Credit Guide

About Us

Broker Details

Licensee Details

About This Credit Guide

This Credit Guide provides important information about us and the services we provide. This document outlines the type of advice we can give you, how we are remunerated, fees and charges that may be applicable, and what you can do should you have a complaint.

Our Commitment to Service

We are committed to assisting you find the right finance option based on the information provided by you. We have the essential qualifications, experience, and competency required under the relevant legislation to give you the professional service needed in assessing your financial needs. You can be confident that we will deal with you in a fair and ethical manner and take the time to listen to your requirements and objectives. Once we have established your goals, we will investigate and assess a range of options from our extensive lender panel. Ultimately, our primary aim is to provide you with the finance which we believe is in your best interests.

Services We Provide

We are authorised to arrange loans under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act). The National Credit Act regulates the activity of lending, leasing, and finance broking.

Our Credit Representatives are authorised to engage in credit activities including providing credit assistance on behalf of the Licensee. They can provide you with the following credit assistance:

• Give you information about loan and lease products or related services.
• Consider whether you are eligible for a loan, lease, or any related service you requested.
• Suggest a suitable credit contract, an increase to your credit limit, and/or that you retain your existing credit contract.
• Assist you to apply for a credit contract or an increase in your credit limit.
• Recommend a suitable consumer lease or that you retain your existing consumer lease.
• Assist you to apply for a consumer lease.

Preliminary Assessment

Under the National Credit Act, we are obliged to ensure that any loan or principal increase to a loan we help you obtain is not unsuitable to your needs and objectives. To decide this, we are required to conduct a Preliminary Assessment. The law requires us to make reasonable inquiries about your requirements and objectives, make reasonable inquiries about your financial situation, and take reasonable steps to verify your financial situation.

Credit will be deemed unsuitable if, at the time of the assessment, it is likely that you could not pay, or could only pay with substantial hardship, or the credit will not meet your requirements and objectives.

If we provide you with credit assistance, you can ask us for a copy of our Preliminary Assessment any time up to 7 years after we provide it. We’ll provide a copy within 7 business days of your request if made within 2 years of the assistance being provided, otherwise within 21 business days.

Acting in Your Best Interests

When providing credit assistance, we are obligated to act in your best interests. This means that any products we recommend to you must be in your best interests, and the reasons for these recommendations will be documented, recorded, explained, and provided to you.

In the case of actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest, we will disclose these to you and prioritise your interests ahead of our own in all circumstances.

Conflict of Interest

As a client, you may also be referred to any related or other company of which your broker may be a director or representative, such as Accounting, Financial Planning, Real Estate, Insurance, or Property Development. These industries operate under a different authorisation structure, and there is no obligation to use these referred services.

We may access various reports via our lenders, such as credit or property reports. These are offered free to brokers and we believe they do not influence our recommendations. Any potential conflicts identified will be outlined in the Statement of Credit Assistance provided to you prior to lodgement of your application.

Fees Payable by You to Us

If a fee is payable by you, this will be disclosed in a Credit Quote, which outlines any fees payable, including for providing credit assistance or brokerage fees for asset or personal loan applications, and when they are payable.

Fees Payable by You to Third Parties

Other fees and charges may be payable to your chosen lender, such as application or valuation fees. These will be disclosed in a Credit Proposal once a loan product has been decided. If your loan does not proceed for any reason, you may still be required to pay lender application, valuation, and government fees.

Fees Payable by the Licensee to Third Parties

We may pay fees to call centre companies, real estate agents, accountants, or lawyers, and other parties for referring you to us. These referral fees are generally small amounts in line with usual business practice, and are not payable by you. Further details are available on request and will be included in your Statement of Credit Assistance.

Payments Received by the Licensee

We may receive fees, commissions, or other remuneration from the lenders or lessors who fund the finance we arrange, which may include lender-specific volume-based payments. These are not payable by you. Remuneration may also include training, professional development, entertainment, gifts, conference attendance, sponsorship, or competition entries from a lender or our aggregator, and are not generally permanent or readily ascertainable.

If your broker is a Credit Representative of the Licensee, they may receive a whole or part of the commissions described above. The total commission we may receive varies by lender, loan term, features, and the amount and timing of your repayments.

Commission Estimates

Home Loans, Investment Property Loans

Upfront commission payable by lenders is generally between 0.5% and 1% of the loan amount, usually paid after settlement. Trail commission is generally calculated regularly (monthly, quarterly, bi-monthly, or annually) on the outstanding balance, in the range of 0% to 0.30% per annum.

Personal Loans

Upfront commission is generally between 1.65% and 2.75% of the loan amount, usually paid after settlement. No trail commission is payable on personal loans.

Leases

Upfront commission on leases is generally between 0.5% and 4% of the lease amount, usually paid after settlement. Trail commission is generally not payable on leases.

Further details of the commission earned will be included in the Statement of Credit Assistance provided to you when credit assistance is given. You can request further information at any time.

Company Ownership

Our broker group provides arm’s-length services to our business, including IT systems, loan information and lodgement systems, training and development, commission processing, conferences and professional development events, and assistance with regulatory and compliance obligations. In consideration of these services, we pay fees to the broker group, or the broker group retains some of the commission our panel lenders pay on loans we arrange.

Our business is owned and managed independently from the broker group.

Our Lender Panel

We have access to a comprehensive range of lenders to assist you with your finance requirements. The following represents the panel of lenders that the Licensee and our Credit Representatives may be able to access, subject to accreditation requirements:

Allium Money (Brighten Home Loans), AMP Bank, ANZ, Aquamore, Arthurmac, Australian Military Bank, Auswide Bank, Axis Lending, Bank Australia, Bank of China, Bank of Queensland, Bank of Sydney, BankVic, Bankwest, Bendigo Bank, Better Mortgage Management, Beyond Bank Australia, Bluebay Home Loans, Bluestone Home Loans, Commonwealth Bank, Community First Bank, First Federal, Firstmac, Funding, Gateway Bank, Granite Home Loans, Great Southern Bank, Heartland Reverse Mortgages, Hejaz Financial Services, Home Affordability Solutions, Household Capital, IMB (VIC only), ING, Judo, Keystart (WA only), La Trobe Financial, Latitude, Liberty Financial, MA Money, Macquarie Bank, ME Bank, Medfin, Money Place, Mortgage Ezy, Mortgage Mart, Move Bank, My State, NAB, Now Finance, ORDE Financial, P&N Bank (WA only), Paramount Mortgages, People First Bank, Pepper Money, Pepper Asset, Plenti (formerly RateSetter), Prime Capital, Prospa, Qudos Bank, RACQ (QLD only), Redzed, Resimac, Shift, St George/Bank of Melbourne/Bank SA, Suncorp, Thinktank, Teachers Mutual/Firefighters/UniBank, UBank, Valiant Finance, Victorian Mortgage Group, Westpac, WISR, WLTH, Zip Business, 360MMS, and others.

Our Most Commonly Used Lenders

ANZ, CBA, NAB, MyState Bank, Westpac, Macquarie.

Our Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process

We are committed to providing you with the best possible service. If you have a complaint, please contact your broker directly in the first instance. We will acknowledge receipt within 1 business day. If your broker is unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction within 5 business days, we will escalate it to our Complaints Officer:

Within 30 calendar days of lodging your complaint, we will advise you of the outcome of our investigation, or let you know if more time is needed.

Our External Dispute Resolution (EDR) Scheme

If you’re not satisfied with our resolution, or haven’t heard from us within 30 calendar days, you may refer the matter to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), at no cost:

Broker Benefits Disclosure

As part of our commitment to transparency, we keep a register of benefits received from any lenders or aggregators valued at $100 or more. You may request a copy of this register at any time.

Tiered Servicing Disclosure

We have access to a number of lenders that provide tiered servicing processes, allowing our loans to be processed faster. These programs promote preferential service standards but do not entitle us to additional payments, commissions, or preferential customer discounts.

Things You Should Know

We do not provide legal, financial, or taxation advice unless specified in a separate contract. We recommend you consult your accountant, solicitor, the Taxation Department, an investment adviser, or another licensed professional regarding the financial implications of your finance application before entering a credit contract.

We cannot provide advice or opinion on deposit accounts or insurance products. As a duty of care, we recommend you seek professional advice regarding insurance products such as mortgage protection, income protection, and life insurance. Maintaining mortgage repayments remains your responsibility.

We will inform you of any potential conflict of interest or relationship that could reasonably be expected to influence our recommendation. We don’t make any promises about the value of any property you finance with us, or its future prospects, you should always rely on your own enquiries.

Privacy

We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. For full detail on what we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights, please see our full Privacy Policy.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this Credit Guide or anything else about our services, just ask at any time. We’re here to assist you.