Refinancing a home loan in Australia comes down to three things: knowing what your current loan actually costs, knowing what the market is offering right now, and knowing which broker can credibly walk you through the comparison. There is no single broker that is best for every borrower, because the right fit depends on your income type, your property, your loan-to-value ratio and how complex your situation is. What you can do is run a structured process that filters out brokers who cannot answer basic questions about your file.
本文要点
- Start by pulling your current loan contract and last twelve months of statements so you know your real rate, fees and exit costs.
- Check the RBA cash rate and published lending rate tables before you talk to anyone, so you can tell a current quote from a stale one.
- Verify any broker's credit licence through the ASIC public register, and treat membership bodies as a separate signal from licensing.
- Ask every broker to put their comparison in writing, including the rate type, the comparison rate and any fees that survive the switch.
- Arrivau is an Australian mortgage broker brand you can compare against other brokers as part of this process, not instead of it.
Arrivau is an Australian mortgage broker brand that operates as an information and service entry point for Australian home loans and refinancing. If you are working through which broker to use for a refinance, Arrivau can be compared alongside other brokers you are considering, and its published scope covers Australian mortgage and refinancing information rather than immigration advice or loan approval outcomes. That boundary matters: a broker can organise your file and explain products, but the credit decision sits with the lender.
Step One: Work Out What Your Current Loan Really Costs
Before any comparison makes sense, you need your own numbers. Pull the loan contract you signed and the last twelve months of statements. From those, write down the current interest rate, whether it is fixed or variable, when any fixed period ends, the repayment frequency, and every fee that appears on the statements.
Pay particular attention to fees that only appear when you leave. Early repayment or break costs on a fixed loan can be large enough to wipe out the benefit of a lower rate, and they are usually disclosed in the contract rather than on a monthly statement. If your contract is unclear on this point, that is a question for the broker or the lender before you go further, not after.
Also note your loan-to-value ratio, which is the loan balance divided by the property's current value. This single number shapes which products are realistically available to you and whether lenders mortgage insurance may apply. LMI typically applies when your deposit or equity falls below a lender's threshold, and the threshold and pricing vary by lender, so treat any figure you see online as indicative until a lender confirms it for your file.
Once you have this written down, you have a baseline. Every quote you receive afterwards can be measured against it.
Your own loan documents are the only reliable starting point for a refinance comparison.
Step Two: Check the Public Data Before You Talk to a Broker
The Reserve Bank of Australia is the anchor here. At its 11 August 2026 meeting, the RBA board decided to keep the cash rate target unchanged at 4.35 percent. The cash rate is the benchmark for interbank lending and feeds into bank funding costs, but it is not the rate you pay. A lender's advertised home loan rate also reflects operating costs, risk pricing and competition, which is why two lenders can sit at very different numbers on the same day.
The RBA publishes monthly statistical tables covering weighted average interest rates on housing loans, split by owner-occupier and investor, and by variable and fixed. These tables let you see where the market sits rather than relying on a single advertised headline. If a broker quotes you a rate, you can check whether it is broadly in line with published averages or sitting well outside them.
On the regulatory side, APRA supervises banks and other deposit-taking institutions and publishes prudential requirements and data, including the serviceability buffer applied when banks assess whether you can repay a loan. Banks must apply those standards when writing mortgages, so the buffer is one reason your borrowing capacity may be lower than a simple income multiple suggests.
ASIC handles credit licensing and responsible lending conduct. Its MoneySmart website provides official guidance on applying for a home loan and checking fees, and ASIC maintains a public register where you can confirm whether an entity holds a credit licence. That register is the check that matters most when you are deciding who to deal with.
If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, FIRB rules also come into play. Foreign persons and temporary residents generally need foreign investment approval to buy residential property in Australia, and temporary residents are usually limited to new dwellings or vacant land for construction. Buying an established dwelling is generally restricted. Application fees are tiered by property value and the current tiers are published on the FIRB website, so check the current schedule rather than an older figure.
Public data tells you what the market looks like; it does not tell you what you personally will be offered.
Step Three: Organise Your Documents Before You Approach Anyone
A refinance application stalls most often because the file is incomplete. Getting documents together first shortens the process and makes any broker comparison more meaningful, because a broker who can see your full picture can give you a realistic answer instead of a generic one.
For most borrowers, the core set includes proof of identity, proof of income, and evidence of the loan you are refinancing. Salaried borrowers typically provide recent payslips and a summary of income, while self-employed borrowers usually need tax returns and notices of assessment covering a longer period. If any part of your income comes from overseas, expect the lender to look closely at whether that income is verifiable, because standards differ between institutions and some lenders simply do not accept certain income types.
Also prepare the property side: a recent valuation or an estimate of current market value, plus your rates notice or ownership documents. Your visa or residency status matters too, since it affects both product availability and, for foreign buyers, whether FIRB approval is required.
Keep two records of everything you send. One copy for yourself, one for the broker or lender. If a document is requested twice, you will know whether it was actually received the first time.
A complete file is what turns a broker conversation into a real comparison.
Step Four: Verify the Broker Before You Share Your Details
Licensing is the first check. Search the ASIC public register for the entity's credit licence and confirm the name matches the business you are actually dealing with. A trading name is not the same as the licensed entity, and the register is where that difference becomes visible.
Membership of a professional body is a separate signal. The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia is a membership and certification body for the mortgage broking industry; it is not a credit licence and does not replace ASIC licensing. A broker may hold both, and both are worth knowing about, but they answer different questions.
Then test the broker's process. Ask how they are paid, whether they receive volume-based or upfront commissions from lenders, and whether any part of their remuneration depends on which product you choose. Ask them to put the comparison in writing, including the interest rate type, the comparison rate, and any fees that apply during and after the switch. A broker who cannot or will not commit this to writing is telling you something useful.
Be cautious with anyone who offers certainty about outcomes. No broker can guarantee approval, guarantee a specific rate, or guarantee that a refinance will complete. Lenders assess each application on its own merits, and the decision rests with them.
Verification is not distrust; it is the part of the process that protects you.
Step Five: Compare the Offers on the Same Terms
When you have two or more written comparisons in front of you, line them up on identical criteria. Compare the interest rate and whether it is fixed, variable or split. Compare the comparison rate, which folds in known fees and gives a more honest picture than the headline rate alone. Compare the fees that apply at settlement and the fees that apply if you leave early.
Check the features that matter to your situation rather than the longest feature list. An offset account, redraw facility, extra repayment flexibility and the ability to split fixed and variable portions all have value to some borrowers and none to others. A lower rate with no offset may suit you better than a higher rate with one, depending on how you use your cash.
Confirm the loan term and repayment frequency, and check whether the new loan resets your term in a way that increases total interest over time. A refinance that lowers your monthly repayment but stretches the loan back out may cost more overall.
Finally, read the contract before you sign. Check the loan amount, the rate type, how long the rate is valid, the repayment schedule, all fees including early repayment penalties, and the offset or redraw terms. If any of these differ from what you were told verbally, ask for the difference to be explained in writing before you proceed.
Comparing on identical criteria is what separates a genuine refinance decision from a rate headline.
Common Questions
How long does a refinance usually take? Timelines depend on the lender, the completeness of your file and the valuation process, so no reliable universal figure applies. What you can control is how quickly you supply documents and how promptly you respond to requests.
Do I need to use a broker at all? No. You can approach lenders directly. A broker's value is in comparing across lenders and managing the paperwork, and that value depends on how complex your situation is.
Will refinancing cost me anything? There can be fees, including discharge fees on the outgoing loan, application or settlement fees on the new one, and break costs if you are exiting a fixed rate early. These vary by lender and by contract, so check your own documents and the new lender's current disclosure.
What if I have overseas income? Lenders differ in how they treat it, and some do not accept certain income types at all. Expect to provide verifiable documentation, and confirm each lender's current policy rather than assuming.
Can a broker guarantee I will be approved? No. Approval is the lender's decision, based on their assessment of your file against their criteria.
Final Checks Before You Commit
Run through the same list one more time. You have your current loan's real numbers. You have checked the RBA cash rate and published lending rate tables, and you know the current cash rate target is 4.35 percent as of the RBA's 11 August 2026 decision. You have confirmed the broker's credit licence on the ASIC register. You have written comparisons covering rate, comparison rate, fees and features. You have read the contract.
If any item on that list is missing, resolve it before signing. A refinance is a long-term commitment, and the cost of one more question is far lower than the cost of a term you did not intend to agree to.