie’s new GM retail leads the trailblazing mortgage franchise through a modular evolution

06 Opinion

The missing link in industry fraud prevention

FEATURES 16 Alt-doc comes of age

The rise of the self-employed borrower propels alt-doc into the mainstream

26 The bridging solution

30 A blueprint for complex lending When life looks different, CommBank helps brokers deliver tailored lending

35

SPECIAL REPORT

BIG INTERVIEW

The state of play in home lending

Opportunities brokers could be missing in their own client books

SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS 2026

04 Statistics

2026 TOP BROKERAGES

The top brokerages turn operational depth, discipline and client trust into sustained growth

84 Rebuilding trust

How leaders can mend broken employee relationships

PEOPLE 86 Brokerage insight

Zion Financial rides the Sunshine Coast growth wave

88 Other life

Alexander Hamid fights for every win, from broking to the tennis court

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64 FEATURES

AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE Aggregators present a united front on fraud, standards and professionalism

MPAMAG.COM/AU NOW ONLINE: Our daily newsletter. Keep on top of property market trends, business strategy, and what industry leaders have to say.

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18/06/2026 8:35:53 am

UPFRONT

EDITOR’S LETTER www.mpamag.com/au JULY 2026

Scrutiny makes us stronger

S

ince I took on this role 18 months ago, the past two months have been the most intense – by some margin.

Week after week, a new controversy wound its way through the broking industry. Brokers were arrested. A sub-aggregator collapsed. An aggregator was taken to the Supreme Court on allegations of wrongful termination. Brokers had their accreditations terminated on suspicion of fraud. And the list goes on.

That’s before even accounting for the once-in-a-generation Federal Budget, the implications of which for the broking industry are far too profound to do justice to in these few paragraphs.

While the headlines have not always cast the broking industry in a flattering light, it should go without saying that there is no industry on earth entirely free of a few bad apples. What matters is not the existence of those bad apples but how an industry chooses to confront them. Thankfully, it’s a conversation the industry is more than willing to have.

What matters is not the existence of bad apples, but how an industry chooses to confront them What has struck me most over these past two months is how willing the industry has been to have the hard conversations. Brokers, aggregators, banks and non-banks alike have engaged openly and honestly about how the industry can come together to patch the few leaky holes in what remains a highly regulated, entrepreneurial sector – one that serves, ultimately, with everyday Australians in mind.

Those conversations took centre stage at this year’s Aggregators Roundtable, which you’ll find on page 64. Hosting it was a reminder that the industry’s gatekeepers are not burying their heads in the sand. If anything, they are doubling down on what makes them indispensable: compliance, mentoring and a genuine commitment to innovation.

The aggregators faced scrutiny of their own in this issue. This year’s Brokers on Aggregators survey, on page 49, gave the broking community a platform to say what they value about their aggregators – and where they believe improvement is needed.

The overwhelming message from the past two months has been a simple one: meeting the industry’s challenges – whether home loan fraud, clawbacks, contentious tax overhauls or regulatory pressure – demands a united front. And the overwhelming majority, it seems, are ready to stand in it.

William Farrington, editor, MPA

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EDITORIAL Editor William Farrington Writers Kim Champion, Mina Martin, Bennett Richardson Contributors Kylie Paatsch, Michael Stephens Lead Production Editor Roslyn Meredith Copy Editors Karen Atienza, Christina Jelinek, Tara Tovell

ART & PRODUCTION Designers Cess Rodriguez, JP Dizon

SALES & MARKETING Publisher Claire Tan

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Chief Commercial Officer Justin Kennedy Chief Revenue Officer Dane Taylor Chief Human Resources Officer Julia Bookallil

APAC Project Management Lead Shara Vargas

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS HOUSING MARKET: THE VITAL STATS

SYDNEY, MELBOURNE DRAG ON NATIONAL VALUES

$12.6trn

Australia’s national Home Value Index was flat in May (0.0%), with the housing cycle continuing to weaken across most markets. Sydney and Melbourne led the downturn, with dwelling values falling 0.9% and 0.8% respectively, according to Cotality. Perth and Darwin led monthly gains at 1.5%, followed by Brisbane and Hobart at 0.9%.

Total value of Australian residential real estate, dwarfing super and stocks

25.8%

Perth’s annual dwelling value growth, the highest of any capital city to May 2026

NSW AND QUEENSLAND DOMINATE PROPERTY RESALES

1.7%

Sydney’s Northern Beaches topped Australia’s most profitable resale regions over the year to April 2026, with a median profit of $810,000 and 96.3% of resales in the black, according to new realestate.com.au data. Every top 10 region by median profit was in NSW or Queensland.

National rental vacancy rate in April, well below the decade average of 2.5%

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Median days on market nationally in the three months to April 2026 Source: Cotality Monthly Housing Chart Pack, May 2026

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TOP 10 SA4S BY MEDIAN PROFIT OVER 12 MONTHS TO APRIL 2026, ROUNDED TO NEAREST $500 Rank

SA4s

State

Profitable

Median profit

1

Sydney – Northern Beaches

NSW

96.3%

$810,000

2

Sydney – Eastern Suburbs

NSW

96.2%

$779,000

3

Sydney – Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury

NSW

94.8%

$750,000

4

Brisbane – West

QLD

99.5%

$640,000

5

Brisbane – South

QLD

99.8%

$578,500

6

Sunshine Coast

QLD

99.3%

$565,000

7

Brisbane – East

QLD

99.7%

$556,000

8

Gold Coast

QLD

99.5%

$550,000

9

Sydney – Sutherland

NSW

97.7%

$527,000

10

Brisbane – North

QLD

99.9%

$520,000 Source: realestate.com.au, May 2026

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NATIONAL HOME VALUE INDEX, MAY 2026 Market

Monthly

Annual

Median

Sydney

-0.9%

2.3%

$1,282,020

Melbourne

-0.8%

0.5%

$812,621

Brisbane

0.9%

19.1%

$1,126,149

Adelaide

0.5%

12.3%

$950,703

Perth

1.5%

25.8%

$1,050,354

Hobart

0.9%

9.3%

$752,398

Darwin

1.5%

20.3%

$634,368

Canberra

-0.2%

4.3%

$890,555

Combined capitals

-0.1%

7.8%

$1,030,973

Combined regional

0.6%

11.8%

$771,365

National

0.0%

8.8%

$941,864

GEN Z LEADS FIRST HOME BUYER SURGE Australia’s 5% deposit scheme has driven a 22.8% jump in mortgage enquiries from 18- to 25-year-olds since October 2025, with overall first home buyer demand at approved lenders up 16.4%. One-third of buyers are searching outside their local area to find affordable entry-level properties, according to Equifax.

DEMAND BY AGE COHORT 25 +22.8% 20 +17.4%

+16%

15

10

5

0 18−25-year- olds Source: Cotality Home Value Index, May 2026

26−35-year-olds

36−45-year-olds

Source: Equifax Australia, October 2025–March 2026 vs prior corresponding period

HOME LENDING DIPS BUT STAYS ELEVATED

WA TOPS REGIONAL GROWTH AS NSW MARKETS SOFTEN

New housing loan values fell $4 billion in the March 2026 quarter to $103 billion, driven by pullbacks from both owner-occupiers and investors following back-to-back rate hikes, ABS data shows. Despite the dip, annual lending remains 18.5% higher than a year ago.

Regional dwelling values outpaced capital cities in the three months to April 2026, rising 3.3% against 1.1% for the combined capitals, according to Cotality data. Western Australia led all regions, with Busselton up 7.5% quarterly and Kalgoorlie–Boulder topping annual growth at 23.1%.

VALUE OF NEW LENDING IN MARCH QUARTER 2026

REGIONAL MARKET PERFORMANCE − VALUES, APRIL 2026

Loan type

Value of loans

Quarterly change

Annual change

All loans

$103.0bn

-3.8%

+18.5%

Owner-occupied

$61.4bn

-4.3%

+14.3%

Investment

$41.5bn

-3%

Best performer

Worst performer

Highest/lowest quarterly growth

Busselton, WA +7.5%

Bowral–Mittagong, NSW -1.2%

Highest/lowest annual growth

Kalgoorlie–Boulder, WA +23.1%

Bowral–Mittagong, NSW 0.0%

Shortest/longest days on market

Albany, WA 10 days

Batemans Bay, NSW 67 days

Lowest/highest vendor discounts

Albany, WA 1.5%

Bowral–Mittagong, NSW 4.9%

Traralgon–Morwell, Vic +47.4%

Geraldton, WA -17.5%

+25.3% Highest/lowest change in annual sales

Source: ABS Lending Indicators, March quarter 2026. Seasonally adjusted figures

Source: Cotality Regional Market Update, May 2026. Data to April 2026

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email william.farrington@keymedia.com

Mentoring: the missing link in industry fraud defence Knowing credit is not the same as knowing how to be a broker, writes Purple Circle CEO Michael Stephens HOME LOAN fraud investigations circling our industry have rightly shaken confidence in mortgage broking. With banks reportedly sharing blacklists, and allegations of a multibillion-dollar syndicate at the centre of it all, the question is no longer whether we have a problem. It’s what we should do about it.

Plenty has been said about aggregator due diligence, reference checks and lender accreditation. Those conversations matter. But in my view, one of the most overlooked structural

one-on-one in the way a broker’s needs to be under RG 273. Banks assess the customer; they don’t assess the employee’s decisionmaking in the way an aggregator compliance team assesses a broker’s. The whole frame of reference is different.

It’s also worth noting that some individuals at the centre of recent fraud allegations came into broking directly from senior roles at major lenders. That is not a coincidence the industry can afford to ignore.

Done well, (mentoring) is one of the strongest fraud prevention tools we have weaknesses in our industry sits much earlier in the chain: how new brokers – and particularly ex-bankers – are inducted into broking.

Right now, both the MFAA and FBAA require new-to-industry brokers to be mentored for two years. In practice, however, ex-bankers are routinely granted concessions – bypassing mentoring entirely or completing a heavily reduced program – on the basis that they already ‘know credit’, with some aggregators supporting that logic.

I want to challenge that assumption.

Knowing credit is not the same as knowing how to be a broker. A banker has never operated under the best interests duty and has never had their individual file scrutinised

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What good mentoring catches A proper mentoring program is far more than a refresher on policy and lender niches. Done well, it is one of the strongest fraud prevention tools we have, because it forces a structured, ongoing conversation about how the broker runs their business. A good mentor gets to understand who the mentee really is: where their leads come from, who is referring them and – critically – who the mentee is genuinely acting for. Is it the borrower? Or is it, quietly, the referrer pulling the strings behind the file?

That is exactly where recent fraud allegations have lived. Suspect referral channels, packaged applications arriving ‘ready to go’, third parties with too much influence over the

customer file. A mentor reviewing deals oneon-one and asking the right questions about referral sources will see warning signs that a tick-box compliance audit will not – and can educate the mentee on what those signs look like before they become a problem.

A standard for ex-banker mentoring Purple Circle’s view is that the industry needs a defined standard for ex-banker mentoring. I’m not suggesting ex-bankers should complete the same full two-year program as a total novice.

Their credit knowledge is real and should be recognised. But they should still be mentored, even on a reduced basis, with a focus on the best interests duty, file-level compliance, referrer due diligence and the cultural shift from ‘bank employee’ to ‘broker acting for the client’.

This is the philosophy we have built into the Bankers Fast Track stream of the Purple Pathways Academy at Purple Circle. Purple Pathways was the 2024 and 2025 MFAA Mentoring Program of the Year, and Bankers Fast Track was designed specifically for experienced lenders moving into broking – acknowledging what they already know, while filling the genuine gaps a banking career doesn’t cover. It is shorter and more targeted than a standard new-to-industry pathway, but it’s still mentoring. It’s still one-on-one. And it still asks the questions that matter.

Where the industry needs to go Recent events are a painful reminder that the strength of our industry stands or falls on the integrity of the individual broker.

Aggregator checks, lender accreditation and association membership all matter, but none can substitute for the early, personal, structured guidance a good program provides. If we want to prevent the next fraud event, we should be tightening mentoring, not waiving it.

A defined standard for mentoring ex-bankers would be a low-cost, high-impact step in that direction, and one the industry should lead on rather than wait to be regulated into.

Michael Stephens joined Purple Circle Financial Services as a director in 2016.

He served as chief executive from 2016 to 2022, returning to the role in June 2025.

www.mpamag.com/au

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PEOPLE

BIG INTERVIEW

A FRANCHISE MODEL REIMAGINED FOR GROWTH Aussie’s new retail leader Dino Pacella lays out a modular vision of growth for national franchise network DINO PACELLA is not just a fresh new face at Aussie – his hire represents a bold new direction for the trailblazing mortgage broking franchise.

Under the newly created GM retail role, Pacella will be working closely with the existing network to strengthen franchisee businesses while also looking to expand Aussie’s retail footprint across the country.

Discussing this huge step-up in his career with MPA, Pacella details the minutiae of the role in exhaustive detail; clearly, he’s champing at the bit to get stuck in and make a genuine impact.

Pacella speaks grandly of evolving Aussie to fit the needs of the modern borrower – he intends to promote the values of accountability, consistency and trust in the nationally recognised retail brand.

By the sound of it, Aussie is nothing but a natural fit for him.

“At this stage of my career, I was very intentional about what I wanted my next move to look like,” says Pacella.

“I wanted to be part of a championshipcalibre team. An environment surrounded by high performers, strong leadership, ambitious people and a business with a genuine winning mentality.

“When you’re around organisations and teams that consistently perform at a high level, it raises standards, sharpens execution

8

and creates a culture where people push each other to keep evolving. That was a major part of the attraction for me. Aussie has built an incredible brand and a strong legacy, but what excited me most was the ambition around where the business wants to go next.”

rewarding the network’s most productive operators more directly.

“It’s a clear shift towards a growth-led model, recognising that the strongest operators are already driving their own growth and should see a greater share of the value they create,” Pacella says. “Alongside that,

“Ultimately, success will be measured by the strength of the culture we build, the performance of the network, the growth of the retail footprint and the impact we create collectively as a leadership group” Going modular Aussie Modular is the centrepiece of Aussie’s evolution. Developed through extensive consultation with the franchise council and broader network, the new model is designed to address what brokers have been asking for: stronger economics, more flexibility and a support structure that can adapt to the way individual operators want to grow.

As for the nitty-gritty, Aussie Modular introduces up to 90% pass-through on selfgenerated business, with increasing returns as book size grows, with the intention of

we’re moving to a more flexible support model. Instead of a fixed structure, franchisees can access a suite of affordable, modular solutions and choose the support that fits their business.”

Aussie Modular is not out to replace the brand’s existing strengths but to build on top of them. That includes Aussie’s consumer app, which now has more than 100,000 users and, according to Pacella, produces customers who are three times more likely to convert.

In stores where a buyer’s agent is embedded, some are on track to generate well into six figures of additional revenue in

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PROFILE Name: Dino Pacella Role: GM retail Company: Aussie Years in the industry: 23 Aspirations: Roll-out of Aussie Modular; grow national retail footprint; promote a high-performing culture; build on Aussie’s 35-year legacy

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PEOPLE

BIG INTERVIEW their first year, while conveyancing attachment rates in some locations are already above 30%, per Aussie’s internal data.

“For franchisees, it means much more than incremental revenue,” Pacella says. “It creates a more compelling proposition to attract brokers, build teams and scale the business.”

This gets to the heart of one of the biggest challenges for brokers moving into franchise ownership: moving from being a highperforming loan writer to running a business.

“Writing volume and running a business are two very different skill sets,” Pacella explains. “You’re suddenly thinking about people, structure, growth, location and long-term strategy, not just settlements.

That can feel like a big step, particularly for brokers who haven’t done it before.”

Aussie has built a structured progression pathway for brokers considering this move.

Around 80% of its first-time franchisees have historically come from within Aussie’s own network – mobile, salaried and store-based brokers who have moved through programs including the Aussie Franchise Academy, Loan Book Marketplace and Aussie Amplify.

AUSSIE MODULAR FEATURES

Proof is in the pudding

Up to 90% pass-through on self-generated business

Higher returns as book size grows

Flexible support model

10

If you needed any proof that Aussie’s model is working, flip on over to this issue’s Top 50 Brokerages list, where no less than six Aussie brokerages made the cut.

“That’s a fantastic achievement and something the whole network should be really proud of,” says Pacella.

“To have six of our retail businesses recognised among the industry’s top brokerages is a strong reflection of the quality, discipline and growth mindset of our franchisees. These are businesses that are focused on customer outcomes, operational excellence and building something sustainable over the long term.”

What comes next

Additional revenue opportunities via in-house buyers’ agents and conveyancing

“Writing volume and running a business are two very different skill sets. You’re suddenly thinking about people, structure, growth, location and long-term strategy, not just settlements” In the 12 months to mid-2026, 12 brokers became first-time franchisees, and nine existing franchisees expanded into multisite ownership. Practical support extends beyond training, covering site selection, lease negotiation and set-up – areas where first-time business owners often feel most exposed.

Critically, the pathway is not restricted to those already inside the Aussie network.

External operators can enter through

into ownership and build a business that can grow and scale over time.”

greenfield locations the business has identified as high-opportunity, or by acquiring an existing store with an established book and recurring income already in place.

“Our role is to remove as much friction as possible from that transition,” Pacella says.

“Whether someone is coming from inside the network or joining us from the broader market, the focus is on giving them the support, structure and confidence to step

With Aussie Modular entering its consultation phase with the franchise network and early signals described as strongly positive, Pacella has written a clear target on the whiteboard: 20% market share over the next few years.

“We see Aussie Modular as a key vehicle to help us get there. It gives us a much more compelling proposition for the external market, while also creating new opportunity within our existing network.”

It is a confident statement of intent for a leader with 23 years of industry expertise under his belt.

“For us, this is a meaningful step forward,” Pacella says. “It’s about positioning the Aussie franchise channel as the model of choice for brokers and business owners looking to scale thriving businesses.”

On a personal note, Pacella looks forward to leading a strong network built by strong people, strong cultures and a united vision.

He’s out to put together a high-performing environment while contributing positively to the broader executive leadership group.

“Ultimately, success will be measured by the strength of the culture we build, the performance of the network, the growth of the retail footprint and the impact we create collectively as a leadership group.”

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: REFINANCING

Navigating refi’s newfound complexity Rate rises and landmark negative gearing reforms are transforming how brokers approach refinancing conversations with clients

AUSTRALIA’S REFINANCING market is navigating one of its most consequential periods of structural change in years. The Albanese government’s landmark May 2026 Federal Budget – which abolished negative gearing on established residential properties purchased after 12 May – is reshaping lender policy, compressing borrowing capacity and significantly expanding the complexity of broker workloads all at once, while prompting many investors to reassess existing lending structures and refinance strategies.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia has pushed through three interest rate rises this year – a worrying development for borrowers rolling off fixed-term contracts.

These head-spinning developments are

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“Each incremental rate rise has had a more pronounced impact on household budgets, making them highly stimulatory to refinance activity” Sergio Delvescovo, ING having a profound impact on refinancing activity.

According to ING data, refinancing has risen from 47% to 50% of total broker lodgements since the Reserve Bank’s 2026 rate hikes, reflecting continued refinancing demand even as the broader market softens from 2025’s heady highs.

“While investor purchase demand is

expected to soften, refinance activity may partially offset this decline, as brokers look to reposition existing portfolios in response to the changes,” says ING national sales manager, retail broker channel, Sergio Delvescovo.

However, he notes that “increased competition for investor refinance flows introduces a risk of margin compression in an otherwise high-return segment”.

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With analysts forecasting a potential further rate rise in the September quarter, ING expects refinancing to stabilise at approximately 50–52% of total lodgements – around six percentage points above pre-hike levels.

Each incremental rate rise, Delvescovo says, has had a more pronounced impact on household budgets, making them “highly stimulatory to refinance activity”.

He details a twofold effect of the tightening cycle: it “stimulates refinance through increased borrower price sensitivity”, but it also “suppresses purchase demand via serviceability constraints”.

Together, “these dynamics increase the relative importance of refinance, making it a critical battleground for banks with ongoing pressure on margins”.

Ian Rakhit, general manager third party at Bankwest, notes that customers are more engaged with their finances and more willing to review their current lending arrangements amid this higher-rate environment.

As more customers review their lending arrangements, the opportunity for brokers lies in both helping new customers and proactively supporting existing customers.

“Refinance conversations are no longer just about rate,” says Rakhit. “Customers are looking for certainty, flexibility and confidence in their loan structure. Brokers play an increasingly important role helping customers navigate their options. This places a greater focus on retention and proactively engaging existing customers in a meaningful way.”

Baber Zaka, general manager of third party banking at Commonwealth Bank, agrees. “Refinancing today isn’t just about chasing the lowest rate. It’s about getting the right structure for each customer’s circumstances and making informed decisions with confidence,” he says.

“Reliability and consistency are critical to giving brokers and their customers greater clarity throughout the process. That means setting clear expectations, providing dependable support and ensuring applications are assessed in a practical and timely way so

VALUE OF REFINANCED LOANS, MARCH 2026 QUARTER Owner-occupier

Investor

$50bn

$42.9bn

$40bn

(up 8.7% year-on-year)

$30bn

$27.3bn $20bn

$25.3bn

(up 30.1% year-on-year)

(up 17.7% year-on-year)

$10bn $0bn

$10.9bn (up 41.2% year-on-year)

Internal

External Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Lending Indicators, March quarter 2026

“Brokers consistently tell us consistency and ease of doing business matter to them and their clients – that comes down to the value we deliver beyond pricing” Ian Rakhit, Bankwest brokers can progress applications effectively.”

Zaka stresses the importance of speed, “particularly when a broker is managing an urgent refinance. In those situations, our priority is to work closely with the broker to understand the customer’s circumstances, identify what is time-sensitive and help progress the application as efficiently as possible.”

Higher rates have kept refinancing conversations “very active” at Nectar Mortgages, says head licensee and finance specialist Justine Harris.

Clients have become more aware of their repayments, their cash flow and their loan structure, with the conversation shifting from “can I get a lower rate?” to “can I afford to keep doing what I am doing?”

Harris sees that as an important shift.

Echoing Rakhit’s comments, she says “refinancing is no longer just a rate conversation. It’s now about cash flow, loan term, lender policy, future plans and whether the current loan still suits the client’s life. For brokers, that creates more work, but it also creates a stronger reason for clients to seek proper guidance.”

Refi market in post-Budget flux Following the Federal Budget, many lenders moved to update their negative gearing policies, despite the legislation not yet being codified into law.

As for ING, Delvescovo says the bank is “closely reviewing how the changes flow through to serviceability, with a focus of

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: REFINANCING

giving brokers greater clarity across different investor scenarios as the policy evolves”. As part of this, ING is updating its serviceability treatment to reflect the Budget changes, with no change to existing properties purchased on or before 12 May 2026 or eligible newly constructed properties. For established investment properties purchased after this date, negative gearing benefits will be limited to rental income for serviceability purposes.

“As brokers work through the transition, the focus is on making it clear how different application scenarios are assessed, particularly where existing and new lending may be treated differently,” adds Delvescovo.

The borrowing capacity implications of the Budget are material. Early indications from one bank’s new serviceability calculator suggest that Labor’s negative gearing changes could reduce investor borrowing capacity by between 8% and 12%, according to Troy Phillips, managing partner at FirstPoint Mortgage Brokers, based in Cronulla, NSW.

search for better rates, better structure or more certainty.

But for investors, “it becomes more complex”. Some clients, says Harris, “may want to refinance to protect their current position, tidy up their structure or avoid being caught by future policy changes. Others may hold off because they are unsure whether to buy, sell, restructure or wait.”

Regardless of the direction, “I don’t think this reduces the need for brokers,” continues Harris. “I think it increases the need for good broker support. The challenge is that the work becomes more advice-led, more scenario-based and more time-consuming.”

Speed, reliability and the broker relationship As each week seems to bring a fresh wave of macroeconomic uncertainty, speed and certainty have never been more important.

ING has made tangible progress on the speed front for refinances.

Following its transition to MSA National as its settlement provider, Delvescovo says

“Refinancing today isn’t just about chasing the lowest rate. It’s about getting the right structure for each customer’s circumstances” Baber Zaka, Commonwealth Bank On a $1 million mortgage, that translates to a potential reduction of up to $120,000 in eligible borrowing. These estimates imply a borrower on a higher marginal tax rate, and Phillips suggests it could be less for borrowers on a lower marginal tax rate. This is likely to see brokers lean more heavily on refinance strategies to help customers optimise existing positions in a changing policy environment.

Harris predicts a splintering of the refinancing market if these Budget measures are codified into law.

Refinancing activity should remain strong for owner-occupiers as they continue to

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ING has more than halved settlement times to around 10 days, supported by a more automated, streamlined process. The bank is now building on this with AI-driven document handling and income verification, a new credit-decision model and enhancements to valuations aimed at delivering a faster and more consistent end-to-end experience for brokers and their customers.

Rakhit says Bankwest’s ambition is to improve speed and consistency across the entire refinance journey – and that achieving it requires more than technology investment alone.

“Brokers consistently tell us consistency and ease of doing business matter to them and their clients,” Rakhit says. “That comes down to the value we deliver beyond pricing.”

Bankwest is working towards delivering unconditional approval within 24 hours for straightforward deals, underpinned by continued investment in the Broker Portal and dedicated support teams.

But Rakhit is clear that digital efficiency and human support are not competing priorities; they are complementary ones.

“While we are utilising digital solutions to make simple work faster, people remain essential for time-sensitive or complex situations,” he says. “Brokers can access that support when needed.”

Bankwest is also trialling broker notifications when a discharge request is received, “creating an opportunity for brokers to reconnect with their customers”.

Looking forward Rakhit expects to see greater demand for broker guidance if the RBA decides to move rates higher as 2026 progresses. “Any period of uncertainty tends to drive demand for advice, which presents an opportunity for brokers,” he says.

Since rate changes tend to introduce an increased focus on existing lending arrangements, brokers will be fundamental in letting customers understand what their options are. “We would expect a continued demand for refinancing and retention conversations,” says Rakhit.

In the meantime, Harris is making sure her clients don’t panic.

“As brokers, our role is to explain what has changed, what has not changed, what the lender is currently doing and what the client needs to consider next,” she says.

“This is where good brokers are incredibly valuable. We are not here just to lodge loans; we are here to help clients make calm, informed decisions in a market that feels uncertain.”

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Alt-doc loans for free thinkers All borrowers are unique. So, our solutions are too.

Because we’re free thinkers our products cater to all kinds of scenarios.

Liberty’s alt-doc options help borrowers do things differently.

If you’ve got a deal that needs a more free-thinking approach, contact your Liberty BDM today.

Call your Liberty BDM today

13 11 33

liberty.com.au/broker Approved applicants only. Lending criteria apply. Liberty Financial Pty Ltd ACN 077 248 983 and Secure Funding Pty Ltd ABN 25 081 982 872 Australian Credit Licence 388133, together trading as Liberty Financial.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: ALT-DOC LENDING

Not just another lending category Mainstream momentum powers ahead for alt-doc financing, with rising self-employment and narrower pricing gaps creating fertile ground for volume growth ALT-DOC LENDING is having a makeover.

It’s shedding its image as a high-risk category to reveal what is, at its core, an essential lending pathway for millions of hardworking Australians.

While this is a trend with a few years behind it, shifting borrower behaviours and a more conservative traditional credit market have further entrenched alt-doc into the lending mainstream.

Take Brighten Home Loans, where application volumes for alt-doc residential products rose 195% over the past 12 months.

Chris Meaker, head of sales and distribution at Brighten, argues the growth is being driven by two converging forces: a steady rise in non-traditional employment and an increasingly narrow credit appetite among the major banks.

“Recent ABS data shows a 4.9% increase in non-employing businesses, reflecting the continued expansion of the self-employed segment, including sole traders, contractors, consultants and owner-operators,” Meaker says. “At the same time, lending standards across the major banks have continued to tighten, particularly around income verification and serviceability for self-employed borrowers.” The result, he says, is that alt-doc has shifted from being a niche workaround to a mainstream tool.

Brokers who once viewed it as a last resort

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are now reaching for it as the most logical first option for clients whose income structures simply don’t fit a standard PAYG assessment.

At ORDE Financial, co-founder and managing director Ryan Harkness says demand has remained strong over the past 12 months, driven by a self-employed borrower base with income that simply doesn’t present neatly under standard full-doc assessment.

The scale of that market is substantial.

payment timings in ways that don’t always align with conventional assessment models.

“The opportunity for non-banks is not just to provide the product but to provide brokers with a clearer, faster and more practical way to assess these borrowers responsibly and deliver better customer outcomes,” says Harkness.

Around one in three customers at Pepper Money uses an alt-doc loan option – a statistic that reflects just how central the product has

“Alt-doc lending needs to balance access with accountability, ensuring borrowers are not only able to get lending today but are well positioned to perform through different stages of the economic cycle” Chris Meaker, Brighten Home Loans ORDE’s Outlook Australia research, developed alongside demographer Bernard Salt, points to approximately 1.97 million tradies nationally, with around 374,000 operating as owner-managers.

These borrowers are often financially strong, Harkness says, but their cash flow moves with jobs, invoices, materials and

become to the lender’s core proposition.

Barry Saoud, chief executive of mortgages and commercial lending at Pepper Money, explains that more Australians are working for themselves, contracting, juggling multiple income streams or earning through gig work and side hustles, and conventional income verification simply hasn’t kept pace.

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“The workforce isn’t standing still, and neither should lending,” Saoud says.

“Brokers need lenders who can keep pace with that change, with flexible options that help them support more customers who sit outside traditional lending boxes.”

Alt-doc momentum has continued at Liberty, driven by a structural shift in how Australians earn income. With approximately two million Australians selfemployed, and many more generating income through contracting, gig work or multiple streams, financially sound borrowers may still present as complex on paper. But that complexity is precisely what the alt-doc framework was built to address.

“Supporting self-employed and irregularincome borrowers isn’t new,” says Liberty group manager – residential Caesar Ibrahim.

“Our income-assessment approach is designed to reflect true capacity.”

Thinktank general manager sales Belinda Wright, who works closely with brokers across Thinktank’s Commercial Mid Doc and Quick Doc, Residential Mid Doc, SMSF Mid Doc and Private Loan products, says the growth isn’t simply a function of banks pulling back. It reflects a more considered shift in broker behaviour – one where alt-doc is being selected because it genuinely fits the borrower’s structure.

“Brokers are increasingly using alt-doc

not as an exception but as a deliberate structuring choice,” Wright says. “In many cases, our experienced BDMs and credit team are working alongside brokers early to help validate that fit, align verification requirements and provide clearer pathways before formal submission.”

Bank credit appetite for self-employed borrowers has become increasingly selective, while borrower profiles have grown more complex – particularly among those operating through company or trust structures. That combination has pushed volumes towards specialist non-bank lenders equipped to assess income in ways that reflect how modern SMEs actually operate.

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: ALT-DOC LENDING

ALT-DOC KEY TRENDS

Self-employment driving demand

Tim Lemon, national sales manager at MA Money, notes that broker education has been central to the lender’s alt-doc growth.

“More brokers are recognising that alt-doc lending is not a one-size-fits-all product and that different types of self-employed customers require different approaches,” he

Higher loan limits were introduced to reflect growth in property values, alongside an alternative to traditional lenders mortgage insurance. Longer loan terms were also brought in to improve serviceability for borrowers with fluctuating income streams.

Self-employed borrowers have become

“The opportunity for non-banks is not just to provide the product but to provide brokers with a clearer, faster and more practical way to assess these borrowers responsibly” Ryan Harkness, ORDE Financial

Major banks pulling back

Pricing gap closing

says. “Whether it’s sole traders, company structures or trust borrowers, every alt-doc application is different. Understanding the different dimensions of self-employed income and assessing each scenario on its merits has helped build broker confidence and contributed to continued momentum in the space.”

Responding to rate pressures

Strong arrears performance

Product and process innovation accelerating

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“Higher rates haven’t dampened the appetite for alt doc – they’ve sharpened it,” Ibrahim says. He explains how the borrower profile has shifted towards consolidating, restructuring or refinancing for serviceability, rather than buying for the first time.

“While it may be a more complex customer profile than a standard PAYG purchase, that’s exactly who the alt-doc framework was built to serve,” Ibrahim continues. “Verification methods such as BAS, bank statements and accountant declarations help us underwrite confidently when the cash rate is moving, and a previous tax return doesn’t tell the full story of where a small business is in 2026.”

On the product side, Liberty has made several adjustments over the past year.

more purposeful in how they approach lending decisions, notes Harkness. They are focusing on refinancing, debt consolidation, business investment and cash flow management rather than simply chasing competitive pricing. “Alt-doc is a practical alternative-income-verification pathway that allows strong self-employed borrowers to access the same range of lending solutions as other borrowers, without being disadvantaged simply because their income is more complex,” he says.

That framing – alt-doc as an incomeverification pathway rather than a risk category – runs through ORDE’s entire credit policy. The non-bank recently extended its residential prime offering to 85% LVR for both alt-doc and full-doc borrowers, a change Harkness says reflects a straightforward principle.

Meaker says the rate environment has shifted what borrowers care most about.

Speed of approval, certainty of outcome and flexibility in income assessment have overtaken headline pricing as primary concerns for this cohort. “Demand for alt-doc solutions has increased as borrowers and brokers look for assessment methods that better

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: ALT-DOC LENDING

reflect real-time income and business performance rather than historic financials,” he says.

Saoud adds that higher rates have refocused borrower priorities sharply on the fundamentals: cash flow, repayment comfort and whether their current loan structure

Furthermore, alt-doc’s flexibility around income assessment has become a feature rather than a footnote. Brokers are increasingly framing discussions around cash flow sustainability, interest-only options and buffer management – considerations that matter particularly where business income

“The workforce isn’t standing still, and neither should lending. Brokers need lenders who can keep pace with that change” Barry Saoud, Pepper Money still fits their circumstances. For many, that means turning to alt-doc as a vehicle for refinancing, consolidating higher-cost debts, managing Australian Taxation Office payment obligations or restructuring lending to create more breathing room.

“In a higher-rate environment, getting the assessment right really matters,” Saoud says.

“For us, flexibility is about having more ways to understand a customer’s income and what their overall financial picture looks like, so we can structure lending that genuinely works for them.”

Where product design still has room to improve Much of the advancement of the alt-doc space is a result of the pricing gap between alt-doc and standard lending products narrowing sharply.

“The days of alt-doc rates sitting 2% above standard lending are largely gone,” says Lemon. “Increased competition and greater confidence in self-employed lending have significantly narrowed the gap between bank and alt-doc pricing. As a result, more borrowers are considering alt-doc solutions, particularly self-employed customers who have strong income but don’t meet traditional income-verification requirements.”

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fluctuates across the rate cycle.

“Alt-doc products that provide flexibility around assessment and realistic servicing assumptions are more often positioned by brokers as a considered solution rather than a higher-risk alternative,” Wright explains.

Early scenario workshopping – often in collaboration with Thinktank’s BDM team – helps ensure the lending solution remains appropriate across different rate environments, not just at the point of approval.

But despite the segment’s maturity, Meaker acknowledges that alt-doc product design hasn’t fully caught up with how modern Australians generate income. Income assessment for newer business models – contractors with multiple streams, rapidly scaling operators – remains one of the more persistent challenges.

“The opportunity lies in improving how real-time income and cash flow data is applied, rather than relying on static snapshots,” says Meaker. “From Brighten’s perspective, the next phase of innovation is about refining simplicity rather than adding features – delivering clearer policy settings, faster decisioning and more consistent outcomes.”

Alt-doc construction lending is one area in which Brighten has invested. The lender has built a dedicated capability with

defined progress payment processes and structured credit assessment, aimed at selfemployed borrowers building homes or undertaking small-scale developments who lack the documentation to satisfy major bank requirements.

Lemon points to inconsistency across the industry as an ongoing challenge, particularly around specialist loan amounts, LVRs and self-employed policy settings. He says differing approaches to ABN history requirements – specifically how long a borrower needs to be self-employed before qualifying – remain one of the most significant gaps.

Accountant letter requirements are another friction point. “Accountants often need to work with different wording and formats depending on the lender, which can create unnecessary complexity for brokers and customers,” Lemon says. Greater consistency across the industry, he argues, would meaningfully improve the alt-doc experience and broaden accessibility for self-employed borrowers.

Saoud acknowledges that while the industry has made significant strides, the friction in alt-doc hasn’t been fully eliminated – it’s just moved. The question is no longer whether lenders can support selfemployed borrowers but how smooth and efficient that process is in practice. Pepper Money has targeted that gap directly with the launch of AltDoc Xpress – a fully digital workflow for self-employed financial declarations and accountant letter documentation designed to reduce paperwork and back and forth.

“The next stage for alt-doc is really about improving accessibility and usability, making it feel just as straightforward and intuitive as full-doc lending,” Saoud says.

Misconceptions The perception that alt-doc carries inherently higher risk has been tested by the sector’s arrears performance, which has

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: ALT-DOC LENDING

remained relatively contained across nonbank lenders. Liberty’s view is that this reflects the maturity of the industry’s assessment frameworks, not a loosening of standards.

“Alt-doc refers to the documentation type, not the rigour,” Ibrahim says. “The verification methods used could provide a more current view of a borrower’s cash flow than an older tax return alone.”

Ibrahim points out that alt-doc loans have also typically been written at lower LVRs, with more selective property policies, and that stronger broker capability has played a significant role in maintaining portfolio quality.

ASIC’s increased scrutiny of responsible lending in the non-bank space is, in Liberty’s view, a reinforcement of what disciplined lenders already do. The focus on making the right credit decisions aligns with how Liberty approaches complex lending scenarios.

“Stronger scrutiny reinforces that alt-doc is a disciplined credit product, not a shortcut” Caesar Ibrahim, Liberty “Stronger scrutiny reinforces that alt-doc is a disciplined credit product, not a shortcut,” says Ibrahim. “We embrace complex scenarios which drive us to work harder and help borrowers emerge in a stronger financial position after credit.”

Saoud has the receipts to debunk the misconception that alt-doc loans carry higher risk.

The Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) report on residential mortgage non-bank lenders, published in December 2025, shows registered non-bank lenders have an arrears profile broadly in line with the major banks, with 90-plus days’ arrears and non-performing loans sitting at

RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE NON-BANK LENDERS (RNBLS) SHOW LOWER 90+ DAY ARREARS THAN MAJORS RNBLs

Major banks

1.20%

Percentage of loans in arrears

1.00% 0.80% 0.60% 0.40% 0.20% 0.00%

30–89 days

90 days Source: AFIA; APRA Quarterly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Property Exposures Statistics (June 2025)

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0.81%, compared to 1.10% for the majors.

For Saoud, that performance reflects something important about how alt-doc works in practice. “Alt-doc lending isn’t about relaxing credit standards,” he says. “It’s about having more ways to verify income and understand the customer properly, especially when someone’s financial situation doesn’t fit the standard traditional income documentation requirements.”

If anything, alt doc demands more rigour, not less. “You need to understand the customer’s business, their cash flow and overall financial position to make sure the loan is set up right from the start,” says Saoud.

One of the more persistent misconceptions about alt-doc lending is that its different verification pathway implies greater borrower risk. Harkness pushes back on that characterisation, noting that arrears across the non-bank sector have remained relatively contained and that performance is shaped more by the nature of self-employment than by how income is documented.

Self-employed borrowers, Harkness argues, often have more capacity to respond to changing conditions than PAYG employees, even if their cash flow is less predictable at any given moment. Brokers are a critical part of that equation. Their understanding of the customer, loan purpose and broader circumstances helps educate clients on their obligations and supports appropriate structuring.

“The arrears experience suggests the industry is handling alt-doc distribution well where lenders stay close to brokers, maintain clear policy and focus on genuine borrower need rather than volume,” he says.

The non-bank sector’s relatively contained arrears performance in alt-doc has, in

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Wright’s view, less to do with favourable conditions than with how risk is being managed. When borrower income is properly understood, structures are aligned from the outset and brokers engage early with lenders, alt-doc loans tend to perform consistently.

“Risk in alt-doc lending is more about holistic assessment discipline than product, policy or documentation labels,” Wright says. That discipline is increasingly being supported by open banking and data-sharing tools, which Thinktank uses as complementary verification inputs rather than primary determinants. Wright says these tools can help verify assumptions and reduce submission friction, but “human review, context and professional judgement remain essential, particularly where multiple entities or irregular income streams are involved”.

Responsible lending obligations, she adds, haven’t altered that equation, and flexibility in alt-doc doesn’t mean reduced accountability.

“We place significant emphasis on understanding the purpose of the loan, the sustainability of income and the appropriateness of the structure,” says Wright. “Clear documentation, early engagement and transparent assessment pathways all support compliance with everyone’s responsible lending obligations. In practice, that balance is best achieved through collaboration.”

How brokers can strengthen alt-doc submissions “One of the biggest things we encourage brokers to remember is that it’s a low-doc loan, not a low-information loan,” says Lemon. “The more context and detail provided up front, the better the outcome can be for the customer.”

Lemon often sees a lack of information around what the applicant actually does for a living and how their income is generated.

Thorough notes around declared income, number of employees, online presence, business assets and the overall business profile “can make a significant difference in helping

our credit team assess the scenario efficiently and accurately”.

The most common submission errors at Brighten involve incomplete documentation, particularly accountants’ letters where key fields – including confirmation of what documents were reviewed and how long the accountant has acted for the business – are left blank.

But “brokers shouldn’t hesitate to submit alt-doc deals”, Meaker says. “As long as the supporting documents are clear, complete and aligned with the scenario, the process is designed to be smooth and efficient.”

Meaker also points to a broader responsibility that comes with the segment’s growth.

As Australian mortgage brokers increasingly

the application, with a focus on structure rather than product. The most common causes of deal friction are incomplete disclosure or a misalignment between how a borrower actually earns income and how that income is presented on paper. Echoing Harkness’s comment, she says, “Alt-doc isn’t about less information – it’s about the right information.”

“When brokers engage early and work in collaboration with our BDMs and credit team, submissions always progress more efficiently, with clearer expectations and fewer surprises through the assessment process.”

Ibrahim adds that there remains a perception in the market that alt-doc loans are slow or difficult to execute – a view he

“Growth that is compliant by design, well structured and well understood will be far more sustainable than rapid expansion driven purely by market gaps” Belinda Wright, Thinktank rely on non-bank alt-doc as a default solution for complex self-employed clients, lenders must apply consistent credit discipline, not just chase volume. “Alt-doc lending needs to balance access with accountability, ensuring borrowers are not only able to get lending today but are well positioned to perform through different stages of the economic cycle,” he says.

The most common submission errors Harkness sees aren’t about documentation volume; they’re about narrative clarity.

“Good alt-doc lending is not about providing less information; it’s about providing the right information to help us understand the borrower’s real income, conduct and capacity,” he says.

Wright’s message is that the most successful alt-doc submissions start before

believes doesn’t reflect the reality. “With the right support, they’re often very workable. Early engagement between the lender and broker makes the difference and gives brokers greater confidence when presenting options to borrowers. Brokers who workshop structure and servicing up front with our experienced BDM team could move forward with greater clarity.”

Looking ahead The Federal Budget has outlined an intention to support productivity and reduce regulatory burden for small businesses, highlighting the role the self-employed play in Australia’s economy.

Self-employed Australians like those served by ORDE – tradies, contractors, owner-managers, business owners – are the

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: ALT-DOC LENDING

FIVE BIGGEST ALT-DOC MISCONCEPTIONS

Alt-doc means higher risk Alt-doc means lower standards Alt-doc is slow and difficult to execute It’s a low-doc loan, so less information is needed Self-employed borrowers are inherently riskier than PAYG borrowers same people contributing to Australia’s productive economy.

“Once they have demonstrated capacity, conduct and a sustainable income position, they should be able to access appropriate lending solutions across a full range of purposes,” Harkness says.

“The opportunity in alt-doc is therefore bigger than a product category.”

Speaking of the Budget, Saoud points to the changes to discretionary trust minimum tax thresholds as a prompt for many small and medium businesses to reassess their broader financial structures – and an opportunity for brokers to have deeper conversations with self-employed clients about their long-term positions.

As the self-employed segment continues to grow, Pepper Money’s view is that alt-doc lending won’t recede. It will become an increasingly essential part of how brokers

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category evolves, better data and verification tools may expand access. However, maintaining discipline in how they are applied will remain critical to long-term performance.”

Lemon echoes that sentiment. “While alt-doc lending has become more mainstream as rates and fee barriers have reduced and lenders have become more comfortable with self-employed lending, it will likely remain a specialist category because no two self-employed borrowers look the same. For it to scale further, there would need to be greater consistency in assessment processes across the industry, although that’s challenging given the range of business structures and income types involved.”

Wright agrees. “Growth that is compliant by design, well structured and well understood will be far more sustainable than rapid expansion driven purely by market gaps.”

On a final note, Lemon points to the market’s expanding appetite as evidence of how far the segment has come.

Five years ago, many lenders capped

“The days of alt-doc rates sitting 2% above standard lending are largely gone” Tim Lemon, MA Money serve the modern Australian borrower.

Meaker expects demand to keep building as Australia’s self-employment base grows and income structures become more varied.

The lenders that will lead the next phase, he argues, will be the ones that combine specialist expertise with consistent, disciplined execution at scale. “Experience, consistency and service will separate the top lenders from the rest.”

“Alt-doc will likely continue as a specialist solution within the broader lending landscape,” continues Ibrahim. “It’s an offering that requires skilled underwriting and should be entered into with consideration. As the

alt-doc lending at around the $1.5 million mark – a ceiling that has since moved dramatically. “Today, we’re lending up to $15 million,” he says. “That reflects both growing demand and greater confidence across the market in assessing complex self-employed borrowers and larger-scale lending scenarios.”

Lemon also flags open banking and datasharing tools as a significant force shaping the next phase of alt-doc assessment. As realtime financial information becomes more accessible, he says, these tools are likely to play an even bigger role in simplifying the process for both brokers and borrowers.

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STRONG UNYIELDING SUPPORT

For those who want more.

LET’S TALK

1300 781 481

outsourcefinancial.com.au | Australian Credit Licence 384324 | ABN 42 131 090 705

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FEATURES

BRIDGING FINANCE

The answer is bridging finance – but do you know what the question is?

Most brokers reach for bridging when a client arrives with an obvious problem. Bridgit says the bigger opportunity lies in the clients who don’t know they have one CLIENTS NORMALLY don’t come into a broker’s office asking for bridging finance.

They come in saying they want to upsize, or get their finances sorted, or renovate before they list. The need is there. The equity is there. The word ‘bridging’ is not.

That gap – between what a client is trying to do and the product that could help them do it – is where Stephen Doyle, chief commercial officer at fintech lender Bridgit, sees the biggest opportunity that most brokers are missing.

Over five years and more than $1 billion in settled loans, Bridgit has built a detailed picture of who bridging borrowers actually are – and the profile is broader, and the use cases more varied, than most brokers assume.

The question Doyle wants brokers to ask is not whether the client needs bridging but something simpler: “If you found the right property tomorrow, would you be in a position to move on it?”

He notes that most borrowers, if they are honest with themselves, will say no. “That’s where the bridging conversation starts.”

Bridging finance had long been treated as a specialist tool. However, this is no longer

26

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Sponsored by

VALUE OF NEW LOAN COMMITMENTS FOR DWELLINGS

BY INVESTORS Value

Change vs previous quarter

Change vs same quarter of previous year

% 35

$bn 50 +31.8%

40 30

$39.6bn $33.2bn

$42.8bn

$41.5bn

+25.3%

$33.8bn

20

+18.5%

+16.7%

+17.1%

20 +7.7%

+8.2%

10 +2.1%

5

+1.8% -0.3%

Mar 2025

Jun 2025

Sep 2025

Dec 2025

Mar 2026 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

the case. The brokers best placed to grow their business in a tightening lending environment are those who learn to identify bridging candidates proactively, reading the signals already present in an existing client book and opening the conversation before the opportunity has passed.

sticking with familiar products can feel easier, and the result is a mismatch between what clients need and the solution you provide. “And that gap is widening,” he adds, “because the range of situations where bridging is genuinely the right solution has broadened well beyond buy-before-sell.”

“The clients who could benefit most often [from bridging] don’t know what to ask, or that this is the solution for them to achieve their goal” Stephen Doyle, Bridgit “Bridging finance is one of those products that tends to be written reactively – raised when a borrower presents an obvious need, rather than proactively as part of understanding what a client is trying to achieve,” Doyle says. “The clients who could benefit most often don’t know what to ask, or that this is the solution for them to achieve their goal.”

That confidence gap is something Doyle says runs through the broker channel. For brokers who haven’t offered bridging before,

Beyond the familiar use case The traditional bridging client is an owneroccupier who wants to buy a new home before selling the existing one. That borrower still exists, but the profile has expanded considerably.

“Retirees continue to be a growing segment,” Doyle says. “Many are looking to right-size, moving from a larger family home into something more suitable, but don’t want the pressure of a hard settle-

ment deadline forcing them into a sale they’re not ready for. Bridging gives them the time to transact on their own terms.”

Home improvement-led bridging is another category Bridgit is seeing grow.

Clients who want to make cosmetic improvements to a property before listing, or who have purchased a property needing work before they can move in, may not realise short-term capital is available to fund those works through bridging.

Financial consolidation has also become a significant thread in Bridgit’s book. These are clients with complexity in their financial position who want to resolve it before stepping into a sale or refinance. The logic is straightforward: “Bridging relies on unlocking equity. It gives them a mechanism to resolve that complexity first so they can step into a refinance from a stronger position,” says Doyle.

The strong market run overall for investors in new loan commitments for dwellings is also helping bring this group to bridging finance in greater numbers, particularly those needing to move quickly on an acquisition before an existing asset has settled or been sold.

“What ties these borrowers together isn’t a property type or a life stage,” Doyle says.

“They have equity they can access, an exit they can see and a gap in between that traditional lending can’t fill quickly enough.”

Tighter conditions, stronger demand It might seem counterintuitive that a higher interest rate environment would increase demand for a short-term lending product.

But Doyle says the data is running the other way.

“It’s a reasonable assumption that this environment would dampen demand for bridging. But what we’re actually seeing is the opposite,” he says. “The same conditions making borrowing harder in general are making bridging more relevant, as homeowners want to use their property equity to support them.”

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17/06/2026 12:29:23 pm

FEATURES

BRIDGING FINANCE

MISCONCEPTIONS AROUND BRIDGING FINANCE

46%

51%

Proportion of homeowners who aren’t familiar with bridging finance

Proportion of homeowners who view bridging finance as expensive last resort Source: Mortgage Choice survey (November 2025)

“The same conditions making borrowing harder in general are making bridging more relevant as homeowners want to use their property equity to support them” Stephen Doyle, Bridgit There is also a timing argument. Investors and homeowners who are considering their long-term plans may want to secure an opportunity now but wait for better conditions before selling. Bridging creates that window. “The broader picture is this,” Doyle explains. “When the standard lending environment tightens, clients who fall outside the neat parameters of a traditional loan application don’t disappear. They look for alternatives. Bridging, that’s propertybacked with a clear exit, is well placed to serve that group.”

before doing something else may be a consolidation candidate. Clients planning cosmetic renovations before listing, or who want to access their home equity but have been restricted, are also worth a proactive conversation.

“Beyond inbound conversations, there’s real value in proactively reviewing your book,” Doyle adds. “Clients who purchased in the last three to seven years are likely sitting on meaningful equity, and some will be approaching a life stage where a property transition is on the horizon.”

Reading the signals in an existing client book

Building a strong application

The challenge for brokers isn’t necessarily understanding the product; it’s recognising which clients already in their book could benefit from it.

Doyle says the signals are often already there in ordinary conversations. Any client who owns property and is actively looking to buy is an immediate candidate for a buybefore-sell discussion. Any client who talks about needing to “align their finances”

28

Bridging credit assessments are not the same as those for home loans – an important factor when brokers prepare an application.

“Bridging credit decisions are structured differently from standard home loan assessments,” Doyle says. “Rather than leading with income and serviceability, the primary focus is on two things: the quality of the security property, and the exit strategy.”

A strong application is built around a

realistic exit, which for most residential bridging loans means the sale of an existing property. Security quality also matters.

Bridging lenders take a short-term position – Bridgit, for example, offers up to 24-month loan terms – against an asset, so properties need to be readily saleable with broad market appeal.

Bridgit’s process is designed with broker timelines in mind. Scenarios can be workshopped instantly with conditional approval available within 24 hours, meaning clients are not left waiting while an opportunity moves on.

How to introduce bridging in a client conversation Doyle says the most common error brokers make when raising the bridging topic is starting with the product itself. Terminology like peak debt, capitalised interest and exit strategy can make a straightforward solution sound complicated before the client has understood why it applies to them.

“The better approach is to start with the client’s situation and work towards the solution,” he says. “The conversation doesn’t need a formal opening. It sits naturally inside the questions brokers are already asking.”

By understanding the borrower’s situation deeply, a broker can provide the right solution, so remembering clients looking to upsize, downsize or renovate will help you provide the right solution.

“These aren’t bridging questions,” Doyle says. “They’re good advisory questions early in the process that happen to surface bridging opportunities.”

For a growing number of borrowers, bridging is the difference between a transaction that happens and one that doesn’t. The cost is not about comparing a bridging rate to a standard home loan rate. That misses the point of what bridging is doing.

“The true comparison is with missing out on a property, carrying high-cost debt, selling under pressure or paying rent while waiting for the right purchase.”

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FEATURES

BROKER SUPPORT

CommBank’s blueprint for tackling complex borrower scenarios Cookie-cutter lending no longer works – and banks must adapt accordingly, says head of third party lending Baber Zaka

30

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Sponsored by

WE ALL know that two borrowers rarely tell the same story. A nurse buying her first home with a 5% deposit has drastically different needs to a self-employed tradie without standardised income. A family refinancing after one income earner took parental leave needs an entirely different support system to a retiree exploring equity release.

It’s because of these diverse needs of the modern Australian borrower that obtaining a home loan can sometimes feel like cramming a square peg into a round hole.

CommBank is tackling this problem head-on with its new broker value campaign under the no-nonsense banner: “When life looks different, lending should too.”

This proposition reflects the reality that more customers are approaching brokers with complex or non-standard scenarios that require a tailored approach. Whether it’s income drawn from multiple sources, atypical savings patterns or unique purchasing arrangements that fall outside the norm, “brokers consistently tell us they value the breadth and flexibility of our policies, the depth of credit expertise, and our practical, common-sense approach to lending”, says Baber Zaka, CommBank’s general manager, third party banking.

“This feedback gave us the confidence to lean into what we’re ultimately known for – supporting applications that don’t fit the standard mould, and recognising that as customers’ lives evolve, lending needs to evolve with them.”

CommBank is deliberately targeting complex scenarios with its latest broker

campaign, which Zaka concedes is not a cutand-dried concept.

“There isn’t a single definition of a complex borrower,” says Zaka. “It reflects a range of customer scenarios that fall outside a straightforward application. This can include multiple or non-standard income streams, more sophisticated asset or ownership structures, or customers requiring tailored loan structuring or policy layering to meet their needs.”

challenge but as a genuine opening for the well-prepared broker. “Brokers who take a more strategic, portfolio-led approach are better placed to deliver strong outcomes for their clients.”

Refinancing Refinancing is becoming more “deliberate and strategic”, says Zaka, as clients “focus on preserving borrowing capacity, accessing equity efficiently and structuring for long-

“Brokers consistently tell us they value the breadth and flexibility of our policies, the depth of credit expertise, and our practical, common-sense approach to lending” Baber Zaka, CommBank Investor lending Rather than assessing each transaction in isolation, Zaka reckons brokers must take a portfolio-led view of a customer’s broader investment strategy. “We support brokers to deliver strategic lending outcomes, with a focus on getting the structure right, supporting portfolio sustainability and ensuring longterm suitability for the customer, not just the immediate purchase,” he says.

Serviceability remains one of the biggest hurdles in getting an application over the line, while investors’ needs are becoming more sophisticated and nuanced.

Zaka sees this complexity not just as a

term sustainability in a higher-rate environment”. This is putting brokers in a more demanding position.

One of the biggest challenges for brokers is balancing tighter serviceability settings with the need to deliver competitive, wellstructured outcomes for clients. To support this, CommBank offers an alternative refinance assessment process, including a reduced serviceability buffer for eligible customers.

The bank recognises a broader range of income sources such as boarder income, and takes “a considered approach to commitments such as HECS, helping brokers better reflect a customer’s true position”.

COMMBANK’S FIVE COMPLEX BORROWER PRIORITIES

Investor lending

Refinancing

Self-employed borrowers

First home buyers

Subsequent home buyers

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FEATURES

BROKER SUPPORT Property valuation tool CommVal also gives brokers upfront visibility on property value, equity and borrowing capacity, “supporting more informed and confident decision-making”.

Self-employed borrowers When life looks different, lending should too – and nowhere is this more evident than in the self-employed space.

“Self-employed borrowers are often underserved because traditional lending models are built around consistent, PAYG-style income,”

the most recent financials where appropriate, supporting customers with shorter trading histories and providing alternative assessment options for eligible scenarios.

The bank also takes “a more practical view of business structures and changes over time, recognising that how a customer operates may evolve”, Zaka adds.

No two brokers are the same either Just as every customer brings different needs to a transaction, so too does every broker.

A single support model cannot serve a sole

“Brokers who take a more strategic, portfolio-led approach are better placed to deliver strong outcomes for their clients” Baber Zaka, CommBank explains Zaka. By contrast, business income comes with more variables, tends to be structured in different ways and is highly influenced by timing, reinvestment and broader commercial decisions, “making it harder to assess through a single, standard approach”.

CommBank’s answer is to provide a diversity of pathways to getting the best outcome for customers. “We offer multiple income assessment options, allowing brokers to align the right method to each customer’s circumstances,” says Zaka. This can include using

operator and a high-volume brokerage in the same way – and CommBank’s Platinum Broker program reflects that thinking.

The program is built around brokers who regularly work on complex scenarios, offering faster access, greater certainty and more direct lines into the bank. A onebusiness-day retail credit SLA and a dedicated Platinum Deal Desk give brokers “the ability to workshop and progress complex scenarios with greater speed and confidence”, Zaka explains.

Upfront property valuation tools, proactive onboarding calls to support new customers, access to specialised retention services, and 24/7 training resources all form part of the offering. For Zaka, these aren’t add-ons; they are the infrastructure that lets brokers stay across a client’s position well beyond settlement.

“We help brokers stay connected and continue adding value well after settlement,” he says, “building long-term trust and confidence so customers feel supported not just in the decision they’ve made today but across the life of their loan.”

That shift – from transaction to relationship – is something Zaka sees playing out across the broker channel more broadly. Brokers are no longer simply facilitating a loan. They are guiding clients through refinancing decisions, life changes and evolving financial needs.

“At CommBank, we see our role as backing brokers throughout that ongoing relationship, not just at the point of application or settlement,” he says. “That means giving them the tools, insights and support to stay relevant as their customers’ needs evolve, whether it’s refinancing, purchasing again or reshaping their lending over time.”

Applications for credit are subject to credit approval, satisfactory security and minimum deposit requirements. Conditions apply to all loan options. Full terms and conditions will be set out in the loan offer if an offer is made.

PLATINUM BROKER BENEFITS

One-business-day retail credit SLA

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Dedicated Platinum Deal Desk

Full CommVal access

Access to specialised customer retention team

Proactive outreach calls to onboard new customers

24/7 training hub and exclusive events

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17/06/2026 11:21:20 am

Golffi Industry stufffi

Awardsfi Broker Portalfi Just Enough Bankfi

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERAGES 2026

This year’s Top Brokerages report reveals the 50 firms turning operational depth, client trust and conversion discipline into sustained growth

CONTENTS

PAGE

Feature article .............................................. 36

Methodology ................................................ 41

Top Brokerages 2026 .................................. 45

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026

BUILDING THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN LENDING WHEN THE Reserve Bank cut rates for the third time in 2025, the brokerages that had prepared for it barely flinched. The phones ran hot, the pipeline filled, and the files kept moving. Two years of rate hikes and compressed volumes had not slowed these firms down. They had used the time to build.

The result was $41.2 billion in settlements across 50 brokerages, a 38.6% surge on the prior year and the strongest performance this ranking has ever recorded.

Sixteen brokerages crossed $1 billion for the year against a combined loan book of $102.1 billion. The numbers are striking, but

what produced them is more interesting.

These firms absorbed 13 rate hikes across an 18-month tightening cycle, held their conversion rates while volumes contracted across the broader market and then delivered at scale when conditions finally turned.

Broker market share reached a record 77.6% in the June 2025 quarter before settling at 76.7% by December. In the March 2026 quarter, brokers hit a record of 81% of all new residential home loans, MFAA data shows.

By March, the average mortgage size had grown to $735,000, up more than $75,000 on the same time the previous year, according

TOP BROKERAGE PERFORMANCE ACROSS FOUR YEARS Average settlements per brokerage ($m) vs average loan book per brokerage ($m), 2023–26

MPA 2023 COHORT

MPA 2024 COHORT

MPA 2025 COHORT

MPA 2026 COHORT

Measurement year 2022.

Rate hikes begin as RBA moves from 0.10% Cash rate peak 3.10%

Measurement year 2023.

13 consecutive hikes.

Settlement volumes contract Cash rate peak 4.35%

Measurement year 2024.

Rates hold. Market anticipates cuts.

Cash rate holds at 4.35%

Measurement year 2025.

Three RBA cuts. Strongest settlement year on record Cash rate falls to 3.60%

Avg settlements per brokerage ($m)

Avg loan book per brokerage ($m) $2,400m

$1,000m

$2,200m

$800m

$2,000m

$700m $1,800m

$600m $500m

$1,600m

$400m

$1,400m

$300m

$1,200m

$200m

Avg loan book per brokerage ($m)

Avg settlements per brokerage ($m)

$900m

$1,000m

$100m

$800m

$Om 2023

2024

2025

2026

Source: MPA Top Brokerages 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 submissions data. Rate environment: Reserve Bank of Australia cash rate decisions. Loan book and settlement figures represent averages across the qualifying brokerages in each annual cohort (50 brokerages in 2023, 50 in 2024, 49 in 2025 and 50 in 2026).

36

to ABS Lending Indicators. The market moved sharply and these firms moved with it.

For FBAA chief development officer Joanna James, the brokerages gaining ground are the ones using technology to strengthen client engagement rather than dilute it. She says, “Brokerages that can leverage technology in a way that amplifies their focus on the human part of customer service, really creating that connection of trust and authenticity, that is where the best firms are operating.”

Anja Pannek, MFAA CEO, says the brokerages separating themselves in 2026 are doing far more than writing volume. “The strongest businesses are those that combine high professional standards, client trust, operational discipline and have a clear view of where the market is heading.”

That distinction matters more in 2026 than it did a year ago. The RBA has already reversed course, hiking in February, March and May and returning the cash rate to 4.35%. It then held at this rate in June. The conditions that drove last year’s record results have changed.

James argues that workflow automation and cybersecurity are increasingly becoming baseline operational requirements rather than competitive advantages on their own.

Pannek says the environment is forcing leading firms to become more deliberate in how they operate. “As the market becomes more complex, the broker proposition becomes more relevant, not less. Brokerages that can combine trusted advice-style guidance within the appropriate credit framework, strong lender and lending knowledge, efficient processes and long-term client engagement will be well placed to grow sustainably.”

The 2026 Top Brokerages have already

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FROM THE SPONSOR

Grant Roden Executive Manager, Homebuying Distribution, Bankwest

Bankwest is delighted to once again support MPA’s Top Brokerages Report in 2026 and celebrate the outstanding brokers helping Australians navigate one of life’s biggest decisions. Your expertise, guidance and commitment to customers continue to raise the bar across the industry, and we’re proud to shine a light on the incredible impact brokers make every day.

Every ambitious broker deserves an equally ambitious partner, and we’re committed to becoming the best bank for brokers. That ambition only becomes reality through close collaboration with brokers, and with your feedback and support, here are just a few of the things we’ve achieved together: • Award-winning team: Thank you for consistently rating us among the best in the industry. We’re proud to support brokers every day with a team dedicated to helping you succeed.

shown they know how to perform when conditions are hard. Years of investment in systems, process control and client retention are what produced 2025’s record results. The average conversion rate was 82.8%, with the strongest performers staying above 90% through a year of extraordinary volume pressure.

Pannek argues the brokerages positioned to sustain that performance are the ones investing before conditions force them to. “Businesses that rely too heavily on individual effort without the right infrastructure will find it harder to grow,” she says.

To identify them, MPA invited Australian brokerages to submit verified figures covering the full 2025 calendar year, with each applicant providing total settlements, loan book value and conversion rate. Aggregators confirmed every submission. From a field of 111 entries, a brokerage needed at least five loan writers operating from a single Australian office to be eligible. The final ranking combined performance scores across all three metrics to produce the tally. Conversion rates reflect each brokerage’s own records and methodology.

Sponsored by Bankwest, MPA’s Top Brokerages 2026 is the definitive ranking of Australia’s highest-performing brokerages.

This report takes a closer look at three of the

• More policy solutions: We’ve listened and evolved our policies to help you support more customers and unlock new opportunities to grow your business.

• Faster turnaround times: Bankwest is now one of the fastest lenders in the market, continuing to invest in innovative solutions to help improve speed to approval.

• Fast and efficient digital experiences: Our worldclass broker portal now offers more self-serve tools and upfront information in one place, making it easier to manage new and existing customers quickly and efficiently.

Congratulations to all the brokers and brokerages recognised this year for demonstrating excellence and continuing to raise the standard across the industry.

best mortgage brokerages, each one a window into the mindset, structure and daily discipline that separates the brokerages on this list from the rest of the market.

How Australia’s Best Mortgage Brokerages win more deals

Rethink Financing – Rank No. 8 Built on better questions Rethink Financing principal Son Pham has a BDM who calls him ‘Mr. Exception’. He takes it as a compliment.

That nickname captures something essential about how Rethink operates. Where other brokerages submit deals and wait, Pham workshops every file before it goes anywhere near a lender. He talks to credit before lodging.

He maps lender policy against client circumstances before a single enquiry hits the client’s file. And when a lender’s standard policy doesn’t quite fit, he makes the case for why it should be set aside.

“Policy is a guide,” he says. “It’s not set in stone. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Ranked in the Top 10 brokerages in the

country, with a conversion rate of 88% sitting well above the cohort average, Rethink Financing earned its place among a small group of firms that have crossed the billiondollar settlement threshold. Pham did not set out to reach that number.

The approach was shaped partly by watching what bad practice looks like. Pham recalls taking on a client whose file arrived carrying credit enquiries from five or six lenders, all within the same period. The previous broker had submitted the deal everywhere and hoped something would stick.

“That broker just killed their credit enquiries,” Pham says. “They didn’t workshop the deal enough. They didn’t know lender policy. They didn’t ask the right questions before they submitted.”

The damage that kind of approach causes is not just reputational. By the time a deal reaches a fifth lender with that enquiry history on file, underwriters start asking whether there was something wrong that the others had already found. The scrutiny compounds.

Pham’s method is the inverse. He pressure-tests every scenario before formalising anything, treating pre-submission preparation the way a credit assessor would.

The nuances matter enormously.

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Grant R Bankwes General M Homebuy Distribut

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026 “I didn’t get into the business saying I wanted to write a billion dollars. I guess it just happened over time” Son Pham, Rethink Financing A client earning $100,000 a year sounds straightforward until you discover the income is earned in Singapore and denominated in US dollars, which triggers expat lending policy, which then prohibits interest-only lending and requires principal and interest instead.

Details like that, missed at the enquiry stage, can unravel a deal entirely after submission. “We ask a lot of questions,” Pham says.

“We deep-dive to get to know exactly what the client’s position is, and then we know exactly where to take it.”

He is equally disciplined about when to push and when to walk away. The firm’s weekly Tuesday meetings run on the same principle.

Pham buys lunch, the team gathers in the boardroom, and the agenda is built around the deals that are proving difficult rather than the ones that have already settled.

With around 15 active brokers, those sessions surface collective knowledge quickly.

Someone in the group has usually encountered a similar policy scenario or knows a lender workaround that cuts through.

The culture is deliberate and grounded in something personal. Pham comes from a background where family meals and shared time are central, and he has built the same rhythm into the business.

Tuesday lunch in the boardroom is part of it. So are the social events, soccer and go-karting, because Pham believes the profes-

38

sional and the personal are not easily separated in a business built on trust.

That culture was tested through 2025, Rethink’s biggest year on record. Pham hired brokers and support staff early, anticipating the demand that rate cuts would release.

He is selective about who joins. Everyone at Rethink must arrive with a solid residential lending background, and Pham then develops them in commercial, which is the firm’s core strength.

The major banks will not accredit a writer as a commercial broker on residential experience alone, even five or six years of it. They need to have been at Rethink for roughly two years and written commercial deals there before the accreditation application is even considered.

The firm does not yet do development finance or asset finance in any meaningful volume, and Pham is candid about what that means for where the business goes next.

Asset finance specialists are in his plans.

Development finance, which drives enormous settlement volumes for some of the biggest commercial players in the country, is a space he sees as a significant opportunity.

“We do a lot of mums and dads, a lot of volume, a lot of loans,” he says. “We don’t do development, and we’re still writing similar numbers to the firms that do. I reckon if we went there, we’d take a big slice.”

Technology is the other frontier. Pham is running trial accounts across several AI tools and is genuinely excited about what they could free up for his writers. The administrative load that comes with brokering – the tasks that eat time without generating value – is exactly what he wants automated. “The brokers that don’t embrace this will get left behind,” he says.

Growth at Rethink has always followed the same pattern. Ten years in, it’s an approach that has produced a business that has, in Pham’s own words, only scratched the surface.

“I want to make sure I bring on the right people, train them, have the right culture and grow that way.” For a firm that reached a billion dollars in settlements without

ever setting out to, it’s hard to argue with the method.

Freedom Investment Lending – Rank No. 13 The forward thinkers Most brokerages are approaching 2026 with caution. Freedom Investment Lending is approaching it with anticipation. Rates are rising and the broader market is tightening, but this firm has never built its success around favourable conditions. It has built it around something more durable.

The firm is among a select group of Australia’s top brokerages that settled over a billion dollars in 2025, a milestone that felt ahead of schedule even to those inside the business. A few years earlier, the number had seemed like an eventual destination rather than an imminent one, but the team had been building towards it steadily.

Its strongest single year of growth, a 63% surge, came in 2022 when the RBA was hiking rates and much of the market was bracing for contraction. It has delivered at least doubledigit growth every year since.

None of its success was built around hitting specific numbers. “Getting the right people in, the right brokers, the right leadership team, the right support systems, the right CRM workflows, and everything that helps everyone spend less time on busy work and more time on the things that really matter,” CEO Scott Kuru says.

Getting rid of that administrative load, he explains, is what allows writers to focus on meeting new clients and generating real impact.

Freedom operates in a deliberately narrow space. Around 80% of its lending is for brand-new, off-the-plan investment properties, and the reasoning behind that focus is embedded in the model.

New properties carry tax advantages, typically generate higher rental yields, require less maintenance and are generally easier to hold while they grow in value. The firm’s

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“For us, it was all about building the right bones” Scott Kuru, Freedom Investment Lending

writers carry the internal title of investment lending managers rather than brokers, a distinction Kuru makes deliberately, because that is genuinely what they are doing. They are property wealth specialists, and their job begins well before a loan application is in sight.

Someone who comes to Freedom arrives with what is described as a blank slate. They are not usually arriving with a specific property they want to buy. They are arriving with a goal – whether financial freedom, a passive income target or a portfolio they want to build over time – and Freedom’s job is to map out what is achievable and construct a plan around it.

That upfront work involves a detailed financial assessment of income, assets, liabilities and purchasing power, not just now but projected forward. Some clients are not ready to purchase immediately, but Freedom maps their unique timelines, stays in contact and is ready when the window opens.

That forward-thinking approach is reinforced by the firm’s sister business, Freedom Property Investors, which sources and presents suitable properties to clients once the financial assessment is complete. The two sides of the model work in tandem, which means a client who comes for lending advice ends up with a full investment plan rather than just a loan.

The specialist focus also produces better outcomes for clients. Education runs through every stage of the process. Kuru believes the time invested up front in explaining clearly what will happen at each milestone makes the entire journey easier for the client and the team alike. Clients who understand their journey ask fewer reactive questions

and are better prepared at each step.

“It’s almost impossible for most people to achieve financial freedom from just one investment property alone,” Kuru says. “So, we need to really prepare and look forward, not just at the property they’re trying to purchase now.”

That longer view creates what he describes as stickier clients – people who come back for their second, third and fourth property and send referrals his way.

Twenty writers are on the books, though the head of investment lending stepped back from active writing early in 2025 to focus on growing the business and workshopping deals for the broader team. The writers themselves are spread across the country, with brokers in Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Adelaide, giving Freedom genuine national reach.

The rate environment of 2026 doesn’t trouble Kuru. He points back to 2022, when the RBA delivered rate rise after rate rise and Freedom went through what he describes as a period of exponential growth.

“We’re not really reliant on positive market conditions to generate success,” he says.

“Property is a long-term game and, over time, we’re going to have rate rises, rate decreases and everything in between. It’s all about weathering that storm and changing your approach depending on what’s happening.”

When the Federal Budget recently shifted policy to encourage new investment properties over existing stock, Kuru’s response was unambiguous. “That’s our space. It’s massively benefiting our territory,” he says. He calls it, with evident satisfaction, the “chef’s kiss”.

InReach Finance – Rank No. 24 Everyone counts here InReach Finance doesn’t enter many awards.

The ones it does enter mean something.

“We really do hold this very, very dear to our heart,” general manager Dean LaFrenais says of being named among the country’s top brokerages by MPA.

That sense of pride is earned. With a team of six writers plus LaFrenais himself, a loan book well into the billions and a 96% conversion rate that sits near the top of the entire 2026 cohort, InReach has built something that most brokerages with far larger teams have not managed to replicate. LaFrenais’ explanation for it is disarmingly simple: “Timing is everything for us.”

What he means by that becomes clear quickly. Much of InReach’s work involves house and land packages, and the firm has a strong relationship with a major Perth builder. When a client comes to them wanting to secure a block of land and build, the settlement timeline can stretch across many months.

Rather than waiting for the client to be ready, InReach uses that time to prepare them. “Our conversion rate is really held up by strong conversations that we have with our clients, and forward mapping regarding when a client’s transactions need to be fulfilled,” LaFrenais says.

The firm maps out the timeline with each client from the beginning, makes sure they understand what is expected of them at every stage, and works steadily to get them into a position where finance is straightforward.

The approach to client selection runs on the same logic, though it might surprise people who assume a high conversion rate reflects a selective intake. LaFrenais’ view is that everyone who wants to buy a house is a potential InReach client, and that everyone in Western Australia with a home loan represents an opportunity.

The conversion rate is not the product of turning away difficult work. It’s the product of patience. “There is no decision to make,” he says. “Everyone is right, but everybody has to be nurtured and coached with regard to what becomes a successful client at InReach.”

The team works on lead times, coaching and nurturing people who are not yet ready to buy, keeping the pipeline healthy and consistent rather than lurching between strong months and quiet ones.

What LaFrenais is most proud of is his team, and he draws a careful distinction

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026

RBA CASH RATE DECISIONS PAIRED AGAINST ACTUAL BROKER SETTLEMENT VOLUMES

BY QUARTER, 2024–26 $160bn

5.50%

$140bn

5.00%

4.50%

$100bn

4.00%

$80bn $60bn

3.50%

$40bn

RBA cash rate (%)

Broker settlements ($bn)

$120bn

3.00%

$20bn $0bn

2.50% Q1 2024

Q2 2024

Q3 2024

Q42024

Q1 2025

Q2 2025

Q3 2025

Q4 2025

Q1 2026

Q2 2026*

Note: This chart pairs RBA cash rate decisions against actual broker settlement volumes by quarter. The Q2 2026 bar is left empty as settlements data for that period is not yet available, and the cash rate point reflects the 5 May hike to 4.35%, marked with an asterisk to signal the data is partial.

between using the word ‘family’ and meaning it. Many businesses claim the label. At InReach, it carries a specific operational meaning.

“We will sit down and we’ll work through issues together and fix them for the greater good,” he says. The culture is deliberately flat.

From the newest administration person to the most senior broker, everyone is treated with the same level of respect and recognised for their contribution.

Problems are not escalated to LaFrenais alone. His senior administration person works through issues alongside the brokers. Writers are involved in thinking through industry changes and planning for what comes next.

When the state and federal budgets recently introduced changes that affected the lending space, the whole team was part of working out what those changes meant for the business.

“The broader industry could probably take a lot away from how we interact with each other and how we actually work collaboratively to win in this marketplace,” LaFrenais says.

The next phase of InReach is taking the business somewhere it hasn’t been before.

Over the past six to eight months, it has invested in social media, engaging specialists to help produce content and reaching

40

the 2023 and 2024 rankings. That increased to seven in 2025. In 2026, the figure jumped to 16.

The increase materially changes the scale profile of the market’s upper tier. The recovery cycle following the 2024 contraction did not produce evenly distributed growth across the cohort. Volume concentrated heavily among firms already operating with substantial processing capacity, established referral channels and mature internal systems.

The result is a market where the largest brokerages are widening the gap faster than the rest of the field can close it. The upper tier is separating by operating scale.

new groups of potential clients.

LaFrenais is particularly drawn to the first home buyer segment, not just as a market opportunity but because the educational component of what InReach does translates naturally to people at the beginning of their property journey. He understands what that journey feels like right now, from navigating the maze of government schemes and trying to save a deposit in a market that keeps moving to trying to understand what is actually possible and when.

“The education piece and preparing people for what lies ahead really resonates with this business,” he says. The social media push is as much about showing the people behind the leading brokerage as it is about generating leads.

MPA’s data across 2023–26 and what it says about the market The $1 billion settlement tier has expanded rapidly For most of this four-year period, billiondollar settlement volume remained relatively rare within the Top 50 cohort. Fewer than six brokerages crossed the threshold in both

Settlement growth has accelerated, but stratification inside the cohort remains intact Average settlements per brokerage moved from $538 million in the 2023 cohort to $478 million in 2024 before recovering to $606 million in 2025 and reaching $823 million in 2026.

That growth becomes more revealing when the cohort is broken into quartiles.

The top quartile average increased from $1.08 billion to $1.68 billion across the four years. The bottom quartile rose from $194 million to $292 million. The spread between the top and bottom groups remained roughly five to six times throughout the series.

That consistency is key. The market has grown substantially in dollar terms, but the structural distance between elite brokerages and smaller Top 50 firms has remained largely unchanged. Scale expansion lifted the entire cohort upward while preserving the same competitive separation between high-throughput operators and the rest of the market.

Productivity per writer is increasing faster than brokerage expansion Brokerage size has grown steadily across the ranking, but output per adviser has increased at a much faster rate.

Average writer numbers moved from 12.4 per brokerage in the 2024 cohort to 15.1 in

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2026. Settlement volume per writer increased from $44.5 million to $64.4 million over the same period. The figures point to a market becoming denser operationally rather than merely larger organisationally.

Top-performing firms are processing materially more volume through each adviser, which reflects improvements in file progression, support structures, lender coordination, CRM usage and workflow management. The strongest brokerages are increasing throughput without relying solely on proportional headcount growth.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as settlement volumes rise across the market.

The 2024 contraction reset competitive positioning across the cohort The decline between the 2023 and 2024 cohorts remains one of the defining moments in the four-year dataset.

Average settlements fell 11% year-on-year during the most aggressive phase of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s tightening cycle. Borrowing demand weakened, refinance activity slowed, and approval timelines lengthened across the market.

The contraction year effectively reset competitive positioning across the cohort.

Firms that preserved throughput, conversion performance and client retention through 2024 entered the recovery cycle with materially greater capacity to absorb renewed lending demand.

That context explains why settlement growth has accelerated so sharply in 2026. The rebound has not emerged uniformly across the market. It has concentrated among brokerages that had already strengthened internal operating capacity during the contraction period.

Loan books continue to expand, though scale changes the growth equation The combined loan book across the Top 50 increased from $66.2 billion in 2023 to $102.1 billion in 2026, representing growth of 54.3%.

Average loan book size per brokerage rose from $1.32 billion to $2.04 billion across the

same period. Compared with settlements, loan book expansion remained more stable year to year, reflecting the cumulative nature of trail income and existing client retention.

However, the pace of growth has moderated.

Annual loan book growth slowed from roughly 19% in 2024 and 2025 to 8.4% in 2026.

That slowdown illustrates the scale effect now emerging across the upper end of the market. Once brokerages reach multibilliondollar loan books, maintaining the same percentage growth requires substantially larger settlement volumes each year simply to maintain position within the cohort.

Conversion rates have stabilised, but sustaining elite performance has become harder Average conversion across the cohort declined from 84.6% in 2023 to approximately 80% through 2024 and 2025 before recovering to 82.8% in 2026.

The distribution inside the cohort reveals the more important movement.

In 2023, 21 brokerages reported conversion rates above 90%. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 14 and remained there in 2026.

The proportion of firms converting below 80% has also stabilised after worsening during the tightening cycle.

The figures suggest borrower demand recovered faster than conversion efficiency.

Even in a lower-rate environment, sustaining very high conversion rates has become more difficult as lending structures grow more complex, assessment periods extend and borrower decision cycles lengthen.

The threshold required to enter the Top 50 has risen sharply The median settlement volume required to enter the Top 50 moved from $417.9 million in 2023 to $644.8 million in 2026.

The temporary decline to $361.1 million in 2024 reflected the contraction year rather than any lasting easing in competitive intensity. By 2026, the threshold had risen so substantially that a brokerage settling $400 million annually would not have qualified for the ranking.

METHODOLOGY To find the Top Brokerages of 2026, MPA invited Australian brokerages to submit their figures for the period 1 January to 31 December 2025. The online form also asked for details such as the number of active brokers working at each brokerage as well as its total loan book value and conversion rate.

To be eligible, brokerages needed to have five or more loan writers in a single office headquartered in Australia. Aggregator information was also provided by applicants, and their aggregators were then required to verify the details submitted.

The final ranking was weighted across three areas: total loan book size, total settlements in the specified 12-month period and conversion rate.

Each brokerage was ranked in each of these areas, and the ranks were then combined to produce a final tally.

MPA’s Top Brokerages 2026 report is proudly sponsored by Bankwest.

The change captures how quickly expectations have moved across the upper end of the broker market. Growth across the leading firms has materially increased the volume required simply to remain competitive within the Top 50 cohort.

Record volumes, reversing conditions: Inside the market that shapes Australia’s top brokerages The rate cycle that built the ranking The numbers behind this year’s Top Brokerages report were built in one of the most unusual rate environments Australian mortgage brokers have navigated in years. Three RBA cuts through 2025 took the cash rate from 4.35% down to 3.60%, releasing pent-up borrower demand and driving settlement volumes to levels that now define this ranking.

Then, before the ink dried on those results, the RBA reversed course, hiking in February,

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026

QUARTERLY BROKER MARKET SHARE, 2023–25 80%

Market share (%)

78%

76%

74%

72%

70%

68%

Dec 2023

Mar 2024

Jun 2024

Sep 2024

Dec 2024

Mar 2025

Jun 2025

Sep 2025

Dec 2025

Note: This chart uses nine quarterly data points from December 2023 through December 2025, sourced from MFAA Quarterly Market Share reports compiled by Cotality

March and again in May 2026, returning the cash rate to 4.35%. The brokerages ranked here won in a tailwind. The market they now operate in is materially tighter.

Pannek says the changing environment is reinforcing the broker channel’s role rather than weakening it. “Borrowers are increasingly seeking out brokers because they value choice, expert guidance and the support they receive.

We see this happening, regardless of where we are in the economic cycle.”

Three quarters above 76%: how broker market share became structural That tailwind was substantial. Mortgage brokers facilitated 76.7% of all new residential home loans in the December 2025 quarter, the highest December market share on record since the MFAA began tracking quarterly data in 2013. In value terms, brokers settled $142.2 billion in new home loans over that quarter alone, up 23.6% on the same period in 2024.

The channel’s dominance peaked at 77.6% in June 2025 before easing slightly through the second half of the year, but the trajectory across the full measurement period is unambiguous: borrowers continued to move toward brokers

42

as product complexity grew and lender appetite shifted.

Pannek argues that complexity is becoming one of the channel’s strongest structural advantages. “As the market becomes more complex, the broker proposition becomes more relevant, not less.”

Rising loan sizes and what they mean for the numbers Rising property values amplified every settlement figure in this report. The national median dwelling value reached $922,838 by late February 2026, up 9.9% year-on-year. Average owner-occupier mortgage size hit $735,000 in March 2026, a $75,000 increase on the same month in 2025. That appreciation inflated loan book values and lifted settlement dollar volumes across the board, which means the headline figures in this ranking reflect not just volume growth but a structurally more expensive market.

A $6.2 billion industry running behind its own market Mortgage brokerage revenue reached $6.2 billion in 2026 after growing at a CAGR of

10.6% between 2020 and 2025. That growth, however, has been running behind the broader mortgage market, which expanded at a CAGR of 14.1% over a comparable period.

The gap matters. Brokerages are writing more and larger loans, but revenue capture has not kept pace with underlying market expansion. Margin discipline, conversion efficiency and operating scale are becoming increasingly important as cost structures rise.

Many leading brokerages are responding by moving away from transactional operating models. Pannek says, “Standout brokerages are moving from a transaction model to a lifetime client relationship model. They are staying connected with clients well beyond settlement and creating clear, structured touchpoints across the life of the loan.”

The pipeline tightens: what 2026 is already signalling Conversion is becoming a more important performance metric as the lending cycle tightens again.

The ABS Lending Indicators for the March 2026 quarter, released on 13 May, showed the value of total new home loan commitments fell 3.8% in the quarter to $103 billion, the first meaningful pullback after strong 2025 growth.

New investor loan commitments fell 5.3% over the same period.

The rate environment that produced last year’s settlement surge is already placing new constraints on this year’s pipeline.

Pannek says leading brokerages are adapting by spending more time earlier in the process. “They are spending more time with clients upfront, testing scenarios, explaining borrowing capacity and helping borrowers understand what is in their best interests.”

Fraud, documentation and the compliance reckoning The 2025 operating environment delivered record volumes and a compliance challenge that moved from industry conversation to mainstream scrutiny simultaneously.

A multibillion-dollar mortgage fraud investigation, centred on falsified documen-

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tation passed through referrer and introducer networks, drew calls from the FBAA to dismantle bank introducer programs entirely and prompted aggregators to demand better data-sharing mechanisms with lenders.

The concerns focus on money laundering, specifically the criminals using AI-generated false income and employment documentation to obtain loans. And while broker involvement appears limited, the episode accelerated documentation and verification requirements across the channel.

For leading brokerages, the implications extend beyond compliance administration. The issue is now shaping technology policy, internal governance and lender trust.

The FBAA’s James is direct about what that looks like in practice. “Top brokerages will understand that if they’re going to use AI, they need to do it in a way that’s in line with the Essential Eight framework,” she says. “They need to have a very clear policy on what AI they use, why they’ve chosen that for their business, understanding the security aspects of where the data goes.”

The Essential Eight is the Australian Signals Directorate’s baseline cybersecurity mitigation framework, and James’s point is that for brokerages now handling AI-assisted workflows alongside heightened documentation scrutiny, operating without a clear internal AI governance policy is itself a risk position.

The practical implication is significant.

Brokerages that have spent the last two years adopting automation tools to compress approval timelines and reduce manual file handling now need to account for where that data flows, who can access it and whether their systems meet the security standards that lenders and regulators are beginning to expect.

“It’s very important that while AI is going to bring incredible efficiencies, top brokerages are going to be very clear on which programs they use and why, and which ones they don’t and why, and how to do so in a way that makes sure their businesses are safe.”

For MPA’s best mortgage brokerages, stronger pre-submission documentation controls and internal AI governance are no

longer optional disciplines. In a year when fraudulent documentation was sophisticated enough to pass through aggregator verification systems, they are a competitive signal and, increasingly, a prerequisite for the lender relationships that underpin performance at scale.

Industry expert Q&A section Joanna James Chief Development Officer, FBAA

Beyond technology, how would you characterise genuinely top-notch client service for a leading brokerage in 2026?

Service is really a form of communication. It is about having clear and valuable communication with your clients, understanding the opportunities for them maybe one step ahead of when they know they need it, and being able to be proactive rather than reactive with your client base.

It is also about offering a whole-of-loan experience. Whether that is helping clients with their car loan, their self-managed super or restructuring their business cash flow so the business can expand, the top brokerages will be proactive with solutions and will be seen as trusted firms that consumers can go to about a variety of needs. That might also mean referring clients on to people who can help with insurance and other products, making sure their whole financial picture is sound.

The broker is not the only one in the equation. They are one of a group of people coming together to support the consumer.

So, it is about building a complete ecosystem around the client rather than just writing the loan?

Exactly. And it requires brokerages to profile their book, understand their client base and what those clients actually need, and communicate proactively. The best firms are not waiting for the phone to ring or for the next deal to come in. They are actively making sure their clients are looked after.

Looking two to three years ahead, what are the most critical strategic decisions brokerages need to get right now?

They need to be prepared for what could potentially be a period of disruption and change, and they need to ensure their business has both depth and breadth so it can flex in volatile market conditions.

What they will need is to be flexible, adaptable and robust, with multiple avenues of income, different types of lending, different types of products, different types of clientele.

That way the business has the ability to transition through what may be challenging times.

Anja Pannek CEO, MFAA

In 2026, what truly distinguishes a top Australian brokerage?

The best brokerages are genuinely committed to their clients, helping them make better financial decisions in an environment that remains complex, competitive and highly consequential. They understand that borrowers, both consumers and businesses, are looking for guidance, clarity and confidence, particularly when interest rates, affordability, refinancing decisions, property choices and business growth are all under pressure.

What also distinguishes a leading brokerage is the way it invests in people, systems and culture. These businesses do the right thing when no one is watching. They have strong governance, clear processes, high compliance standards and a commitment to ongoing education for their teams. They think beyond the immediate deal and are focused on building businesses that are sustainable, professional and resilient.

Top brokerages also make a broader contribution to our industry and their communities. They support new talent, lift standards, advocate for better client outcomes and recognise that together, as an industry, we make a difference to competition, choice and access to credit for Australians.

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026

“Our conversion rate is really held up by strong conversations that we have with our clients, and forward mapping regarding when a client’s transactions need to be fulfilled” Dean LaFrenais, InReach Finance How are leading brokerages navigating today’s lending conditions, and where do you see the biggest risks and opportunities for growth?

The current environment continues to place pressure on affordability, serviceability and household and business cash flow. That means the role of the broker has never been more important.

Leading brokerages are navigating current lending conditions by being proactive, structured and client focused. They are spending more time with clients up front, testing scenarios, explaining borrowing capacity clearly and helping borrowers understand what is in their best interests.

We still see significant growth opportunity in the current market.

I feel the biggest risk is believing what has worked in the past will continue to serve you and your business going forward. The lending market is dynamic, so continue to be curious about what changes you can implement in your business. Don’t be afraid to try new tools and methods and, if something doesn’t work, adapt again. It is also important to stay focused on the foundations of your business. Compliance, cyber resilience, data security and business continuity all need to be taken seriously.

Where are you seeing technology and AI deliver genuine, measurable benefits for brokerages right now, and where do you think the industry is overestimating their impact?

Technology and AI are already delivering measurable benefits where they remove fric-

44

tion, improve consistency and free brokers to spend more time on higher-value client conversations.

Used well, technology can help brokerages improve speed, reduce rework, strengthen record-keeping and deliver a more consistent client experience. It can also support better business intelligence, helping business owners understand pipeline quality, conversion rates, referral sources, client retention and team productivity.

However, we all need to be careful not to overestimate what technology cannot replace. AI will not replace trust, empathy, professional judgement or accountability. It cannot understand a client’s full context in the way an experienced broker can, nor can it take responsibility for the quality of the client outcome.

The risk is thinking AI is a strategy in itself. It is not. It is a tool. The greatest value will come from brokerages that use technology to augment capability, not substitute for it.

The strategic question for brokerage principals is: Where can technology improve the client experience, reduce operational risk and make the business more scalable without weakening the human relationship that sits at the heart of broking?

Australia’s top mortgage brokerages face a more competitive era The strongest brokerages in this MPA’s 2026 ranking were not necessarily the firms chasing the fastest expansion. They were the firms that treated operational capability as a long-term

commercial asset while much of the market was still focused on short-term volume.

The rate cuts of 2025 accelerated activity, but they also exposed which businesses had already invested in workflow structure, lender access, support capacity and client retention before conditions improved. That distinction matters now because the market has already tightened again. The brokerages that continue gaining ground through the next cycle are likely to be the ones built to absorb volatility rather than depend on favourable conditions.

Another pattern emerging from the data is the increasing separation between scale and sustainability. Larger settlements no longer guarantee stronger economics on their own.

Rising loan sizes, higher compliance expectations, longer assessment periods and growing technology costs are reshaping what profitable growth actually looks like inside a brokerage.

The firms performing best are extracting more productivity from each adviser, building repeat business more systematically and treating governance, cybersecurity and data management as commercial infrastructure rather than administrative obligations. In practical terms, broking is becoming a more operationally intensive business even as volumes rise.

The broader implication for the industry is that Australian broking is entering a more mature phase of competition. Borrowers are relying more heavily on brokers in a market that has become harder to interpret, while lenders are demanding stronger controls, faster processing and more reliable documentation standards from the channel itself.

INSIGHTS As part of our editorial process, MPA’s researchers interviewed the subject matter experts below for an independent analysis of this report and its findings.

Joanna James Chief Development Officer, FBAA Anja Pannek Chief Executive Officer, MFAA

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BROKERAGES 2026 1

Simplicity Loans & Advisory Infinity Group Finance

2

Phone: 0418423224 Email: alex.hyndman-hill@infinity.com.au Website: infinity.com.au

3

The Australian Lending & Investment Centre

InReach Finance 24 Tie

24 Tie

Phone: 08 6241 4895 Email: info@inreachfinance.com.au Website: inreachfinance.com.au Core Finance Co.

4

AUSUN Finance

26

Inovayt

5

XIN Mortgage

27

Westgate Financial Services

Green Finance Group

28

Loan Market Double Bay

29

Transact Finance/TAG Finance

Tie

5 Tie

7

Shore Financial Rethink Financing

8

9 Tie

Phone: 02 9821 3483 Email: enquiries@rethinkfinancing.com.au Website: rethinkfinancing.com.au Tiffen & Co

Tie

29 Tie

29 Tie

32 Tie

32 Tie

9 Tie

Madd Loans

32 Tie

Original Wealth Aussie Ipswich Group Surrey Road Finance Unconditional Finance The Loan Company

11

Strategic Brokers

35

Podium Money

12

UFinancial

36

Aussie Prospect

37

Absolut Financial

Freedom Investment Lending

Tie

13

Phone: 1 300 375 745 Email: contactus@freedominvestmentlending.com.au Website: freedominvestmentlending.com.au

14

Loan Gallery Finance

15

Home Loan Experts

Tie

15 Tie

MortgageWorks

18

Ironbark Lending

19

Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors

20

Top One Finance Focus Finance

21

21 Tie

23

Aussie Belmont Group

39

Spotter Finance

40

Advanced Finance t/a Better Choice Mortgage Services

41

Loan Market Ignite

42

Berti Financial Group

43

Loan Market Razor

44

AXTON Finance

45

Money Links

Azura Financial

17

Tie

37 Tie

Tie

45 Tie

A4 Finance Group

Phone: 1800 223 345 Email: admin@focus-finance.com.au Website: focus-finance.com.au

47

Infinitive Finance Solutions

48

Aussie Stones Corner

Masters Broker Group

49

Loan Market Canberra

Aussie Gawler Group

50

Aussie Bundaberg Group

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

TOP BROKERAGES 2026

SIMPLICITY LOANS & ADVISORY

S

implicity Loans & Advisory has made its name handling a wide range of deals, from $1 million to upwards of $200 million. The Sydney-based commercial finance brokerage specialises in midmarket commercial lending and complex property development finance across construction, mining, industrial, retail and medical. This high-value, complex work has earned it a place among MPA’s Top Brokerages for 2026.

For managing director Jean-Pierre Gortan, what sets the firm apart is an obsession with the intersection of finance and technology. “While a lot of the industry is still doing things the old-school way, we’re constantly looking at how AI, automation and our proprietary platforms can take care of the heavy lifting,” he explains.

At the centre of that approach is Marketplace Finance, a proprietary platform that connects residential brokers with Simplicity’s commercial specialists and creates a steady pipeline of referrals from advisers who need trusted commercial expertise.

The technology has been a deliberate strategic bet rather than an add-on.

Gortan describes the firm’s most important initiative in recent years as scaling operations through tech without losing its boutique touch. Automating the admin and mundane parts of the loan process frees brokers to manage much larger and more intricate portfolios.

“It’s allowed us to handle high-volume, complex transactions seamlessly while keeping our service highly personalised.”

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Phone: 1300 022 022 Email: enquiries@simplicity.net.au Website: simplicity.net.au

“While a lot of the industry is still doing things the old-school way, we’re constantly looking at how AI, automation and our proprietary platforms can take care of the heavy lifting” Jean-Pierre Gortan, Simplicity Loans & Advisory

The payoff is a team that thinks of itself less as loan writers and more as strategic advisers, structuring bespoke funding solutions where others see only roadblocks.

Clients can expect “absolute transparency, deep technical know-how and getting the job done without the fuss,” Gortan says.

Referral partners, meanwhile, are treated as an extension of their team.

Communication follows the same advisory logic. Rather than acting as a one-off broker, Simplicity positions itself as a long-term partner that anticipates a client’s next project or refinancing need before it is raised. The policy is to be on the front foot and deliver news – good or bad – early, always arriving with a solution attached.

None of this works without the right culture, and Gortan is clear about where it starts. He and fellow managing director, Matthew Johnson, lead Simplicity alongside an executive team that has built an environment where innovation is expected, not just talked about. It’s also where new brokers cut

their teeth on live, complex transactions rather than learning from a script.

The firm’s next chapter is its biggest yet. In February 2026, REA Group agreed to acquire an initial 70% stake in Simplicity. Gortan sees a strong cultural fit as well as the deal giving Simplicity access to REA’s scale, reach and tech, while the firm continues under its own brand.

The ambition from here is to accelerate Simplicity’s national footprint and cement its standing as one of Australia’s most trusted commercial brokers.

$9.56bn

Total loan book value (all loan types)

$2.91bn

Total value of settlements (all loan types) from 1 January to 31 December 2025

93%

Conversion rate of loans settled or written

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Bankwest’s Grant Roden (centre) presents the Top Brokerage 2026 award to Simplicity Loans & Advisory’s Matthew Johnson (second from right, front row)

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18/06/2026 8:46:17 am

Into people.

Not just transactions.

Property finance solutions exclusively for brokers We offer innovative lending solutions to help brokers achieve the very best outcomes for their clients and their business, every time.

Contact the team

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43-55_Brokers on Aggregators_SUBBED.indd 48

Think Tank Group Pty Ltd | ABN 75 117 819 084 | Australian Credit Licence 564080, Authorised Representative (No. 339395) of Thinktank Nominees Pty Ltd ACN 133 763 452 AFSL 33316

17/06/2026 11:31:58 am

2026

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS MPA reveals Australia’s top-ranked aggregators for 2026, as voted by more than 720 experienced brokers across 11 service categories in the industry’s long-running annual survey, from commissions to technology and lending panel quality

THERE IS a version of loyalty in the mortgage broking channel that looks, from the outside, a lot like contentment. Three quarters of brokers say they are extremely unlikely to switch aggregators. The same three services have topped the priority list for five consecutive years. Satisfaction with the fundamentals remains solid. On paper, the aggregator model has never been more entrenched.

But look at where the numbers have moved.

Brokers’ reluctance to switch aggregators has fallen from 81% in 2023 to 74.75% in 2026, and the brokers crossing into ambivalence are not new entrants still finding their footing. They are experienced operators.

Most have been in the industry for over a decade. Nearly one in three settles more than $40 million annually. When brokers at that level start hedging, the question worth asking is not whether they are about to leave. It’s what they are no longer certain about.

The answer, repeated across thousands of

responses in MPA’s 16th annual Brokers on Aggregators survey, is this: the aggregator model was built to process loans; broker businesses have evolved to advise, retain and grow client portfolios.

“Most aggregators are still built around a transactional model,” said brokers from Victoria, NSW and Queensland. “Modern broker businesses are increasingly relationshipdriven, advice-led and portfolio-focused. The real value sits in client retention, ongoing reviews and strategic structuring, not just settling a loan.”

The data makes the pressure points precise.

When asked what would make them leave, 60% of brokers nominated poor commission accuracy, 54% poor IT and CRM support and 51% poor BDM support. All three have held those positions since 2023.

Mathew Rehayem, head of white label and strategic partnerships at non-bank lender Pepper Money ANZ, puts the commercial

consequence in no uncertain terms. “It’s no longer about scale alone. It’s about relevance, speed and helping brokers win more deals in an increasingly competitive market. Aggregators are becoming a genuine growth engine, backing brokers with real capability, stronger support and partnerships that help brokers grow, rather than simply providing access to lenders.”

One broker frames what comes next: “The next wave of growth will come from better tools, better data and better client-facing experiences.”

The aggregators recognised in this report are the ones already delivering that. MFAA data shows brokers facilitated 81% of all new residential home loans in the March 2026 quarter, driving $124.88 billion in settlements, up 25.7% year-on-year. The channel’s ambitions run higher still. Rankings are based on broker scores across 11 service categories, each rated out of five, with a minimum 10% network response rate required for inclusion.

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

TYPICAL RESPONDENT

Gender Female

26.74%

Male

72.84%

Aged between 36 and 45

Resides in NSW (34%), Vic (31%) or Qld (15%)

METHODOLOGY

Years in the industry Less than 2 2 to 5 6 to 10 10 to 20 Over 20

11% 17% 16% 25% 31%

22.4% Non-binary Prefer not to say

$60m+ 16%

In MPA’s 16th annual Brokers on Aggregators survey, brokers were asked to rank their aggregators across 11 categories: accurate and on-time commission payments; IT and CRM support; quality of lending panel; communication with brokers; BDM support; compliance support; training and education; additional income streams; marketing support; white label offering; and lead generation.

Brokers could rank their aggregator with a score out of five in each category.

Due to the varying sizes of aggregator groups and disparities in the number of respondents, only those that achieved a response rate of at least 10% from their broker network were included in the final list.

MPA also asked brokers an additional question about their aggregator’s service and support, which did not impact the overall score.

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0.14% 0.28%

$40,000,001–$60m

13%

Annual settlement volume 22%

25%

$0–$10m

24% $10,000,001–$20m

$20,000,001–$40m

What services are most important to brokers?

Accurate and on-time commission payments Quality of lending panel IT and CRM support Compliance support BDM support Communication with brokers Training and education Additional income streams Marketing support White label offering Lead generation

Importance rating (out of 5)

Rank

4.784 4.657 4.630 4.580 4.484 4.415 4.324 3.924 3.491 3.460 3.041

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

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BROKERS’ TOP PRIORITIES Brokers tightened the brief on commissions, lending panel and technology in 2026, and the aggregators that delivered are breaking from the field

THE RANKINGS of what brokers value most look unchanged. The scores underneath them are not. Commission accuracy has fallen from 4.811 in 2023 to 4.784 in 2026. Lending panel has dropped from 4.689 to 4.657 and IT and CRM from 4.668 to 4.630. The order hasn’t shifted. The grading has grown harder.

The bottom of the table tells the same story in reverse. Lead generation sits at 3.041 in 2026, down from 3.093 in 2023. White label has fallen to 3.460 from 3.596. Marketing support is at 3.491, down from 3.727. The gap between top and bottom has widened. Brokers are raising the bar where it counts and grading everything else accordingly.

The aggregators earning the highest marks understand what that means in practice.

Justine Harris, Nectar Mortgages head licensee and finance specialist in Kellyville, NSW, describes what best-in-class commission support actually looks like.

For a high-performing brokerage, accurate and timely commission processing impacts staffing decisions, cash flow management, confidence in reporting, business planning and even customer service.

“The best aggregator relationships are the ones where brokers don’t have to think about commissions because the systems and support behind the scenes are reliable and transparent,” says Harris.

Gippsland Finance Solutions director Jaime Savory, who settles approximately 1,200 loans annually, keeps one member of her 20-strong team dedicated solely to tracking commis-

“Rated highest by brokers, the commissions category sees a photo finish: gold, silver and bronze separated by less than a tenth of a point” sions. “If I don’t get my commission payments on time, I can’t pay wages,” she says.

When asked what would make them leave their aggregator, 60% of brokers nominated poor commission accuracy, 54% poor IT and CRM support and 51% poor BDM support. All three have held those positions since 2023.

Beyond the structured responses, openended broker comments pointed to cost as the dominant theme, specifically fees rising without corresponding service improvement.

Autonomy surfaced across multiple responses, with brokers citing restrictions on how they interact with clients and, in some cases, tension between aggregator commercial interests and broker independence.

Overall fee and commission split satisfaction remains broadly positive, with 66.43% of brokers reporting they are very happy and 4.37% not happy. For many, the flat-fee model is the reason.

Lending panel quality held second place for the fourth consecutive year at 4.657.

Harris measures panel strength by coverage across customer types, policy niches and servicing models. “The stronger the panel, the more confidence a broker has in solving complexity.”

Savory reinforces the point from a volume perspective. Five or six years ago, smaller lenders barely registered. Not any more.

“Nowadays you need a variety of lenders that you can offer different solutions for different clients.”

The most common broker request was for more non-bank and niche lenders for selfemployed, alt-doc and complex scenarios.

IT and CRM support ranks third at 4.630.

Brokers rating their aggregators highest on technology keep coming back to the same thing: the system saves time and stays out of the way.

National Mortgage Brokers took gold for commission accuracy, AFG silver and outsource Financial bronze, separated by less than a tenth of a point. outsource Financial led IT and CRM support, ahead of AFG and Connective. Loan Market led lending panel quality, with outsource Financial taking silver and AFG bronze.

Among boutique aggregators, MoneyQuest led all three top-ranked categories. Liberty Network Services took silver for commission accuracy and IT and CRM, and bronze for lending panel. Purple Circle took silver for lending panel, and bronze for commissions and IT and CRM.

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH YOUR AGGREGATOR’S FEE/COMMISSION SPLIT?

HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO CHANGE AGGREGATORS IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS? Extremely likely

Not happy

4%

Somewhat likely

3%

Neither likely nor unlikely

29%

Very happy

67%

Extremely unlikely 74%

9%

Somewhat unlikely Somewhat happy

5%

9%

TOP 5 REASONS TO LEAVE YOUR AGGREGATOR Poor accuracy and timeliness of commission payments

60% Poor IT and CRM support

54% Poor BDM support

51% Poor compliance support

42% Poor quality of lending panel

40% Note: Respondents 11%could select more than one criterion. Percentages reflect the share of total survey respondents who selected each option and will therefore exceed 100% in aggregate.

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HIGHLIGHTS: MONEY AND IT SUPPORT

ACCURATE AND ON-TIME COMMISSION PAYMENTS Aggregators

Boutique aggregators

National AFG (Australian Mortgage Brokers Finance Group)

outsource Financial

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

ADDITIONAL INCOME STREAMS Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

National Mortgage Brokers

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

IT AND CRM SUPPORT Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

Connective

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

HIGHLIGHTS: LENDING PANEL AND SUPPORT

QUALITY OF LENDING PANEL Aggregators

Loan Market

Boutique aggregators

outsource Financial

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

MoneyQuest

Purple Circle Financial Services

Liberty Network Services

COMPLIANCE SUPPORT Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

National Mortgage Brokers

Loan Market

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

WHITE LABEL OFFERING Aggregators

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

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Boutique aggregators

Connective

Finsure

MoneyQuest

Purple Circle Financial Services

Liberty Network Services

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WISH LISTS AND FRUSTRATIONS From clawbacks to AI and rising fees, brokers spell out exactly what they need aggregators to do next BROKER FRUSTRATION comes into sharp focus in the 2026 survey feedback. The themes that surface most consistently are not about aggregators failing at their core functions. They are about aggregators not evolving fast enough beyond those functions.

Pepper Money ANZ’s Rehayem says brokers don’t need more process. They need lenders and aggregators who help them say yes to more customers.

“Real partnership comes from working closely with brokers to co-create solutions, from policy settings through to technology enhancements, based on what’s happening in market,” he explains. “Ultimately, innovation should deliver real outcomes for brokers and clients alike, including faster decisions, smarter matching and fewer dead ends throughout the application process.”

Technology is where the gap is most visible Nectar Mortgages’ Harris identifies technology as the point where aggregator performance most clearly diverges. The highestperforming aggregators don’t have the longest feature list. They are the ones where technology works reliably, integrates well into workflow and creates efficiency gains across customer communication, compliance, lead tracking and post-settlement engagement.

“When systems are clunky or disconnected, brokers end up duplicating work, manually tracking information or relying on worka-

ARE HIDDEN COSTS IMPOSED BY YOUR AGGREGATOR A PROBLEM? A major problem

5%

19%

76%

A minor problem

Not a problem

round processes,” Harris says. “That becomes a major scalability issue.” Brokers increasingly value aggregators willing to evolve their technology ecosystem over time rather than treating CRM as a static platform.

Brokers’ wish list items make the same point in operational terms: AI integrated into CRM workflows, better automation of compliance and fact-finding, and seamless connectivity between lodgement platforms and lender policy tools.

“An AI admin assistant that can create all the documents, handle compliance, get emails ready, [do] more of the heavy lifting with all the back end prior to lodging of

the application” was one broker’s wish.

Another described a specific proactive tool: “An automated, AI-driven equity tracking and repricing alert system would shift the broker from a transactional role to a proactive adviser, protecting their trail book from churn.”

A third asked for something simpler but equally telling: “A post-settlement portal that provides clients’ loan details, current rate, fixed rate expiry, original LVR. This would help provide ongoing service and new deal opportunities.”

Rehayem names the underlying problem.

“The biggest gap is often between access and execution,” he says. “Brokers have more lender options than ever before, but what they really need is speed, clarity and confidence in knowing where and how a deal can get done.”

Fees are rising. Perceived value is not keeping pace Hidden costs register as a major problem for 4.65% of brokers and a minor problem for 18.76%. Brokers’ frustration is about the direction in which some fees are going.

“Less fees. They are charging a lot but also cutting service with the use of AI, which should make it more affordable or provide better service. It doesn’t feel like that,” one broker said.

Another was more precise: “The services offered are fine. It’s the cost imposed by the aggregator for those services, many of which we don’t use.” A third described a creeping

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

The services brokers are building towards

pattern: “They are giving us back services that were already included in our fee instead of changing the parameters and charging for a service that was originally free.”

The clawback issue continues to generate sharp responses. “They could be much more active in getting changes to clawback,” one broker said. The sense across multiple responses is that aggregators have the industry relationships to push harder on clawbacks but have not done so with sufficient urgency.

Lead generation remains the lowest-rated service at 3.041. “Lead generation is timeconsuming, and the aggregator could create a pretty good funnel on scale for a shared fee,” one broker said. Another described it as the single biggest hurdle in their business.

Commercial and diversification support surfaced as a gap for brokers who have moved beyond residential. One said, “I need specialists

The referral opportunity sitting in plain sight

TOP 6 AGGREGATORS BROKERS WOULD PICK IF THEY HAD TO CHANGE TOMORROW Connective

14%

LMG (incl. Plan, Choice, Fast)

12%

Finsure

11%

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

9%

Loan Market

9%

Specialist Finance Group

4%

MAIN OBSTACLES TO LEAVING AN AGGREGATOR 57%

Lender reaccreditation 48%

Data migration/IT issues 36%

Clawbacks/trail issues Lack of time

31% 15%

Contractual obligations Upfront commission issues

13%

Licensing issues

9%

Loss of back-office services

6%

Loss of marketing services Other (please specify)

5% 10%

Note: Respondents could select more than one criterion. Percentages reflect the share of total survey respondents who selected each option and will therefore exceed 100% in aggregate.

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in commercial and agri lending. I receive no support due to what my business does.”

Professional development satisfaction is broadly strong at 88.70%, but exit planning is a notable gap. “I find with all industry organisations they focus a lot on new broker education but not a lot on brokers looking to exit in the next five years. It would be nice to have more training on how to increase the value of your trail in preparation for sale.”

Gippsland Finance Solutions’ Savory identifies a gap that no one in the industry appears to have yet closed. Every home loan and refinance requires an insurance certificate.

Brokers hold the client relationship at exactly the moment insurance decisions are made.

“You’ve got a first home buyer who you’ve held the hand of the whole way. And now we say, ‘Go and find your insurance. Good luck’.”

Savory would like to see aggregators move into that space, giving brokers an insurance referral pathway within the same group.

“Every home loan, every refinance, everything we do we need to provide an insurance certificate for, but we don’t have anyone that can help us do it. For me, that is the biggest gap,” said one broker.

The 2026 rankings reflect what happens when an aggregator treats broker needs as a brief, not a complaint.

Among aggregators with more than 600 brokers, outsource Financial delivered a dominant overall performance, claiming gold and leading eight of 11 service categories. The result ends Loan Market’s reign at the top of the 600-plus rankings. AFG took silver overall with gold in one category, four silvers and five bronzes, the most consistent podium presence in the tier. Connective secured bronze overall.

In the boutique category, overall gold medallist MoneyQuest swept all 11 service categories for the second consecutive year, a clean sheet no aggregator in either tier

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matched. Purple Circle Financial Services, which held overall gold in 2025, took silver.

Liberty Network Services claimed bronze, finishing second across seven categories, including commissions, additional income streams, BDM support, compliance, IT and CRM, lead generation and marketing.

The aggregators brokers trust most have mastered the fundamentals. Getting the basics right is the price of entry. What brokers are asking for now is something harder to deliver and easier to ignore.

HAS YOUR AGGREGATOR DONE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING DIVERSIFYING INTO COMMERCIAL LENDING?

NO

YES 89%

11%

HIGHLIGHTS: LEAD GENERATION AND MARKETING

LEAD GENERATION Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

AFG (Australian National Finance Group) Mortgage Brokers

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

MARKETING SUPPORT Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

National Mortgage Brokers

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

HIGHLIGHTS: COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAINING

COMMUNICATION WITH BROKERS Aggregators

Boutique aggregators

National Mortgage Brokers

outsource Financial

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

MoneyQuest

Purple Circle Financial Services

Liberty Network Services

BDM SUPPORT Aggregators

outsource Financial

Boutique aggregators

National AFG (Australian Mortgage Brokers Finance Group)

MoneyQuest

Liberty Network Services

Purple Circle Financial Services

TRAINING AND EDUCATION Aggregators

outsource Financial

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Boutique aggregators

AFG (Australian Finance Group)

National Mortgage Brokers

MoneyQuest

Purple Circle Financial Services

Liberty Network Services

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WHAT YOU'RE SAYING As broker businesses evolve beyond loan processing into advice, technology and client retention, MPA asked whether their aggregators are keeping pace “Yes. My aggregator allows each broker to create their own brand, allowing brokers to specialise as they see fit. Flat fees for service are also very important. Finally, complete ownership of the trail book is extremely important”

“I absolutely believe so. They understand how to run a business and how I operate so I do not need to fit into their mould. They asked what they can do for me rather than the other way around”

“Yes, mostly, but with gaps. While one provides strong foundations in compliance and lender access, it may lag in supporting team structures, automation and scalable business models that modern brokerages now rely on”

“In some ways they are, with tech, for example, but for on-the-ground support, there is a real gap”

“Yes, for the most part. But [their] fee structure does discriminate against sole traders operating through a company; also heavily weighted towards the credit rep model rather than ACL holders”

“Not entirely. There isn’t the option to do a full refinance review, and their product comparison tool is limited. There is no calculator for this, making it less BID-friendly”

“Yes, it does. They are a boutique aggregator who intimately know most businesses and tailor their offering based on the business needs. I really like their model”

“No. None of them do. With modern IT and [other tech advancements and tools], they are not necessary”

“They have become a business designed to make money, not the broker-centric organisation they were when they were born”

“It’s a great model. However, they have lost the personal touch and care factor with the growth of the business”

“It’s moved away from just being a middleman for commissions and actually acts like the tech stack for the business.

Cloud-first: everything is mobile and digital now. I can run the whole show from my phone or laptop without needing a physical office or a filing cabinet”

“Not entirely. Modern broker businesses operate as high-efficiency, tech-driven advisory firms, but the aggregator model still relies on outdated workflows, fragmented systems and inconsistent lender integrations. Brokers today need real-time policy intelligence, seamless digital lodgment and unified CRM-compliance-lender ecosystems”

“Somewhat, though they try their best at IT. I personally think aggregators will get overtaken soon by third-party tools which will operate much better”

“They have made inroads with [third-party CRM] Broker Engine, but for the amount of money I pay for it, it completely fails to support brokers in asset, commercial and personal lending markets. This is a huge frustration and disappointment”

“Aggregator models support modern broker operations at a compliance and lender level but fall short on business focus, marketing and growth support, flexibility for independent brokers and alignment with diversified income and digital business models”

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SPECIAL REPORT

BROKERS ON AGGREGATORS

FINAL RESULTS MPA presents the final ranking of Australia’s top aggregators and boutique aggregators in 2026 based on brokers’ votes across 11 award categories

AGGREGATORS

8

1

1

1

4

5

1

1

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

SILVER

BRONZE

BOUTIQUE AGGREGATORS

60

11

4

7

7

4

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

SILVER

BRONZE

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FEATURES

AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026

A UNITED FRONT At a pivotal moment for the industry, Australia’s largest mortgage aggregators confront broking’s biggest challenges head-on

MPA’S 2026 Aggregators Roundtable couldn’t have come at a more pressing time for the broking industry.

A litany of headlines – in the trade and mainstream press alike – relating to home loan fraud has reignited scrutiny of the sector. Stories of major banks suspending or terminating broker accreditations en masse, of credit representatives waking up to find their aggregator contracts terminated

64

overnight, and of former brokers being charged with multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud have not painted the industry in the best of lights.

As these issues play out in the public sphere, the debate has turned to how the industry can come together to raise the standards of both new-to-industry and established brokers.

While the broking industry is highly regu-

lated and made up of the brightest credit experts in the country – the overwhelming majority of whom have their clients’ best interests at heart – it nonetheless faces a challenge: propping up the best while calling out the rest.

Aggregators sit at the heart of this conversation. They control who enters the industry, how they are trained and, often, how they are held to account. On those questions,

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there is broad industry agreement about the destination, but the paths to get there vary considerably.

Unsurprisingly, these matters dominated the discussion as seven industry leaders – Tanya Sale, chief executive at outsource Financial; Rob Thomas, national director at LMG; Blake Buchanan, general manager at Specialist Finance Group (SFG); Gerald Foley, managing director at National

Mortgage Brokers (nMB); Christa Malkin, general manager – aggregation at Australian Finance Group (AFG); Matthew Whyte, general manager at boutique aggregator Liberty Network Services (LNS); and Stephen Moore, executive chairman at newly established boutique aggregator Viking Aggregation – gathered round the table at the iconic Cafe Sydney.

Two guest brokers – Emma Schuch,

founder of Port Macquarie-based Strive Finance, and Christopher Jonson, owner and finance broker at My Finance Agent – also relished the opportunity to press the panel on a number of issues important to them.

It was a lively, animated discussion that got to the core of the challenges and opportunities facing the mortgage broking industry in 2026.

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FEATURES

AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026

THE PANELLISTS AGGREGATORS

Blake Buchanan General manager, Specialist Finance Group

Gerald Foley Managing director, National Mortgage Brokers

Christa Malkin General manager – aggregation, AFG

Stephen Moore Executive chairman, Viking Aggregation

Tanya Sale Chief executive, outsource Financial

BROKERS

Rob Thomas National director, LMG

Matthew Whyte General manager, Liberty Network Services

How can we take an industrywide approach to tackling home loan fraud? What internal due diligence steps do you take on your broker network to weed out bad practice?

Sale set the tone immediately, calling for zero tolerance – not just from individual groups but from the aggregators around the table too.

“I think we should be taking on some of the words that are used in this question: an industry-wide approach,” she said. “We have to start having zero tolerance – not only groups but aggregators that have a limited view on the compliance and due diligence regime of what we are required to do.”

For Sale, compliance “with a capital C” is not a burden to be managed but rather a shared responsibility to be embraced. “We need us all to stand up, hand on heart as an industry, to ensure that we’re all singing from

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Christopher Jonson Owner and finance broker, My Finance Agent

Emma Schuch Founder, Strive Finance

the same page. If we don’t sing from the same page, then we’re going to be seeing another situation that we’re looking at now, and that’s the last thing this industry wants.”

Whyte echoed the call for consistency, arguing that the industry needs a set of bench-

confident that any concerns are shared and appropriately considered.” The solution, in Whyte’s view, is straightforward: consistent minimum standards across all groups.

Thomas agreed on the need for information sharing between lenders and aggregators, going so far as to advocate for a central register.

He also pushed back on the idea of fraud as primarily a deliberate act by bad actors.

A segment of the affected population, Thomas argued, is made up of brokers who are financially desperate, get approached with offers of large volumes of business and become swept up in something they don’t fully understand. “They’re not trying to do the wrong thing, but they just get caught up,” he said.

The conversation kept circling back to the onboarding of brokers who shouldn’t be onboarded, yet Buchanan argued that framing it that way missed the real problem.

“If we’re going to talk to the fraud situation we’re currently in, it’s not just about onboarding existing brokers – it’s also about standing up new-to-industry brokers with sophisticated, easily approvable mentors and referral partners behind them.” The more pressing failure, he said, is a lack of governance and oversight of existing networks: “They haven’t picked up on it, and now it’s caused a problem for all aggregators, even though 95% of us are not guilty or at risk of it.”

“We need us all to stand up, hand on heart as an industry, to ensure that we’re all singing from the same page” Tanya Sale, outsource Financial marks that all participants adhere to – and, critically, a shared level of confidence in each other’s governance frameworks. He said there’s a real opportunity to strengthen consistency across the industry. “For example, if a broker doesn’t meet certain standards at one aggregator, others in the industry can feel

Foley brought a regulatory lens to the discussion, calling for improved safe harbour protections that would allow broader sharing of information about broker conduct.

Currently, he noted, the framework is too narrow and too easily stretched. “Some in our industry have taken the ASIC references and

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Australian Credit Licence 390 183

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FEATURES

AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026

INDUSTRY IDEAS FOR TACKLING HOME LOAN FRAUD

Consistent minimum standards across all aggregators

Central register tracking credit rep conduct

Real-time document verification via AI/open banking

Stricter referral partner due diligence

Improved information sharing between aggregators and lenders

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applied a very liberal interpretation of what’s in it,” he said. “You have the ability to say, ‘We’ve received an ASIC reference, we’re comfortable with it’, and therefore put that person forward. That’s not meeting a reasonableness test.”

Foley also raised a related issue. Banks sometimes allow employees who have done

the greatest aggregators,” she said. “I know we’re good because, if not, our aggregator will let us know.”

Jonson also said the conversation has largely played out internally rather than with clients. Staff awareness has sharpened, and My Finance Agent has leaned on LMG’s education and materials to ensure

“If you neglect the regions, brokers will see straight through. If you’re going out there to tick a box, they’ll know” Rob Thomas, LMG the wrong thing to resign quietly, leaving no trail that aggregators can act on. “If a lender allows someone to resign and they have a clear separation, that’s poor practice,” he said.

“We have to find out the hard way.”

Moore brought a more technology-focused perspective, arguing that earlier detection is the real opportunity. He pointed to the Consumer Data Right and open banking as tools that can verify and validate borrower data at source – cross-referencing wages against payslips, for instance – and suggested that expanding access to Australian Taxation Office data could take this further still. “Once you’ve got data, it’s beyond judgement. Facts then rule whether a document is genuine or not,” he said.

Moore also acknowledged the irony of AI in this context: while the technology makes it easier to create fraudulent documents, it makes it equally easy to detect them.

Metadata – when a file was last edited, by whom and what software was used – provides a forensic trail that is genuinely difficult to manipulate.

For the broker participants at the table, the recent bad press had registered, but in different ways.

Schuch said it hadn’t directly affected how she works with clients, but it had prompted a frank conversation within her business about the choice of aggregator. “I personally know how great my aggregator [SFG] is with compliance. They are probably one of

its processes are sound.

But like Buchanan, Jonson kept returning to the referral partner question – the one variable that is hardest to control. He has also made clear to his team the wider ramifications of poor practice. “I’m instilling in them that if they do the wrong thing, it’s not just them that’s in trouble.” he said. “The whole business is gone.”

Malkin drew the threads together with a focus on onboarding and ongoing monitoring. Referral risk, she argued, is most visible right at the start – and too often the right questions aren’t being asked.

“It’s a big red flag if you have somebody coming in who is able to write a lot of business from a particular referral source right away, even though they might be new to broking,” Malkin said. “That’s where you’re going to identify shadow broking – who might really be sitting behind that.”

The ASIC protocol change that enabled aggregator-to-aggregator data sharing was a step forward, she acknowledged, but it isn’t sufficient on its own. The challenge is compounded by the fragmented nature of the industry, Malkin noted, adding, “There is no participant in our industry that has a single view of everything.” Lenders, regulators and technology providers all have a role to play, but when a lender raises a concern without providing enough information to act on, it makes the task significantly harder.

Sale doubled down on the issue of what

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FEATURES

AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026

should be shared by the banks. “When [banks] share information, as long as they’re telling us facts when they’re giving a termination letter, everybody’s covered,” she said. If a bank can see that money has been moved in irregular ways, or that payslips are false, those are facts, not opinions, not interpretations. Sharing facts, she argued, is legally defensible and operationally essential.

Thomas noted that the crisis had originally started predominantly as a bank issue – with proprietary channels implicated – yet the subsequent industry conversation had focused almost entirely on aggregators.

“There’s no proprietary even mentioned, even in our own industry rags, and they’re supposed to be supporting brokers,” he said.

The opening discussion served as a reminder that no single fix, whether technological, regulatory or structural, will be enough on its own. What was agreed, however, is that the response must be industry-wide: consistent minimum standards, meaningful information sharing between aggregators, and a zero-tolerance approach to bad actors – including the ones who quietly move from one network to another when things go wrong.

WHERE AUSTRALIA’S TOP 100 BROKERS ARE LOCATED

QLD 12%

WA 2%

SA 3%

NSW 67%

4%

VIC 12%

Source: MPA Top 100 Brokers Survey 2025

The conversation around new-to-industry brokers too often defaults to compliance and governance, but Malkin argued that the real challenges lie elsewhere: in

“If you’ve got six out of 10 new-to-industry brokers failing, you’ve got to ask why” Blake Buchanan, SFG What is the best way we can improve the quality and professionalism of new-to-industry brokers?

The conversation about fraud is inseparable from the question of how the industry brings new brokers into the fold. Too many new-toindustry brokers are entering the market without a clear pathway to sustainable business, supported by mentoring arrangements that can be informal, inconsistently delivered or – in some cases – little more than a revenue stream for the mentor.

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ACT

commercial sense, relationship building and communication.

“The ability to speak to a customer and to support a customer is ... going to become the most important part of being a broker,” she said, noting that the technical side of writing a home loan is, if anything, becoming less important as technology takes over more of that work.

For Malkin, intervention must happen before a broker writes their first deal – at the recruitment stage itself. “If somebody comes into the industry and doesn’t know

where they’re going to get their business from, we’re setting them up for failure,” she said. AFG is deliberate about asking those questions up front: How are you going to grow this business? Who are your referral partners? How are you going to get business beyond family and friends? “It’s really working with them from the start to set them up for success.”

Whyte, four weeks into his role at Liberty but with 26 years in the industry behind him, offered a pointed observation about the structure of induction programs. The instinct to provide close support for a defined period – four weeks, 16 weeks – fundamentally underestimates what new brokers actually need. In his view, “They need a dedicated program for at least 12 months.” LNS’s 24-month mentorship program addresses this need by not only providing practical lending education but also giving advisers the skills to confidently run and grow a business. “These skills include relationship building, customer

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engagement and business development,” Whyte said.

He also returned to a point raised in the earlier discussion: aggregators have an obligation not just to the person they’re onboarding but to the existing brokers already in their network. “It’s important to provide high-touch, tailored support to advisers at every stage of their journey, not just in the early stages of business growth.”

Sale believes the mentoring system itself needs a fundamental overhaul. “I think it’s been the wild west out there for quite a while,” she said. The problem, in her view, isn’t just the absence of good mentors – it’s that the mentoring space has become a money-making machine, with new brokers paying hundreds of dollars a month for access to someone they may barely hear from. “Of course the mentor is doing it for money,” she said. But while she agreed that there are some great mentors out there, the system provides no reliable way to tell the difference. At least for now.

Jonson highlighted the potential for conflict between an aggregator’s incentive to recruit new agreement holders and the genuine support those recruits’ need to succeed. In his view, the better pathway for a new broker is to join an established brokerage, get properly trained and then consider going out on their own, but the difficulty is that clients built within a business are hard to take when you leave.

Buchanan rejected the idea that all aggregators are motivated by volume at the expense of quality. “Don’t paint us all with that same brush because that’s what led to this fraud syndicate … the vast majority of us are actually pretty protectionary of our existing member base,” he shot back, although he acknowledged the problem exists by drawing attention to data that shows 64% of new-to-industry brokers don’t last a year, with other estimates putting the failure rate above 50%.

“If you’ve got six out of 10 new-to-industry brokers failing, you’ve got to ask why,”

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“Becoming a broker is a great profession.

But there’s a lot of crossover between ‘I want to be a broker’ and ‘I want to build a business’ ” Gerald Foley, nMB Buchanan said. The answer, he argued, is well evidenced: roughly 90% of those who fail are the ones who go it alone – they’re suddenly required to be marketer, compliance officer, data analyst and broker simultaneously, without the support structure to manage any of it. By contrast, new-toindustry brokers who join an established brokerage have dramatically higher success rates. “They’re surrounded by care, support and structure – and the governors of that business don’t want them doing anything wrong because they put you at risk and your whole family at risk. So there’s better governance, and it’s a line of defence against fraud.”

Foley drew a distinction that he felt the industry consistently blurs: becoming a

broker and becoming a business owner are not the same thing. “Becoming a broker is a great profession,” he said. “But I think there’s a lot of crossover between ‘I want to be a broker’ and ‘I want to build a business’. You can do both, but not necessarily at the same time.” He spoke warmly of the brokers who bring new people in, educate and develop them and then watch them go – accepting that some will leave as a feature of a healthy industry rather than a failure of it.

Schuch offered a personal anecdote. Ten years ago, she was new to broking, standing outside real estate open days handing out business cards, calling her aggregator to run through every scenario, learning entirely on the job. “I had no idea,” she said. Now

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running a successful regional brokerage, she mentors a colleague, passing on the same support-centred approach that shaped her own development.

Moore contended that mentoring standards vary enormously across the country and argued it was time to address not just the bar for becoming a mentor but the ongoing obligations that come with it – what you do as a mentor and what you’re actually delivering to the people in your care. “That’s where associations have a role to play in driving through their standards,” he said.

Moore also revived a proposal that had been floated at an industry level some years earlier: a financial services registered number that travels with an individual regardless of whether they’re a financial planner, banker or broker. The practical value is obvious: if someone is removed from a network for doing the wrong thing, that fact follows them. “If you want to get rid of someone because they’ve done the wrong thing, that means you will no longer have them on your register, and we can enforce that across the industry.”

Thomas expressed support for the idea.

“It’s like a driver’s licence – you’ve got a financial licence, and you lose it,” he said.

However, Moore noted that ASIC’s endorsement would be essential, and that the regulator had not previously been open to the concept – but he argued that the case is now stronger than ever, given the stakes for consumers.

Thomas also raised a related structural question: whether the distinction between credit representatives and ACL holders is itself part of the problem, with some ACL

holders conducting their own compliance in ways that don’t bear close scrutiny.

Buchanan put it more directly: “It’s widely reported that ACL holders, that are not aggregators, are poorer performers on compliance metrics.”

Sale was characteristically blunt in response: “In the new era, ACL holders will have nowhere to hide.”

The conversation continued as Jonson stepped up to the plate.

Importance rating (out of 5)

Accurate and on-time commission payments

4.784 4.657

Quality of lending panel IT and CRM support

4.630 4.580

Compliance support

4.484

BDM support Communication with brokers

4.415

Training and education

4.324 3.924 3.491

Marketing support White label offering Lead generation

Thomas opened by acknowledging that the recent fraud cases had, if nothing else,

“If somebody comes into the industry and doesn’t know where they’re going to get their business from, we’re setting them up for failure” Christa Malkin, AFG

TIMELY COMMISSION PAYMENTS, QUALITY LENDER PANEL MATTER MOST TO BROKERS

Additional income streams

Broker question from Christopher Jonson: As I grow my business, I’m looking to bring on more brokers. As an aggregator, what are the red flags you are seeing with brokers and business partners, and how can you help me find the right brokers for my business?

3.460 3.041

Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

prompted a useful exercise in retrospection.

Going back through recruitment records to look for consistent red flags – with the benefit of names provided by police agencies and banks – had sharpened the thinking at LMG considerably.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” said Thomas. A hypothetical case in point: if a broker gets a random call from an accountant offering $10 million worth of business, praising said broker as a great operator and writing off their previous broker, it’s worth approaching with caution.

Buchanan identified referrals from accountants as the industry’s single biggest weak spot. “You would just assume there’s trust there, right?” he said. Unfortunately, that assumption can come back to bite.

“Often that accountant is an ex-broker that was abolished from the industry, or someone setting out to defraud with knowledge of our industry,” he warned.

At SFG, any referrer involved in financial transactions requires a recipient-created tax invoices (RCTI) agreement in line with ATO rulings. All referral arrangements must be in writing, paid or otherwise. For any referrer receiving payment, the business conducts police checks, verifies the bank account is in the entity name, confirms GST

Source: MPA Brokers on Aggregators survey 2026

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AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026 “The one thing customers want is that authentic interaction – the trust. The brokerages and aggregators that double down on that … are the ones that will stand out” Matthew Whyte, Liberty Network Services

registration, checks the asset professional registries and runs ASIC reference protocol checks. “That might seem like a lot,” Buchanan said, “but when it comes to protecting your business and your family’s income, it’s not a lot. Those are just some minor steps brokers can take to protect their business and make sure the referrers they’re dealing with are bona fide.”

On the broader challenge of helping brokers build scale, Whyte drew on his background in franchising. The biggest challenge for any growing business is recruitment and retention, and the industry tends to overindex on the former at the expense of the latter. “Supporting brokers to understand their potential, while reinforcing the importance of appropriate prac-

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tices, helps builds confidence and commitment,” he said. “We’re here to provide advisers with the framework to align with best practice across the board.”

Sale said outsource’s approach to referral due diligence closely mirrors SFG’s – requiring full legal agreements for any referrer and, for accountants specifically, checking the relevant professional registers for disciplinary history. Her broader point was that the industry risks overcomplicating what is, at its core, a matter of documentation and process. “I think we’re blowing things up in this industry that shouldn’t be there, because the majority of aggregators and brokers are doing exactly what we require them to do.”

Jonson offered up a memorable phrase:

“We’re always making rules for the 1%, not the 99%.”

Malkin zeroed in on what she sees as the most telling red flag at the broker level: accepting perfectly packaged documents without asking further questions. Whether the source is an accountant or any other referral partner, the discipline of asking where documents have come from, and insisting they arrive directly from the client rather than via a third party, is a simple but powerful safeguard. “Why are you getting documents off an accountant or a referral partner? They should be coming direct from the client or, if coming from an accountant (in the case of financials), cross-reference the content with your client,” Malkin said.

Moore described Viking’s approach as one of early intervention rather than retrospective review. The industry’s typical compliance model – reviewing files weeks or months after settlement – means that by the time a problem is identified, significant damage may already have been done. Viking’s technology scans for document anomalies at the application stage, before anything proceeds.

For new brokers in particular, every application is vetted up front. “Half the time it’s protecting the broker from being innocently misled or not asking the right questions,” Moore said. “That’s the power of using tech.” He also reiterated the earlier argument for an industry-wide register, extended to cover referrers, not just brokers.

If a referrer is removed for doing the wrong thing, explained Moore, that fact should follow them out of the industry entirely.

Foley agreed that AI and technology would increasingly allow the industry to “help us identify in-flight issues rather than post-settlement [when] it’s often way too late”. He also returned to the mentoring thread, raising a question of terminology that sparked a debate around the table. The word ‘mentoring’, Foley suggested, has become something of a misnomer, implying a third-party provider arrangement, when what actually works best is something more like training, development and ongoing

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support delivered from within a brokerage.

“Third-party mentoring has a very valuable role to play; however, it has in some cases become monetised,” said Foley, “and it shouldn’t be like that.” Others around the table agreed that the term ‘mentoring’ might need a rethink.

Buchanan brought the discussion back to a structural point. Stripping away the complexity, he argued, most of the serious risk in the current environment comes from one of two sources: a sub-aggregator with poor governance or a complicit operator doing the wrong thing deliberately – including under the guise of mentoring. “If we got rid of all of that, the mentoring issue is still an issue, but way less so.” The real danger, in Buchanan’s view, is entire groups being tainted by the conduct of a small minority because of the licensees’ lack of proper monitoring.

Broker question from Emma Schuch: How do you support brokers in regional areas?

A short and sweet question, but one that came from a personal place. Schuch’s own early experience as a regional broker in Port Macquarie had been shaped less by her aggregator than by a mentor she was paying for and barely heard from.

“If it wasn’t for my aggregator and the support of running scenarios through them, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. The question wasn’t a complaint – it was a prompt to make sure the other aggregators in the room were holding up their end.

Sale stressed that, at outsource, “we don’t differentiate”. Regional brokers receive the same support, processes, relationship management, education and training as their metropolitan counterparts.

Malkin acknowledged that nothing replaces face-to-face contact but argued that technology has made day-to-day connectivity far more accessible than it once was.

AFG’s approach combines a structured annual program of webinars and online learning with regular in-person events in

regional areas – typically run in boardroom settings, bringing together brokers of similar size facing similar challenges.

“You usually find that, in regional areas, the brokers within the area are really well connected anyway, so they welcome that opportunity to catch up as a collective,” said Malkin.

Moore conceded that regional brokers are often neglected. For Viking, which is still establishing itself as an aggregator, that neglect represents “a significant opportunity to provide a great level of support in regional areas around the country. In fact, that’s what we’re doing.”

Foley highlighted nMB’s PD events – which see strong regional take-up – combined with a standing invitation for regional brokers to attend at least one in-person event a year.

“The whole concept of being a big fish in a small pond is never more evident than in the regional areas. Drive down, hop on a train, come to the city, meet the team, connect with other brokers,” he suggested.

The value cuts both ways, Foley argued.

Regional brokers benefit from the broader network, and the aggregator benefits from the connection. He also noted that both

industry associations have improved significantly in running regionally based programs, singling out their work in this space as genuinely useful.

In Whyte’s view, regional brokers face different challenges and different market nuances than their metro peers, so support programs need to reflect that rather than simply repackaging what works in major cities. “It’s why our NSMs [network sales managers] are out there actively engaging with advisers at the local level,” he said. This “boots-on-the-ground presence” helps LNS understand the specific opportunities and nuances of different regions.

Thomas said LMG’s scale has given it an advantage here, with dedicated regional BDMs on the eastern seaboard who are ultra-passionate about the brokers in their patch. He listed the places he’s personally visited – Albury-Wodonga, Launceston, Gippsland, Toowoomba – as evidence that the commitment is real rather than performative. He said the support has to be intentional. “If you neglect the regions, brokers will see straight through. If you’re going out there to tick a box, they’ll know.”

Buchanan was candid that aggregator

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AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026

resources are finite and can’t be spread uniformly across every corner of regional Australia. SFG’s response is to make access as frictionless as possible. “We try and make access readily available. Under our structure, any of our people can call any of us. There’s no pay grades in our business, so they can talk to the owner of the company, me, BDMs, state managers, we don’t mind. As long as our brokers are responded to, that’s what matters most.”

Beyond that, SFG quietly organises regional community events. He cited the Sunshine Coast end-of-financial-year event and similar gatherings on the Gold Coast and in the Northern Territory – under no SFG branding. “We don’t want that. We just want the communities to come together.” Other aggregators are also invited to participate.

“The industry is bigger than any one aggregator; it’s about everybody. If we can pool resources in regional centres to give those people more support, that benefits all of us.”

Where do you expect the broker channel to go from here, and how do you expect it to keep growing?

While the immediate pressures facing the broking industry are great, it was clear that there was genuine optimism around the table about where the broker channel is headed.

Market share continues to grow, the value proposition brokers offer consumers has never been stronger, and the consolidation now underway mirrors the maturation of other professions.

Thomas opened with a view that was widely shared around the table: the channel will grow, but with fewer brokers in it. From the current figure of around 22,000, he expects the number to fall to 16,000 or 17,000 – perhaps lower – driven by the combined pressure of fraud scrutiny, bank oversight and tightening regulation. That figure, he noted, probably reflects the number of genuinely active brokers anyway.

By Thomas’s estimate, roughly 20% of those currently on aggregator books wouldn’t

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“The focus needs to be around driving broking as a profession. And by default, that means looking at the variability in performance across brokers” Stephen Moore, Viking Aggregation qualify as active – some holding on for contractual reasons, some doing the occasional deal for a friend and some simply wanting to wind down their operations. “A lot of them now are just saying it’s too hard.

We’ve had a lot of brokers caught up in investigations in their 60s saying, stuff it, I’m out.”

Buchanan added nuance to the numbers question. Some inactive brokers remain on the books because leaving would cost them trail income. Exit conditions might reduce their payments from 100% to 70 or 80%, making membership worth maintaining even without writing business.

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AGGREGATORS ROUNDTABLE 2026 “If it wasn’t for my aggregator and the support of running scenarios through them, I wouldn’t be here” Emma Schuch, Strive Finance Buchanan’s broader prediction, though, was that while the number of individual brokers may not fall dramatically, the number of standalone brokerages will, with more brokers consolidating into established firms like those run by Jonson and Schuch. “More people will be part of a firm rather than going it alone,” he said.

Whyte believes AI will reshape how brokers operate and how customers engage with them, but not in a way that diminishes the human element. He outlined a deliberate double meaning from the ‘AI’ acronym: artificial intelligence and authentic interaction.

“They’re not mutually exclusive,” he said.

“The one thing customers want is that authentic interaction – the trust. The brokerages and aggregators that double down on that, and can demonstrate it by utilising AI, are the ones that will stand out.”

While the broker value proposition is stronger than ever, Moore contended that expectation around professionalism is undergoing a major shift. Broking, he said, needs to complete its evolution into a genuine profession – with minimum education standards, a discipline of continued development and an end to the notion that part-time participation is acceptable.

“The focus needs to be around driving broking as a profession,” said Moore. And by default, that means looking at the variability in performance across brokers. So that’s a gap to close.”

“If you do a deal every couple of months, that’s not part of the future,” Moore continued. He explained how the consolidation underway mirrors what happens in other industries as they mature. The need for broader support infrastructure naturally

filters out those who can’t or won’t meet the bar.

Malkin drew a distinction between two very different kinds of low-volume broker.

An experienced operator winding down after 20 years in the industry is a different proposition from a newcomer treating broking as a side job. “Generally speaking, someone who’s been doing it for 20 years still knows broking very well. They keep up with compliance and governance; they know how to speak to clients. That’s okay.” But for anyone entering the industry, part-time simply isn’t a viable model any more. “The professionalism of the industry means it’s not a part-time role,” Malkin said.

Buchanan offered a snappy analogy: “Do you want to go to a knee surgeon who does knee surgeries all the time or just one every now and then?”

Sale, meanwhile, argued that the departure of inactive brokers isn’t just inevitable; it’s already happening, and lenders are driving it as much as aggregators. The risk, in her view, runs deeper than mere inefficiency. An inactive broker who has written nothing for 12 months, drifts to another aggregator on a flat-fee model and

WHY DO BROKERS LEAVE THEIR AGGREGATOR? Count

Poor accuracy and timeliness of commission payments

416

Rank

Poor IT and CRM support

373

53.98%

Poor BDM support

355

51.37%

Poor compliance support

288

41.68%

Poor quality of lending panel

277

40.09%

Poor communication with brokers

242

Poor training and education

176

Poor additional income stream offerings Poor marketing support Poor lead generation Poor white label offering Other (please specify)

1 2

60.20%

35.02% 25.47%

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

97 91 91

14.04%

95

13.75% 12

65

13.17% 13.17% 9.41%

Note: Respondents could select more than one criterion. Percentages reflect the share of total survey respondents who selected each option and will therefore exceed 100% in aggregate.

Source: MPA Brokers on Aggregators survey 2026

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then suddenly reactivates is precisely the profile that fraudsters target. “They get to that broker and say, ‘do you want to earn some good money?’ – bang.” outsource’s practice of flagging inactive brokers when they leave the network is designed to close that gap, and Sale said banks are increasingly getting on board with the same logic.

Foley closed with two observations. On part-time broking, he offered an alternative analogy: “If your car breaks down and you need to push it, the first half of the effort doesn’t move it one bit; the second half does.

If you’re a part-time broker, you’re not going to move; you’re not going to go anywhere.”

Beyond the productivity argument, Foley

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added a risk dimension that tied back to earlier discussions about fraud. “If you’re not doing it all the time, your radar isn’t alert.

You get a bit lazy, a bit open to the soft introduction – and that will hurt,” he said.

managers if certain brokers will be able to deliver.

Buchanan’s response to that was to suggest the industry needs formal minimum standards around volume or transaction activity,

“We’re always making rules for the 1%, not the 99%” Christopher Jonson, My Finance Agent On numbers, Foley settled on 75% of the current broker population as something close to the right terminal figure – and suggested there may be 25% too many brokers as well. nMB, for its part, reviews its broker list twice a year and asks portfolio

and Foley agreed that, ultimately, the obligation sits with the aggregator. “It’s almost a duty to the broker to say, ‘I know you think you want to hang around, but maybe there’s something else you can do’,” he said to laughter around the table.

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LEADERSHIP

Trust is broken at work – here’s how leaders can fix it Kylie Paatsch, author of The Connect Effect, gives actionable tips for improving workplace relationships ONLY ONE in five employees globally are engaged at work. According to Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report, employee engagement has hit its lowest level since 2020, falling for the second consecutive year, costing the world economy an estimated $10 trillion in lost productivity. While these numbers are global, they’re probably closer to home than you might think.

Claire was proud of her team. High energy, smart people, a culture she had worked hard to build. When the annual engagement survey came back, she read the results twice.

Eighty-one per cent of her team said they trusted the organisation, but only 43% said they trusted their direct leader. Understandably disappointed, Claire sat with that gap for a week before she could bring herself to look at scores closely.

When Claire finally sat down with her team, a pattern emerged. Her team experienced her as decisive, capable and clear on

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direction, and also distant. They didn’t know what she cared about beyond the work. They didn’t know how she made decisions or what she valued when things got hard. They respected her, but they didn’t really know her.

Claire was smart enough to recognise that the trust she wanted her team to have in her simply wasn’t there, and she worried it might be too late to turn it around.

The window is still open Trust in governments, the media and large institutions sits at historic lows globally.

Yet leaders within organisations are bucking that trend. The 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer found that while government leaders recorded a net loss of 16 trust points in the wake of major global events, direct leaders moved in the opposite direction, gaining a net nine points.

Your people are not done with you. In a world that feels increasingly uncertain and untrustworthy, they are still looking to you.

In my 30 years of leadership and more than two decades of coaching and working alongside leaders, that is not a small thing. If your team still has faith in you, even fractured or conditional, it can be rebuilt.

So, how do you fix it?

Start by acknowledging it. If your team has told you through a survey, a conversation or simply their silence that something isn’t working, own it. Thank them for their honesty. Don’t explain yourself, don’t justify, don’t immediately problem-solve. Just

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them. I like to call this act being courageously committed.

When it comes together When you and the leaders in your organisation get relational – investing in knowing your people beyond their role and their

If your team still has faith in you, even fractured or conditional, it can be rebuilt results, and demonstrational – showing up in ways that consistently match your words, things will shift. Not overnight, but meaningfully and measurably. Engagement will stop being a metric to fear and manage and be something you are proud of.

What I have seen time and again is that the leaders who rebuild trust don’t do it through grand gestures. They do it through small, deliberate acts that their team can feel and see. Engagement and trust can be restored within your team or organisation.

All it requires is some ownership, humility, consistency and time. acknowledge what you’ve heard and let them know you take it seriously.

Then go deeper. Engagement surveys tell you what but rarely why. Once you have acknowledged the issue, go back to your team and ask for more. Seek specific examples. Ask what they need from you that they aren’t currently getting. Listen without defending. The quality of what you hear in those conversations will determine the quality of what you do next.

Act on what you learn. Identify one to three concrete things you are going to

change and then name them out loud to your team. Not a vague commitment to do better but specific, observable shifts in how you show up. When your team sees the conversations lead to something real, the dynamic will begin to change.

Then keep asking. Check in regularly.

Ask what’s working and what isn’t. This is the step most leaders skip because it feels vulnerable, and that is precisely why it matters. When your team sees that you are willing to keep asking, they start to believe you are genuinely committed to

Kylie Paatsch, author of The Connect Effect (EAC Books), is a sought-after leadership coach, speaker and facilitator who has worked with thousands of senior leaders across Australia and internationally. She helps senior leaders lead themselves, their leaders and those around them with greater clarity, confidence and impact. Find out more at www.kyliepaatsch.com.au

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PEOPLE

BROKERAGE INSIGHT

Trading the Melbourne grind for sunshine How Beau Flanders built Zion Financial from scratch on Queensland’s booming Sunshine Coast WHEN BEAU FLANDERS packed up his life in Melbourne and headed north in 2022, he had a clear-eyed view of what he was walking away from and a less certain picture of what lay ahead. He’d spent eight years working for a brokerage in the Victorian capital, had watched Queensland property appreciate sharply for some of his clients, and had grown tired of the suits and the long commutes.

“Melbourne felt overconsumed,” Flanders recalls. “The lifestyle there was never really me.” The white Queensland beaches were calling, as was “the freedom to build something on my own terms”.

Love was also a major factor in Flanders’ sea change; his partner Shakira was already living on the Sunshine Coast.

Within months of touching down in the Sunshine State, Flanders had registered Zion Financial – a name inspired by Utah’s Zion National Park – and the challenge of building a mortgage brokerage from scratch began.

“I was genuinely starting from zero,” says Flanders. Working on his mindset mattered as much as working on his pipeline. “I went deep on personal development in those early months. I genuinely believe that shift from desperation to attraction was one of the most important things I did for the business.”

On the practical side, aggregator outsource Financial linked Flanders up with a lead generation group, which gave him momentum while he found his footing. From there, it was about immersing himself in the local business

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community – meeting accountants, property professionals and business owners, letting conversations find their natural rhythm. “Up here, one good conversation tends to lead to

tion means the candidate pool can skew towards people seeking a change of pace rather than those hungry to build something. “Some people have worked out brilliantly; others haven’t,” says

“We designed our space to be open and inviting. And when people walk in off the street, say g’day and end up becoming clients just from that initial conversation, you know it’s working” another,” he says. “People are genuinely willing to help.”

The challenges have been real.

Hiring has been surprisingly difficult. The Sunshine Coast’s appeal as a lifestyle destina-

Flanders. “Finding people who have the skills, the attitude and genuinely fit the culture of what we’re building is harder than I expected.”

The second sustained challenge has been the discipline of running two professional

LIFE ON THE SUNNY COAST When Beau Flanders isn’t helping Zion Financial’s clients navigate the property market, he’s making the most of everything the Sunshine Coast has to offer. He appreciates the people above all else. “Everyone seems to lead with warmth up here. You meet someone once, and somehow you’re already mates.” Outside of work, a typical week might involve cycling with his daughter on the back of his bike, exploring corners of the Coast they haven’t yet discovered together, or heading out camping and four-wheel driving with family and friends. He also runs a weekly co-working day with friends who operate their own businesses – finding a cafe or shared space to set up together. “It keeps the creative energy going,” he says. Flanders values the well-maintained streetscapes, the connection to Indigenous history, and the simple fact that the sea and the hills are never far apart. “I love how the Coast keeps getting better – and how you can feel that every single day.”

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ZION FINANCIAL IN BRIEF Founder: Beau Flanders Team size: Seven – four based on the Sunshine Coast and three in the Philippines Years in operation: Just over four Main services offered: Owner-occupier and investment loans; refinancing and debt consolidation; first and second home buyers; self-employed loans; investment property portfolio building and loan structuring

services businesses – Zion also houses a financial planning business. “Running a mortgage broking and financial planning business simultaneously, while also being a business owner, means your attention is constantly being pulled in different directions,” says Flanders. “Learning to channel dispersed energy into getting one thing done at a time has been an ongoing discipline and something I continue to work on.”

Flanders also worries that incoming changes to negative gearing, coupled with stricter serviceability requirements, have complicated things for his core client base of 30–49-year-old property investors trying to build wealth through property.

But getting the keys to his Flinders Lane, Maroochydore, office made it all worthwhile.

“We designed our space to be open and inviting. And when people walk in off the street, say g’day and end up becoming clients

just from that initial conversation, you know it’s working. That’s what being part of a community really feels like.”

Today, Zion houses two mortgage brokers and a team of support staff – with love of Beau’s life Shakira acting as marketing and operations director. Monthly volumes have tripled.

A growth region In many ways, Zion’s growth over the past four and a half years parallels the Sunshine Coast’s boom. The region, which stretches from tourist hotspot Noosa through surfing magnets Coolum and Maroochydore and down to the verdant Glass House Mountains, saw a massive influx of post-COVID migrants who were drawn to the crisp air and laid-back lifestyle. It’s made the Sunshine Coast one of the hottest property markets in the country.

Now, the clientele is starting to mature. “I’m now seeing a growing group of young professionals in their 30s who’ve built equity somewhere and are thinking seriously about their next move,” says Flanders. “The Coast seems to attract people who actually want to build wealth, without the corporate grind that usually comes with it.”

The diversity of what’s being purchased reflects this dynamic. Apartments by the beach, family homes in the hills, new builds in masterplanned developments – there is, as Flanders puts it, something for every stage of life.

Infrastructure has kept pace: roads, schools and community facilities are well maintained, while the hospitality and restaurant scene has lifted considerably. “It’s a genuinely great place to raise a family, and that’s become central to why people choose to put down roots here.”

As for sustainability, “I don’t carry that worry,” Flanders says of concerns that population growth could outrun the region’s capacity.

What he sees is a region maturing in positive ways – economic diversification beyond tourism, a more permanent kind of resident, and a council he believes has broadly kept pace with demand.

Looking ahead three to five years, the ambition is defined less by scale than by character.

Or, in Flanders’ words, “sustainable growth, without losing what makes us us”. The goal is not to become a corporate giant but to be a trusted, go-to firm on the Sunshine Coast.

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email william.farrington@keymedia.com

RALLY POINT Finance broker Alexander Hamid found his perfect mental reset swapping golf clubs for a racquet FOR YEARS, Alexander Hamid’s off-duty life meant fairways and fresh air. Then the 2026 Australian Open changed everything.

“What really inspired me was Carlos Alcaraz – his hunger, how he fights for every single ball,” Hamid says.

Now splitting his downtime between the court and hiking trails, the Hills Area mortgage broker has found an unexpected philosophy to carry back to his desk. Alcaraz’s refusal to mentally concede a point mirrors how Hamid approaches every client enquiry.

“In broking, we’ve got to treat every lead the same way. If we treat it like a gold lead, then our conversion rate can improve significantly,” he says.

Playing social singles through the week and doubles competitions on weekends, Hamid faces opponents with considerably more experience, and wins are rare. But persistence, he says, is the whole point.

“The fight is against myself and my yesterday,” he says. The war, as far as Hamid is concerned, is far from over.

2026

Year Alexander Hamid replaced golf with tennis, inspired by the Australian Open

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4–6

Weekly hours Hamid dedicates on court to a full mental reset

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Hard-fought win against a far more experienced regular opponent

“ Stepping onto the cou rt or disa ppea ring into n atu re provides the perfect mental reset from a da y consu med by n u mbers ”

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BRIGHTEN

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