Service · partnership

Accountant referral partnership — the co-pro model.

A documented, scope-clean handoff between registered tax agents and an NCCP-licensed broker. You keep the relationship and the tax-structuring work; we run the borrowing side of the file. Division 7A refinance, SMSF LRBA, self-employed serviceability translation, multi-entity property purchase — the file shapes where the broker file and the accountant file overlap.

Start a partnership → Run the Div 7A calculator →
Signature insight

Most accountant–broker arrangements fail one of two ways. The first failure: the broker over-steps. Calls about Division 7A treatment get answered. Opinions on entity structure get offered. The client experiences a parallel tax advisor and the accountant relationship erodes. The second failure: the broker bounces. No structured handoff, no documented file flow, no protected scope — the accountant tries again, finds a similar result, and goes back to recommending whichever local broker has the loudest billboard.

The model that works is a documented two-line handoff. The accountant emails the client and the broker on the same thread, states the borrowing question that needs answering, and steps out of the lending conversation. The broker takes the file through panel selection, lodgement and settlement, and bounces every tax-side question back to the accountant. The client retains the accountant as the relationship; the broker is the lending specialist on the file. Run cleanly, this scales — accountants tell other accountants. Run sloppily, it costs both sides the relationship.

01.

Scope-of-practice — who owns what

The reason the co-pro model works is that the two licensing frameworks are non-overlapping. Tax structuring is governed by the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 and supervised by the Tax Practitioners Board. Lending is governed by the NCCP and supervised by ASIC. Each side is regulated to do work the other cannot. The handoff below is what we follow on every accountant- referred file:

WhoWhat stays in scope
Accountant
(registered tax agent)		 Entity structure, Division 7A loan compliance, SMSF investment strategy (s52(2)(f) SIS Act), sole-purpose test, in-house asset rules, retained-earnings / dividend / Div 7A comparison, depreciation schedules, GST and PAYG treatment, ATO position on rent and gearing, franking-credit modelling. Anything that produces the numbers on the tax return.
Broker
(Esteb & Co, NCCP)		 Lender panel selection, serviceability assessment against per-lender policy, income-averaging methodology routing, add-back negotiation against target-lender rules, custodian- trust acceptance on LRBA files, security structuring on the borrowing side, submission, conditional-to-unconditional file management, settlement, best-interests-duty compliance. Anything that produces the loan approval.
Client Final decision authority on tax-side choices (with the accountant) and on lender selection (with the broker). Single relationship; two specialists. Disclosure of any referral arrangement is provided in writing per ASIC RG 246 conflicted-remuneration guidance.
02.

The four use cases — where the file shapes overlap

These are the file shapes where the accountant-side decision and the broker-side decision are genuinely interdependent. Each one is a regular referral pattern in our practice. The calculator and explainer pages cited below are the same tools we use on the file before lodging — share them with the client when the referral starts so they walk in already knowing the panel shape.

Division 7A refinance

Use case 1 · the natural co-pro file.

Shareholder has a Div 7A loan from their company that's becoming unsustainable to service from cashflow, or the company wants the cash back for operations. The structural decision is the accountant's — whether to refinance externally or unwind via dividend (franking-credit-dependent). Once that decision is made the broker side takes over: assess the security, score the borrower across the panel, lodge the commercial refinance, pay out the Div 7A loan in full at settlement. The Div 7A calculator on this site models the existing arrangement before refinance.

Division 7A explainer → · Div 7A calculator →

SMSF LRBA lending

Use case 2 · the panel-access file.

Fund is buying residential or commercial property through a limited recourse borrowing arrangement. Accountant or planner sets the strategy and confirms fund-side compliance. Broker holds the panel of LRBA-accredited lenders — a small group post the 2018-2020 major-bank withdrawals — and matches the file to the lender whose policy fits: minimum fund balance, liquid-asset buffer, contribution-funded servicing, related- party rent treatment, custodian trust deed acceptance. Most LRBA decisions live between three to five lenders with materially different policy.

SMSF lending hub → · SMSF panel-match calculator →

Self-employed file translation

Use case 3 · the highest-frequency referral.

The accountant has prepared tax-optimal returns — non-cash depreciation taken, super maxed, owner salaries minimised. Lenders price the file off those returns, and the borrowing capacity comes back low. The broker-side fix is per-lender averaging methodology and add-back routing — same returns, different lender, $300k–$500k spread in borrowing capacity. The accountant doesn't redo the returns; we route to the lender whose rules treat the existing shape most favourably.

Self-employed brief → · SE calculator →

Multi-entity property purchase

Use case 4 · the entity-aware lender route.

Client is buying investment property through a trust, company, or layered entity structure the accountant set up for asset-protection or tax-planning reasons. Most mainstream lenders can write to corporate trustees and discretionary trusts; fewer write cleanly to unit trusts or hybrid structures. Pricing varies materially by entity shape. We route the file to the lender whose trust deed acceptance, guarantor-rules and trustee-servicing rules match the structure the accountant has set — without the accountant having to learn each lender's quirks.

Investor brief → · Investor calculator →

Partner enquiry — start a co-pro relationship

Two-line introduction to your practice; we'll set up a 30-minute call to walk through the handoff template, the disclosure framework, and any fee-arrangement options that fit your licensing structure. No client referral needed at first contact.

Open the partner enquiry form → Run the Div 7A calculator →
03.

When this fits — and when it doesn't

Refer when

  • Shareholder Div 7A loan needs commercial refinance and you've made the structural decision.
  • SMSF is buying property under LRBA and you've signed off on the investment strategy.
  • Self-employed client's tax-optimal returns under-state real income for serviceability.
  • Multi-entity property purchase needs entity-aware lender routing.
  • Client has property-backed refinance opportunity you've identified but don't want to advise on lending.
  • Existing client is being recommended a lending product you suspect isn't matched to their file shape.

Not the right fit when

  • Client needs car or asset finance for a vehicle under $80,000 — direct lender or driva-style aggregator does this cheaper than a broker can.
  • Client has impaired credit and a sub-$30,000 unsecured personal loan need — bypass us, refer to Jacaranda or similar specialist direct.
  • Pure commercial business loan with no property security and a non-trading entity — outside our panel sweet spot; we'll refer onward if you'd like.
  • Client wants tax-structuring advice dressed up as a lending decision — that conversation belongs entirely on your side.
  • You don't want a documented partnership and prefer informal one-off referrals — we still take those, but the value compounds on the documented version.
04.

The panel — what we route accountant-referred files across

Connective-accredited across the full panel. The lenders below are the ones that appear most often on accountant-referred files specifically — Div 7A refinance, SMSF LRBA, self-employed, multi-entity. Each lender page documents the policy levers that matter for that file shape.

Macquarie NAB CBA Westpac Bankwest Bank of Melbourne ING Suncorp AMP Bank La Trobe Financial MyState Heritage Bank

Quick FAQs

What does the co-pro model look like in practice?

Two licensed parties, two scopes of practice. Accountant runs tax structuring under the TASA / TPB framework. Broker runs lending under the NCCP / ASIC framework. The file moves through both without overlap; the client retains the accountant as the relationship.

Do you pay referral fees?

Where the accountant's licensing allows and ASIC's RG 246 conflicted-remuneration rules permit, yes — structured transparently and disclosed in writing to the client. Where fees aren't a fit, the partnership still works on a no-fee basis.

How does a Div 7A refinance handoff work?

Accountant identifies the unsustainable servicing position and emails the client + broker on the same thread with the loan deed. We assess the borrowing side across the panel, lodge, settle, pay out the Div 7A loan in full at settlement. Structural decisions stay with you.

Can you handle SMSF LRBAs?

Yes. The panel of LRBA-accredited lenders narrowed materially from 2018-2020; we hold the post-narrowing panel and match file shape to lender policy (fund balance, liquid asset buffer, contribution-funded servicing, related-party rent, custodian trust acceptance).

What about self-employed clients whose returns understate real income?

Most-frequent referral shape. Same returns, different lender, $300k–$500k spread in assessable income depending on averaging methodology and add-back policy. Accountant doesn't redo returns; broker routes file.

Will referring damage my accountant–client relationship?

Not when the handoff is structured. The damage comes from scope-drift on the broker side. Our discipline is to bounce every tax-side question back to you; the client experiences us as the lending specialist, not as a parallel tax advisor.

Richard Esteb

Licensed Mortgage Broker & Founder, Esteb & Co
ASIC Credit Rep #574071 · Esteb & Co Pty Ltd CR #574070 · ACN 681 636 056 · MFAA #937494

Accountant referrals are the highest-quality lead source in mortgage broking — pre-qualified, pre-trusted, with a relationship in place that runs longer than any lending file. The trade is that the relationship is fragile to scope-drift, and the only way to protect it is a documented handoff that respects what each side is licensed to do. The four use cases above are where this matters most. The model is open to any registered tax agent or accountant in Queensland or NSW reading this — partner enquiry form linked above, or email direct.