Services / Refinance
A refinance is worth doing when the rate, fee and structure change actually pays back the switching cost inside a window you'll hold the loan. Not when a four-thousand-dollar cashback makes the front-page maths look right. The honest version is below — and the calculator that does it on your numbers is one click away.
The refinance break-even calculator takes your current rate, balance and remaining term, models the cheapest available panel rate plus switching costs, and tells you how many months until the switch has paid for itself. If the answer is under 18 months and you'll hold the loan longer than that, refinance is the right call. If not, the calculator says so plainly.
Run the refinance break-even calculator →The most common refinance mistake in the Australian market right now is taking a $4,000 cashback at a rate 0.30–0.50% above the best the panel offers for the same risk profile. On a $600,000 loan, 0.40% is $200/month — $2,400/year — of extra interest. The $4,000 cashback is gone inside 20 months, and every month after that you're paying for someone else's marketing.
The honest comparison isn't cashback-vs-no-cashback. It's cashback dollars versus rate-differential dollars over the actual hold period. Cashbacks pay only if you're genuinely going to exit again inside the payback window — and you usually can't, because broker clawback runs to month 24 and no lender will write you another cashback inside 12 months at the same brand.
The advertised lever is the rate. The four that actually decide whether the switch is worth doing are below. The break-even calculator quantifies the first; the broker file work decides the other three.
Most $3–4k cashback offers sit on a rate 0.30–0.50% above the cheapest panel rate. On a $600k loan that's $1,800–$3,000/year of additional interest — so the cashback is reabsorbed inside 12–20 months. Hold the loan past the payback window and the cashback offer is the more expensive deal. The break-even calculator runs both columns against your actual balance and spits out the crossover month.
Most Australian lenders claw back the broker's upfront commission if the loan exits inside 24 months — 100% in months 0–12, 50% in months 13–24. It doesn't cost you a cent directly. What it does is mean that if you ask a broker to refinance you again inside two years they will usually decline — the file is loss-making for them. Decide each refinance on a 24-month-plus hold horizon, not a 12-month chase.
Sometimes the right move is asking your existing lender for the rate you'd switch for, before switching. Retention teams discount more aggressively when you can quote a documented competitor offer than when you call asking generically for a better rate. Best case: the retention rate matches, the file never leaves, switching cost is zero. We do this assessment before lodging — the saved time is real for both sides.
Splits between fixed and variable, offset balance utilisation, redraw architecture, principal-and-interest versus interest-only, repayment frequency — the structure of the refinanced loan typically matters more to total cost than the headline rate. Most existing loans are structurally sub-optimal because they were set up at a different cash-rate regime; the refinance is the moment to fix that. The split loan optimiser models the structural side.
Not every loan benefits from refinancing, and there are real reasons to stay put even when the rate gap looks attractive on paper. The honest version below.
Each lender competes for refinance volume differently. Some lead with cashback, some with sharp ongoing rates, some with broker turnaround. The right destination depends on the file shape; the borrowing-capacity calculator scores your file across the panel and surfaces the winner. The lender pages below cover each individually.
Two practical refinance rules from the panel that show up repeatedly:
A clean refinance from initial assessment to settlement runs 3–6 weeks. The sequence below is the same one I work through on every file — published here so you know what's coming before lodging.
Before booking a strategy session, run the break-even number yourself. If the calculator says the switch pays back inside 18 months and you're holding longer than that, the conversation is just confirming which lender. If the calculator says it doesn't, we'll talk about retention or structure instead.
Run the refinance break-even calculator →Is a $4,000 cashback refinance worth it?
Usually no. Most cashback offers sit on a rate 0.30–0.50% above the cheapest panel rate. On a $600k loan, 0.40% is $2,400/year of additional interest — the $4k cashback is gone inside 20 months. The right comparison is cashback dollars vs rate-differential dollars over the actual hold period.
What does it cost to refinance in Australia in 2026?
Typical switching cost is $600–$1,200 (discharge $300–$400, application/legal $0–$600, valuation $0–$300, government title fees $200–$300). Many lenders waive application and valuation on broker-channel refinances. Net switching cost is rarely decisive; rate-differential maths is.
What is broker commission clawback?
Most Australian lenders claw back the broker's upfront commission if a loan exits within 24 months — 100% in months 0–12, 50% in months 13–24. It doesn't cost the borrower directly, but it constrains how often you can practically refinance.
Should I ask my current lender to match before refinancing?
Yes — after you have a real comparable offer. Retention teams discount more aggressively against a documented competitor rate than a generic ask. Sometimes the retention rate matches and the refinance becomes unnecessary. The broker assessment surfaces this option before lodging.
How often can I refinance?
No regulatory cap, but practical constraints apply. Most lenders won't write a refinance under 12 months old. Broker clawback runs to month 24. Cashback offers usually exclude borrowers who took a cashback at the same brand in the last 12 months. Realistic cadence is once every 2–3 years.
What's the best lender to refinance to in 2026?
Depends on your file. ING for 80% LVR owner-occupier, CBA for sub-60% LVR $500k+ loans, Macquarie or Bankwest for self-employed, Bank of Melbourne for 95% LVR investor. The borrowing-capacity calculator scores your file across the panel; the refinance break-even calculator quantifies the payback.