Credit Guide

Who you are dealing with

Who I am licensed through

I operate as a credit representative under an Australian Credit Licence held by my aggregator. I am not the licensee.

What credit assistance means

I am authorised to arrange loans under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. I am providing credit assistance when I suggest or help you apply for a particular loan with a particular lender, suggest or help you apply to increase an existing loan, or suggest that you stay in the credit contract you already have.

General information on this website — including any figures, illustrations or explanations of how loans work — is not credit assistance. It does not take your circumstances into account.

My responsible lending obligations

Before I provide credit assistance I have to assess whether a loan is suitable for you and in your best interests. To do that I need to make reasonable inquiries about your requirements and objectives and about your financial situation, and take reasonable steps to verify that situation.

I cannot provide credit assistance if you could not meet the proposed repayments without substantial hardship, or if the loan does not meet your requirements and objectives. If you are unable to give me the information I need, or the information you give me is incomplete or incorrect, I may not be able to make a recommendation.

If I do provide credit assistance, you can ask for a copy of the Preliminary Credit Assessment at any time within seven years and I must give it to you.

Acting in your best interests

When providing credit assistance I am obliged to act in your best interests. Any product I recommend has to be in your best interests, and my reasons are documented, explained and given to you in writing. Where there is an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest, I will disclose it and put your interests ahead of my own and ahead of any third party's.

Fees and commissions

Fees you pay me

If a fee is payable by you it will be set out in a Credit Quote before any work starts. If you do not receive a Credit Quote, no fee is payable to me.

Fees you pay others

When an application goes to a lender you may need to pay that lender's application fee, valuation fee or other associated costs, even if the loan is ultimately unsuccessful. These are set out in the lender's own disclosure documents and loan contract.

Commissions I receive

I may receive commissions from lenders in connection with finance I arrange for you. These are not payable by you. Commission is generally calculated as a percentage of the loan balance drawn down, usually net of any amounts held in an offset account, and the way it is calculated varies between lenders. You can ask me for a reasonable estimate of the commission and how it is worked out before your loan is submitted, and I will give it to you.

Commission does not determine which product I recommend. I am required by law to recommend a loan that is both suitable for your situation and in your best interests.

Fees paid to referrers

I may pay a commission, fee or other benefit to a person who refers you to me — for example an accountant, real estate agent or financial planner. This is not a fee payable by you, and if you were referred to me the details are included in the Credit Proposal Disclosure you receive.

From time to time lenders and business partners may provide hospitality or gifts. Details of any benefit valued between $100 and $300 are available in writing on request.

Lender panel and tiered servicing

Loan applications are submitted through the lender panel of Specialist Finance Group. The full panel is listed on the home page. Accreditation with each individual lender is required, and I may not be accredited with every lender on the panel. Where I am not, I can refer you to another Specialist Finance Group broker who is.

Over the last financial year my most commonly used lenders were Macquarie and Suncorp. The licensee's six most commonly used lenders were ANZ, Bankwest, Macquarie Bank, NAB, St.George Bank and Westpac.

I may have access to tiered servicing arrangements with some lenders, which can mean faster processing or greater assistance in obtaining approval. Where such an arrangement is in place with a lender I am proposing, I will tell you at the time I make the recommendation.

If something goes wrong

If you are not happy with my service, tell me and I will work to fix it. If that does not resolve things, there is a formal complaints process and an external ombudsman. The full complaints process is set out here.

Things you should know

I do not provide legal, financial or taxation advice unless that is specified in a separate contract. It is important that you understand your obligations under any credit contract and their financial consequences.

As a duty of care I recommend you seek professional advice about insurance — life cover, total and permanent disability, trauma and income protection. Maintaining loan repayments is the borrower's responsibility, and insurance advice is worth getting from someone qualified to give it.

If you are struggling to meet repayments, lenders have hardship teams. Call your lender to discuss a hardship variation, and tell me so I can help you through it.

The full document

This page is a plain-English summary. The complete Credit Guide and Privacy Consent — the document that governs our relationship — is provided to you before any credit assistance is given. If you would like a copy now, ask for one and I will send it through.