The number tells a story of structural change. In March 2018, broker market share stood at 55.3%. Today, it is 81% – a rise of 25.7 percentage points over eight years. Leading aggregators settled $124.88 billion in new home loans in the March 2026 quarter alone, the highest volume ever recorded for any January-to-March period, according to the MFAA and Cotality.
81% of all new residential home loans were facilitated by mortgage brokers in the March 2026 quarter – the highest share ever recorded.
Source: MFAA/Cotality Quarterly Market Share Report, June 2026
That growth did not happen by accident. It was built on the kind of client-first service Australian Broker set out to measure when it launched the 5-Star Brokers initiative. The 81% market share figure was published by the MFAA in June 2026, two months after the survey for this report closed in April – a reminder that the structural shift towards broker-led lending continued even as these interviews were being conducted.
Now in its second year, the program identifies the best mortgage brokers in Australia based solely on client nominations and ratings – not revenue, not volume, not self-nomination. In 2026, the field was the largest it has ever been.
What’s driving Australians to mortgage brokers in 2026
Australia’s housing market in 2026 presents borrowers with a demanding combination of pressures. National median dwelling prices reached $940,048 as of May 2026, reflecting an 8.6% annual increase – the strongest calendar-year gain since 2021, according to Cotality. In the combined capital cities, the median now exceeds $1 million.
Three consecutive rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in 2026 have cut maximum borrowing capacity by approximately $25,000 for a single average-income earner and $49,000 for a couple, according to Canstar analysis, while adding roughly $272 per month to repayments on a $600,000 loan.
At the same time, housing affordability – measured in Moody’s Ratings sector in-depth report on Australian housing affordability as the share of average after-tax household income needed to service a new loan – reached 29.6% nationally in March 2026, with Sydney at 40.4% and Brisbane at 31.7%. In that environment, the broker’s role as a trusted navigator has never been more relevant.
Moody’s has noted that further interest rate rises, together with high housing prices, are set to worsen affordability for new homebuyers over the rest of 2026. Yet consumer confidence has held. Fresh MFAA research found that 84% of surveyed Australians felt confident heading into 2026, even as cost-of-living stress and lending complexity drove more people towards advice-led support from the best mortgage brokers in Australia.
The regulatory landscape has also grown more complex. From 1 February 2026, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) activated the country’s first formal debt-to-income (DTI) limit, capping high-leverage lending – defined as a DTI of six times gross income or higher – at 20% of new mortgage lending for authorised deposit-taking institutions.
Applied separately to owner-occupier and investor portfolios, the measure represents what APRA describes as a pre-emptive step to limit the build-up of system-wide risks. See APRA’s November 2025 announcement activating Australia’s first formal debt-to-income lending limit.
For investors and more complex borrowers, navigating those constraints is precisely where expert broker guidance earns its value.
$940,048 – national median dwelling price, May 2026 (up 8.6% year on year, the strongest gain since 2021)
Source: Cotality, May 2026
What sets the best mortgage brokers in Australia apart
Anja Pannek, chief executive of the MFAA in Sydney, says the hallmarks of the best mortgage brokers in Australia have sharpened alongside that complexity.
“What stands out about the best mortgage and finance brokers is their ability to combine expertise with genuine client care,” Pannek says. “They understand lending, lender policy and compliance, but they also take the time to understand their clients’ goals and circumstances.”
Pannek acknowledges that the milestone market share figure should be read in context. Broking businesses continue to face genuine operating pressures – economic uncertainty, tighter margins, shifting consumer confidence and ongoing competitive pressure. For more on the operating conditions broking businesses are navigating in 2026, see Australian Broker’s full market analysis.
“Like many small and medium-sized businesses across Australia, broking businesses have to remain focused, disciplined and adaptable,” Pannek says.
The brokers who rise to the top of this list are those who have found a way to absorb that pressure without letting it change the quality of what they deliver. The full methodology is set out at the end of this report.
Roshan Bhattarai | Derwent Finance, NSW
Roshan Bhattarai arrived in Australia from Nepal with $600 and a backpack. He obtained permanent residency, then lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than retreat, he redirected by researching careers in finance, joining Derwent Finance in Tasmania in 2021 with no prior industry experience and building his practice from the ground up under the mentorship of an industry veteran.
In August 2025, Bhattarai relocated to Sydney for his wife’s education and took on a new challenge: starting Derwent Finance’s Parramatta office from scratch – just him, in a city where he knew no one, while the company’s founders remained in Tasmania. The results speak for themselves.
Within eight months, he had accumulated approximately 40 client reviews, doubled his settlement volume compared to his Tasmania practice, and is targeting $50 million to $60 million in settlements in 2026. His ambition extends further: he aims to double that figure again in 2027. “I’m probably being unrealistic with the target,” he says. “But the higher the target, the more ambitious I am.”
His philosophy is built on a principle he calls “staying human”. He says, “I prioritise client safety and comfort from the very first discovery call. This is the biggest financial decision of their lives. I don’t want to pressure anyone. I let clients make decisions in their own time.”
That approach has translated into a referral engine that now drives three to four months of purely word-of-mouth business. Bhattarai tracks success not by loan volume but by client reviews, which he views as the leading indicator that revenue will follow.
His migrant background also shapes a particular specialism: he connects deeply with immigrant families navigating complex financing situations – including cases involving environmental zoning restrictions and government guarantee schemes – and finds deep satisfaction in resolving what others might walk away from.
Read more about how brokers are helping migrant first home buyers navigate the Australian lending market.
“This is the biggest financial decision of their lives. I don’t want to pressure anyone” Roshan Bhattarai Derwent Finance
Q: How has your background shaped the way you work with clients?
A: My immigrant experience allows me to connect deeply with the migrant community. I share similar stories and understand what it means to find stability and a sense of belonging here. When I help a family buy their first home, it means something beyond the transaction.
Q: What has the move to Sydney taught you about building a practice from nothing?
A: The first few months were challenging – a bigger city, a different pace and starting with no existing network. I used some paid marketing early to establish a pipeline, but the past few months have been entirely word of mouth. That tells me the approach is working.
Q: How are you using technology in your practice?
A: As a non-native English speaker, I use AI tools to improve my written communication and eliminate errors in emails. I also use digital onboarding platforms to make the early stages of the process smooth for clients. But technology is a support tool. The conversations still have to be human.
Rachael Howlett | Infinity Group Australia, QLD
Rachael Howlett spent years in events management before discovering mortgage broking. A decade on, she manages seven brokers internally at Infinity Group Australia in Queensland and has built what she describes as a following of more than 6,000 people on social media –entirely through educational content she creates herself.
Her niche is specific: helping existing homeowners pay their mortgages off in fewer than 10 years, using Redraw facility products, structured budgeting strategies and open banking platforms that allow clients to track their own progress in real time. “The standard loan is written over 30 years,” she says. “Most of my clients never needed to be in debt that long. They just didn’t know their options.”
Howlett’s core strength, by her own account and her clients’, is making complex financial concepts accessible. She conducts virtually all her meetings via Zoom – which has allowed her to work with clients across the country – and uses the whiteboard function to work through numbers visually. She also runs two-day educational masterclasses via Zoom, open to the public, which frequently convert attendees into clients.
The past 12 months have tested that educational approach. The federal government’s May 2026 budget included significant tax reform measures affecting residential property investment, and the RBA’s three rate rises in 2026 have altered borrowing capacity calculations substantially.
Howlett’s response is to focus on what she can control: cutting through media noise to explain what the changes actually mean for each client’s specific situation and helping those with investment properties understand restructuring options in the new regulatory environment.
One client story stays with her. A family whose son underwent 19 surgeries over 16 years for a serious medical condition came to Infinity carrying financial stress alongside everything else. Four years on, the family has restructured their mortgage and, for the first time, can afford hospital parking, meals and time away from work without financial anxiety.
“Success isn’t just loans settled and revenue,” Howlett says. “It’s whether someone’s life is actually better.”
For further reading, see Australian Broker’s coverage of how first home buyer demand is reshaping broker conversations in 2026.
“Success isn’t just loans settled and revenue. It’s whether someone’s life is actually better” Rachael Howlett Infinity Group Australia
Q: What sets apart the brokers who build lasting client relationships?
A: Curiosity. You have to genuinely want to understand your clients’ circumstances – not just their income and assets, but their goals, their fears and what they don’t know. Most people come to me overwhelmed. My job is to take all of that complexity and make it simple.
Q: How has technology changed your practice?
A: AI is an incredible productivity tool for research, content creation and analysis. But the industry has to stay led by human elements – empathy, strategy, real conversation. The technology removes friction so I can spend more time on the parts that actually matter to clients.
Q: What is the biggest challenge facing mortgage brokers in Australia in 2026?
A: Helping clients separate headlines from reality. There is so much noise – about rates, about tax changes, about property prices – and most of it creates fear rather than clarity. The brokers who thrive are the ones clients trust to cut through all of that.
Scott Phillips | Your Home Equity, WA
Scott Phillips has spent 35 years in lending across banking, collections and financial planning. For the past decade, he has focused exclusively on a market most brokers leave behind: Australians over 55 who are entering retirement with outstanding home loan debt they cannot, or do not want to, continue servicing.
Together with his wife, Jacqui Phillips, at Your Home Equity in Western Australia, Phillips has built a specialist reverse mortgage practice that addresses an underappreciated structural challenge in the Australian housing market.
The most common client scenario they encounter is a homeowner who borrowed in their mid-to-late 50s – a commonplace practice in the years following the global financial crisis – and is now approaching retirement with a loan they did not anticipate still carrying. Their solution is typically a reverse mortgage, freeing up income that was previously swallowed by repayments.
“In most cases, we’re freeing up 60% to 70% of a client’s income that was previously dedicated to servicing their home loan,” Phillips says. “For people at that life stage, that is genuinely life changing.”
Phillips identifies the ability to neutralise client embarrassment quickly as his most important professional skill. Many over-55 borrowers arrive carrying shame about their financial situation, and the first task is creating enough comfort for an honest conversation to happen.
“Thirty-five years of lending experience means nothing surprises me,” he says. “Clients feel that. It allows them to be honest about where they really are.”
Why Australia mortgage brokers are watching the over-55 market
The demographic context is significant. The NAB Australian Wellbeing Survey Q4 2025 found that only 10% of Australians aged 65 and over currently hold a mortgage. But as the cohort of mid-50s borrowers who entered the market in the 2010s matures, that number is expected to rise.
The reverse mortgage market is an emerging category in Australia, with a stronger foothold in markets such as the United Kingdom and United States. After a difficult period in the 1990s, the sector was transformed when regulators took it seriously, and Phillips sees the demographic tailwind ahead clearly.
The Phillips practice has also been an early adopter of AI, in a manner approved by their licensee. They use AI to check compliance documents for accuracy – including pronoun consistency – and to flag discrepancies between stated and verified figures. Clients receive automated valuation results accompanied by short explainer videos featuring an AI avatar, a tool Phillips developed in partnership with a technology founder.
For more on how technology is reshaping the way Australian mortgage brokers serve their clients, read Australian Broker’s industry technology report.
“Thirty-five years of experience means nothing surprises me. Clients feel that. It allows them to be honest” Scott Phillips Your Home Equity
Q: Who is your typical client, and what do they need most from a mortgage broker?
A: Most commonly, they’re homeowners in their early 60s who borrowed later in their working lives and are now bringing that debt into retirement. They need two things: a solution that lets them stay in their home, and a broker who isn’t going to make them feel ashamed of where they are. Neutralising embarrassment quickly is the most important thing we do.
Q: How is AI changing the way you serve clients in this market?
A: We use AI to do compliance work faster and more accurately – checking documents, flagging discrepancies, verifying information. That means we spend less time on back-end administration and more time in actual conversations with clients. We also send automated valuation explainer videos to clients so they understand what the numbers mean before they call us. It reduces anxiety and makes the conversation more productive.
Q: What is the outlook for the reverse mortgage market in Australia?
A: It’s an exciting time to be in this space. The product has a chequered history in Australia, but that changed when regulators took it seriously. The demographic reality is compelling –the over-55 population is growing, retirement debt is common, and many of these homeowners have significant equity but limited income. There are a lot of conversations still to be had.
Tracey Kee | Scintillation Holdings, NSW
Tracey Kee has been working with first home buyers for nearly 11 years. In that time, she has watched the clients she helped into their first home come back – for an upgrade, an investment property, a refinance – and then send their friends, their siblings and eventually their colleagues her way. Today, she says 85% of her business comes from organic referrals. She runs no paid marketing.
Two weeks before this interview, Kee took a step she had been considering for some time: she moved from a Loan Market franchise model to her own branding: Keywise Finance under the aggregator, Scintillation Holdings. The change gives her more flexibility to grow, including the possibility of bringing on brokers as contractors. It is, in other words, the move of someone confident in the practice she has built.
That practice is rooted in a principle she articulates simply: treat every client the way you would want to be treated. In practice, that means never pushing someone to borrow more than they are comfortable with; walking every client through maximum borrowing capacity, monthly repayment projections and a post-settlement budgeting tool covering ongoing costs such as council rates and strata levies; and staying in touch long after the loan settles. Kee adds clients to a WhatsApp group after settlement, where they ask questions that range well beyond mortgage broking.
Her availability is notable. Most client meetings happen in the evenings – often at 8 pm or 9 pm – to accommodate borrowers who cannot get away during working hours. “The relationship evolves from business to friendship,” she says. “And that’s when the referrals really come.”
Kee is frank about the challenges the channel faces. Rate disparities between what brokers can offer and what major banks offer walk-in customers directly create genuine tension – a pressure point that has only intensified as the RBA has moved rates higher in 2026 and banks have responded with differing retention strategies.
Kee addresses it head-on: explaining the difference transparently, positioning herself as a long-term relationship manager rather than a rate matcher, and disclosing upfront that she is subject to a full commission clawback if a client leaves the recommended lender within 12 months. The transparency, she has found, builds more trust than any rate would. Read Australian Broker’s analysis of the trust and transparency standards defining broker-client relationships in 2026.
“The relationship evolves from business to friendship. And that’s when the referrals really come” Tracey Kee Scintillation Holdings
Q: What does a first meeting with a new client look like for you?
A: I walk them through everything systematically – maximum borrowing capacity, how much they’d need for different purchase prices, what the monthly repayments would look like, and then a budgeting tool for all the ongoing costs they’ll face after settlement. I want them to leave that first meeting understanding exactly where they stand, not just excited about a number.
Q: How do you approach the channel conflict issue when clients ask about going directly to their bank?
A: Transparently. I explain exactly what the rate difference is, why it exists and what they get from working with a mortgage broker in Australia that they don’t get walking into a branch. I also tell them upfront about the commission clawback – if they move within 12 months, I lose the commission entirely. That honesty seems to land with people. It shows I’m not just pushing them towards a lender because it suits me.
Q: You recently moved to your own branding. What does the next chapter look like?
A: I want to grow, potentially bringing in other brokers to work with me, and I want the freedom to do that in a way that reflects who I am and how I work. The referral base is strong enough to support it. This felt like the right time.
How the best mortgage brokers in Australia use technology
Across the four profiles above, a consistent pattern emerges: the best mortgage brokers in Australia are embracing technology not to automate their client relationships, but to protect them. Artificial intelligence tools are being used to eliminate administrative drag, improve written communication and streamline compliance, freeing brokers to spend more time on the conversations that actually matter.
That pattern is visible at the industry level, too. The mortgage broking industry has an estimated market value of $6.2 billion in 2026, according to IBISWorld, and the sector is investing in digital infrastructure to match. Major aggregators have announced agentic AI initiatives, and lender digital platforms are being rebuilt around the broker channel. Yet the growth in market share over the same period tells its own story: technology and personal advice are not competing forces. They are complementary ones.
Pannek sees this as defining for the next generation of the profession. “The most successful brokers are using technology to enhance the client experience while preserving the personal relationships and guidance that clients value most,” she says. “Australia already has one of the most digitised lending ecosystems in the world, yet mortgage broker market share continues to grow. That demonstrates that technology and trusted advice work hand in hand.”
Complaints against mortgage brokers and aggregators represent less than 1% of all banking and finance complaints received by AFCA
Source: MFAA Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking Report, 2025
2026 outlook for Australia’s best mortgage brokers
The structural drivers behind Australian mortgage broker market share growth show no sign of reversing. Broker-facilitated lending growth outpaced the overall market in the December 2025 quarter, according to MFAA data, even as housing policy, interest rates and regulatory settings continued to shift. The APRA DTI limits, effective from February 2026, combined with three RBA rate rises and significant tax reform in the May 2026 federal budget, mean that navigating the lending landscape in 2026 requires a level of expertise that few borrowers can replicate alone.
Refinancing volumes reflect the same dynamic. More than 640,000 home loans were renegotiated or switched in 2025 – a 20% increase on 2024 and the largest refinancing wave on record, according to industry analysis of ABS Lending Indicators data – with over 64% of those refinancers switching to a different lender. For the best mortgage brokers in Australia, who understand the landscape across dozens of lenders, that represents both a substantial opportunity and a test of the advice-led model.
640,000+ home loans were refinanced or switched in 2025 – a 20% jump from 2024, the largest refinancing wave on record
Source: ABS housing finance data/industry analysis, 2026
At the same time, operating conditions for broking businesses remain genuinely challenging. Economic uncertainty, cost-of-living pressures and a lending market where rates and policies can shift quickly are all factors the winners navigate daily.
Pannek is clear-eyed about this. “The record should be read as a reflection of broker professionalism and persistence, not just a favourable market,” she says. The full data is published in the MFAA Quarterly Market Share Report, confirming brokers settled 81% of new home loans in the March 2026 quarter.
For the brokers on this list, the outlook is shaped by the same asset they have always relied on: trust earned one client at a time.
How do you identify a 5-Star mortgage broker from an average one?
Not loan volume. Not years in the industry. Across all 130-plus brokers nominated for this report, the common thread was something harder to quantify: a refusal to let speed replace judgement, even in a year when speed was the industry’s loudest selling point.
The brokers on this list answered calls on weekends. They explained the same regulatory change three different ways until a client understood. They turned down deals that weren’t right, even when the commission said otherwise. None of that shows up in a market share report. All of it shows up in a client nomination.
That is also what an 81% market share actually buys an Australian borrower – not a better rate, since brokers don’t set rates; lenders do. What it buys is choice: access to dozens of lenders instead of one, a second opinion before signing a 30-year commitment, and someone whose income depends on getting the loan right rather than getting the borrower out the door.
The best mortgage brokers in Australia are not the ones with the biggest settlement figures. They are the ones who treat every loan like it is the only one that matters, because to the person signing it, it is.
- Aimee Bergan
APC Homeloans
- Alicia Primus
Primus Home Loans
- Angelo Chiuchiolo
Finance Mutual Australia
- Bradley Haining
Arch Brokerage
- Coby Morgan
Infinity Group Australia
- Dean Perry
Blue Sky Mortgage Solutions
- Duane Mengel
Mortgage Choice
- Jessie Boyce
Nexus Loans
- John Hubon
Loan Market
- Julian Choo
Julian Choo Loan Market
- Louise Lucas
The Property Education Company
- Michaela Shaw
Money Quest - Penrith
- Mina Meawad
Finance Mutual Australia
- Nicole Shepherd
Rely Finance
- Rohit Puri
Flourish Finance
- Sandy Kelso
Kelso Finance
- Siddhartha Dhar Bajracharya
Home Loan Experts
- Steph Thomas
Loan Market
Frequently asked questions
Who are the best mortgage brokers in Australia in 2026?
The best mortgage brokers in Australia in 2026 are the 40 professionals recognised by Australian Broker’s 5-Star Brokers award, ranked solely on client nominations and ratings, not revenue or volume.
Winners are drawn from seven states and territories, spanning first home buyer specialists, reverse mortgage advisers and mortgage acceleration educators. Each achieved an average client rating of 9 or above across six key performance criteria from more than 3,300 verified nominations.
The following 22 winners have enhanced profiles in this report, featuring additional details beyond the standard award listing:
What percentage of Australian home loans go through mortgage brokers?
In the March 2026 quarter, Australian mortgage brokers facilitated 81% of all new residential home loans, according to data from Cotality commissioned by the MFAA. This is the highest market share ever recorded and places Australia alongside the United Kingdom and the Netherlands as one of only three countries where brokers originate more than 80% of home lending.
Broker market share has grown from 55.3% in March 2018 to 81% in March 2026 – an increase of 25.7 percentage points over eight years.
What qualities define the best mortgage brokers in Australia?
According to Anja Pannek, chief executive of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), the best mortgage brokers in Australia combine technical expertise, including a deep understanding of lender policy and compliance, with genuine care for their clients’ goals and circumstances.
The common thread across this year’s winners is a commitment to long-term client relationships over transactional interactions, transparency about the broking process, and the ability to make complex financial decisions accessible to borrowers at every experience level.
How are Australia’s leading mortgage brokers using technology in 2026?
Australia’s top mortgage brokers are adopting AI and digital tools to reduce administrative workload, improve compliance accuracy and streamline client onboarding – freeing up more time for direct client engagement. Tools used by 2026 5-Star winners include AI-assisted email communication, automated document checking, digital valuation explainers and open banking platforms that allow clients to track mortgage progress in real time.
As Pannek notes, Australia already has one of the most digitised lending ecosystems in the world, yet broker market share continues to grow – evidence that technology and personal advice are complementary, not competing.
What regulatory changes are affecting mortgage brokers in Australia in 2026?
Several significant regulatory and policy changes have reshaped the lending landscape in 2026. From 1 February 2026, APRA activated Australia’s first formal debt-to-income (DTI) lending limit, capping high-leverage loans – defined as a DTI of six times gross income or higher – at 20% of new mortgage lending for authorised deposit-taking institutions.
The May 2026 federal budget also introduced tax reform measures affecting residential property investment, including changes to negative gearing settings. These changes make the guidance of a knowledgeable mortgage broker more valuable than at any point in recent memory.
What challenges are Australian mortgage brokers facing in 2026?
Despite record market share, many broking businesses are operating in a challenging environment. Economic uncertainty, cost-of-living pressures, three consecutive RBA rate rises in 2026 and significant policy changes are all weighing on the sector.
National housing affordability reached 29.6% of average after-tax household income as of March 2026, according to Moody’s Ratings – with Sydney at 40.4% – meaning first home buyers in particular are navigating a historically tight market. The MFAA has noted that broking businesses have to remain focused, disciplined and adaptable in the current climate.
What is the outlook for the mortgage broking industry in Australia?
The structural drivers behind broker growth – increasing complexity in the lending environment, a borrower preference for personalised guidance and a broad lender panel that gives clients genuine choice – show no sign of reversing.
The MFAA has expressed confidence in the long-term outlook for the mortgage broker channel in Australia, noting that the profession has successfully navigated significant change over the past decade while remaining focused on client outcomes.
For 5-Star Brokers, the foundation of the next decade is the same as it has always been: trust earned one client at a time.
Insights
As part of our editorial process, Australian Broker’s researchers interviewed the subject matter expert below for an independent analysis of this report and its findings.
Australian Broker proudly unveiled its second annual 5-Star Brokers initiative, designed to recognise the best mortgage brokers in Australia – professionals who consistently put their clients’ needs first.
Between 16 March and 10 April 2026, the Australian Broker team launched an extensive marketing and survey campaign that engaged thousands of readers nationwide. Participants were invited to nominate their brokers and rate them across six key performance criteria: pricing, technical expertise, range of products, customer service, fast communication and overall responsiveness.
Out of more than 3,300 nominations covering more than 130 individuals, those brokers who received the highest number of nominations and achieved an average rating of 9 or above were honoured as Australia’s 5-Star Brokers – an honour based not on revenue, but on outstanding client service.
