RefinanceMakeMyLoan brokers compare dozens of lenders and owe you a Best Interests Duty — your bank doesn't.
Refinancing means replacing your current home loan with a new one — either with a different lender or a restructured loan with your existing one. Done well, it can lower your repayments, shorten your loan term, or unlock features like an offset account. Done carelessly, the fees and a reset loan term can eat the benefit. Here is the full process from first look to settlement, including what it actually costs.
Before you look at anyone else's loan, get clear on your own. Pull your most recent statement or log into your banking app and write down:
Many borrowers discover at this stage that they do not actually know their own rate. That is normal — lenders rarely volunteer it — but it is the single most important number in this whole exercise.
Your loan-to-valuation ratio (LVR) is your loan balance divided by your property's current value. It drives almost everything about your refinance: the rates you qualify for, whether lenders will take you at all, and whether lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) applies.
If your LVR is at or below 80 per cent, you are in the strongest position — most lenders compete hardest for these loans and no LMI applies. If it is above 80 per cent, refinancing may trigger a new LMI premium with the new lender, even if you paid LMI on your original loan, because LMI does not transfer between lenders. In that case it often pays to wait until repayments and property value movement bring you under the threshold. Our LVR and LMI calculator can help you estimate where you stand.
With your current loan and LVR in hand, you can compare like with like. Look beyond the headline rate:
Use a repayment calculator to model the new loan over your remaining term, not a fresh 30 years, so the comparison is honest. A broker will typically run this comparison across dozens of lenders and, under the Best Interests Duty, must recommend what suits your circumstances rather than what pays best. You can read more about the options on our refinance page.
This is also the moment to ask your current lender for a better deal. A simple repricing request — telling them you are reviewing your loan and asking for their best rate — sometimes closes the gap without any paperwork at all.
A refinance application looks a lot like your original home loan application. Expect to provide:
The new lender will assess your income and expenses under NCCP responsible-lending obligations, order a valuation of your property, and check your credit file. They will typically assess your ability to repay at a buffer of around 3 percentage points above the actual rate, so approval is not automatic even if you have never missed a repayment. If approved, you will receive a formal loan offer and new loan contract to sign.
Free, instant, and no details required — see roughly what lenders could approve for you.
Once you sign the new contract, two things happen in parallel:
After settlement, confirm your old loan shows a zero balance and is closed, check that any linked offset or credit accounts you no longer need are shut, and set up your new repayments and direct debits. End to end, a straightforward refinance commonly takes two to six weeks depending on lender turnaround times.
Refinancing is rarely free, but the costs are usually modest and knowable in advance:
Weigh these one-off costs against the ongoing saving. If the total cost is recovered within the first year or two of savings, the numbers usually stack up — but run them for your own situation rather than relying on rules of thumb.
Refinancing rewards borrowers who do the audit honestly. If your rate has drifted well above what new customers are offered, your LVR is under 80 per cent, and you plan to keep the property for a few years, the process above typically pays for itself. If you are near the end of your loan, deep inside a fixed term, or above 80 per cent LVR, the maths deserves more scrutiny — our guide on when to refinance works through those signals in detail.
A broker can run the loan audit, comparison and application for you at no cost to you in most cases, and must act in your best interests when recommending a loan. If you would like a second set of eyes on your current loan, get in touch — a short conversation is usually enough to tell whether refinancing is worth pursuing.
A straightforward refinance commonly takes two to six weeks from application to settlement. The main variables are the new lender's assessment turnaround, how quickly the valuation is completed, and how long your outgoing lender takes to process the discharge — some lenders are notably slower than others at releasing borrowers.
Each refinance application places an enquiry on your credit file, and one enquiry has a small, short-lived effect. What damages your file is lodging multiple applications with different lenders in quick succession, so compare first and apply once. Under comprehensive credit reporting, a well-managed new loan repaid on time will read positively over time.
If your loan-to-valuation ratio is above 80 per cent with the new lender, yes — LMI is charged again because premiums do not transfer between lenders, and refunds on your original premium are rare after the first year or two. If your LVR is 80 per cent or below, no LMI applies.
Yes, but your current lender can charge break costs to exit the fixed term early, and these can be substantial when market rates have fallen since you fixed. Request a payout figure that includes break costs before signing anything new. Many borrowers instead time their refinance for the fixed-rate expiry date, when break costs no longer apply.
Broadly the same as an original application: identification, proof of income such as payslips or tax returns, recent statements for your existing home loan, and details of your expenses, assets and other debts. Self-employed borrowers usually need one to two years of business financials and tax assessments.
This article is general information only and doesn't consider your personal objectives, financial situation or needs — it isn't personal credit advice, and lending criteria, rates, fees and government schemes change. Before acting, speak with a licensed MakeMyLoan broker or credit representative who will assess your circumstances and provide a credit guide before any credit assistance is given.
