Insights
Editorial briefs on Australian lending.
How banks actually assess the file. Where common assumptions diverge from lender policy. The structural choices that compound across a portfolio.
01
Strategy
Offset vs Redraw: The Tax-Deductible Debt Distinction
Why the choice between an offset account and a redraw facility is fundamentally a tax decision for investment debt. The ATO's purpose-of-borrowed-funds principle, the tainting risk, and how Maxfin sets up new investment loans to preserve deductibility.
8 min readRead brief
02
Strategy
Trust-Based Lending: Why Most Brokers Hand the File Back
How discretionary, family, unit and hybrid trusts are treated by Australian residential and commercial lenders. The narrowed lender panel, the guarantor requirement, and the structural moves that make a trust-based application work.
9 min readRead brief
03
Strategy
Credit Files for Mortgages: What Lenders Actually See
How comprehensive credit reporting works in Australia, the 24 months of repayment history visible to lenders, what hurts a credit file (and what doesn't), and how the file gets read on a mortgage application.
8 min readRead brief
04
Strategy
Borrowing Capacity in 2026: Why Your Number Has Shrunk
How APRA's serviceability buffer, the HEM benchmark, dependents and the new DTI cap each compress borrowing capacity in 2026. Plus the levers borrowers can actually move.
9 min readRead brief
05
Commercial
Equipment Finance: Chattel Mortgage, Lease, or Hire Purchase
How the three equipment finance wrappers differ in Australia. Ownership, GST treatment, tax deductions, and which structure fits which business position. Plus the 2026 instant asset write-off and what it means for the structure decision.
9 min readRead brief
06
Strategy
Construction Loans: Progress Drawdowns and the Risks Worth Pricing
How construction loans work in Australia, why a fixed-price contract is mandatory, the standard progress payment schedule, and the risks (cost overruns, valuation drift, end-loan transition) that benefit from being priced upfront.
9 min readRead brief
07
Commercial
Commercial Property Finance: Personal Name, Trust, or SMSF
How the ownership structure shapes commercial property finance in Australia. Personal name versus trust versus SMSF via Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement, the LVRs and rates that follow, and the 2026 liquidity question for SMSF.
10 min readRead brief
08
Strategy
Bridging Finance: Buying Before You Sell Without Carrying Both
How bridging loans work in Australia in 2026, the difference between open and closed bridging, capitalised interest mechanics, and the structural questions that determine whether a bridge is the right tool.
8 min readRead brief
09
First Home
First Home Buyer Schemes, Stacked: Federal and State in 2026
How the Federal Home Guarantee changes from October 2025, the new Help to Buy shared-equity scheme launched December 2025, and state-by-state stamp duty thresholds in NSW, Victoria and Queensland for 2026.
12 min readRead brief
10
Refinance
Refinancing in 2026: When the Numbers Justify the Move
How to read a refinance offer past the cashback headline. Real switching costs, fixed-rate break costs, and the structural moments where moving lenders compounds versus the moments where it just creates churn.
9 min readRead brief
11
Investment
Investment Property Finance: Cash Flow, Negative Gearing, and the Servicing Wall
How Australian lenders typically treat rental income, why negative gearing rarely improves borrowing capacity in a meaningful way, and the structural choices that can protect a portfolio when adding the next asset.
11 min readRead brief
12
Self-Employed
The Self-Employed Lending Brief
How Australian lenders typically assess self-employed income, the documentation pathways that exist beyond two years of tax returns, and the structural moves that can help complex files reach approval.
9 min readRead brief
Apply this to your file
Every brief is general. Your file is specific.
A Maxfin broker will read your situation against the lender panel and tell you which structures and which lenders fit. The initial consultation is complimentary and obligation-free.