Best Mortgage Innovations in Australia |
5-Star Mortgage Innovators 

“It’s really good to see that there are real innovations coming through with open banking, AI and technology-driven processes and systems,” he says. “Tech helps to speed up the process faster than what a human could. It’s doing the grunt work so much quicker.”

The opportunity to leverage technology is widening, as evidenced by research carried out by Mozo, showing that 49% of mortgage holders are exploring refinancing options after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s first rate cut in over four years.

The automation of administrative tasks – long a bottleneck for brokers – has freed up time for what truly matters: personal service. In a market flooded with information and options, the value of face-to-face, tailored advice is only increasing.

“Technology moves quickly, but the general consumer still wants to talk to someone,” White adds. “They still want that human interaction.”

This human-tech balance is at the core of the MFAA’s Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking 2025 report, compiled in partnership with Deloitte. The report positions technology as a “key industry enabler”, identifying borrowing assessments, client identification and application preparation as the most significantly impacted stages of the broking process. 

The survey also states that “brokers conduct three times more communication on a digital platform than face to face during the broking process, enabling them to reach a wider customer base.”

In addition, Pannek emphasises that despite innovative progress, unnecessary friction and duplicated efforts continue to persist across the system. The next phase of innovation, she says, must focus on three core objectives:

• eliminating low-value, time-consuming tasks

• providing hyper-personalised client data and engagement tools

• enabling marketing and predictive analytics to deepen broker-client relationships

The mortgage broker channel is no stranger to disruption, but what sets today’s leaders apart is their ability to channel innovation into meaningful gains for both brokers and borrowers. Australian Broker’s 5-Star Mortgage Innovators 2025 exemplify this shift, deploying imaginative and effective solutions that enhance every stage of the home financing journey.

Whether through AI-powered underwriting, seamless open banking integration or intuitive client engagement platforms, these innovators are setting a new benchmark for the industry – where speed and empathy are no longer at odds and where technology serves not as a replacement for human expertise but as its most powerful enabler.

In a bid to entrench itself as the non-bank lender of choice, Brighten has poured investment into both people and platforms.

“Brokers need practical, timely solutions to help them thrive in a complex market. On the tech side, they’re looking for solutions that streamline their processes and enhance efficiency. On the product side, they’re looking for help to navigate evolving market conditions,” explains Chris Meaker, head of distribution.

The firm reacted to broker feedback highlighting the need to improve serviceability and borrowing power by:

• reducing servicing buffers and introducing an alternative 1% refinance buffer

• rolling out rate promotion to make loans more accessible and competitive

• implementing 15 policy enhancements and 20 product enhancements

“To ensure that we were on our front foot to respond to 2024’s high-interest rate environment, we streamlined self-employed income verification, allowing company wages and greater flexibility for self-employed Australians,” Meaker shares.
 

“Collaboration is the foundation of our technology strategy. This broker-driven approach ensures that every system we introduce is not just another tool, but a high-value solution that brokers can trust and leverage effortlessly”
Chris MeakerBrighten

Brighten’s goal is to make technology intuitive and streamline processes to enhance customer efficiency. To this end, the lender introduced its Customer Portal for quick and secure access to manage personal finances 24/7, which allows clients to:

• view all account statements and transaction listings

• review financial interest accrual

• rename accounts

• set up new payees and BPAY billers

• schedule transfers

Brighten also made improvements to its cloud-based Broker Portal by introducing real-time tracking and digital servicing tools and enhanced document management.

Building on these updates, the firm took its innovations a step further by integrating NextGen’s ApplyOnline^® platform into its existing technology suite, reducing application times by an average of 30 minutes. The platform features:

• digital checklist so brokers can identify required documents for quicker decisions and turnaround times

• seamless document uploading to submit files directly and automatically indexed into Brighten’s CRM system, reducing manual entry

• digital signature capability for a secure and expedited application process

Brighten also increased its maximum loan sizes to $5 million across residential and bridging loans, particularly benefitting customers in the Sydney and Melbourne areas amid rising property prices.

To meet evolving borrower needs, the company also launched its Vacant Land product, giving customers more flexibility before committing to a construction loan.

Supporting business borrowers and broker diversification is another of Brighten’s priorities and the motivation behind launching its commercial lending division. It currently offers Full Doc, Alt Doc, Lease Doc and Brighten Lift, a short-term commercial loan.

According to MFAA’s Value of Mortgage and Finance Broking 2025 report, commercial and asset finance broking is an emerging growth area, with 13% of brokers surveyed being commercial lending focused and writing 25% or more of their settlements as commercial loans in FY23/24. 

Meaker shares that customer and broker response has been positive. “The aggregators and other partners we work with see the value in our commercial loans for their brokers and are eager to partner with Brighten,” he says. “From a wider industry standpoint, we can see the continuing growth in commercial loans.”

With sizeable ambition, Brighten has its eyes on national expansion. “By continuously enhancing our product offerings and investing in technology and our talent, Brighten remains committed to helping brokers and borrowers succeed in an evolving market,” Meaker adds.

In the specialised domain of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI), Helia is recasting itself as both educator and enabler for brokers and homebuyers.

“Today brokers are looking for more than just products – they’re looking for trusted support and resources at their fingertips to make it easier for them to do business,” says chief commercial officer Greg McAweeney. “With the right tools, brokers can now have more meaningful conversations with clients about how LMI can help them get into a home sooner.”

The company partnered with the MFAA in 2024 to conduct the Mortgage Broker Research Report to better understand broker challenges and perceptions around LMI. 

The findings revealed that brokers are still hesitant to recommend LMI due to cost-benefit concerns and home buyer misconceptions. Surveyed brokers also cited the need for more practical tools, resources and relevant education to help them confidently recommend LMI as a smart, strategic option.
 

To develop its education efforts, Helia launched its inaugural Broker LMI Sentiment Index, a pioneering initiative that tracks broker confidence in positioning LMI across six key areas – from recommendation and satisfaction to overall LMI understanding.

McAweeney explains, “It’s real-time feedback we’re using to improve the way we support brokers. It’s already shaping how we build educational content, training and tools to help more brokers clearly explain how LMI works – and why it can be such a smart solution for the right client.”
 

“Listening to brokers is a big part of how we improve what we do. We know that feedback is crucial to making sure our support, tools and education hit the mark”
Greg McAweeneyHelia

Over 2024, Helia delivered more than 130 hours of LMI education through webinars, podcasts and industry sessions. The company also expanded its LMI Fundamentals webinar series in partnership with the MFAA to offer Continuing Professional Development (CPD)-accredited sessions to further demystify LMI and address compliance and best interest duty considerations.

“We also partnered with aggregators and lenders to integrate LMI into their training programs, making it a more consistent part of how brokers learn and grow,” McAweeney says.

The firm also made available for free its enhanced suite of digital resources:

• LMI fact sheets and infographics translated into Punjabi, Chinese and Arabic to support a diverse mortgage broker and home buyer community

• postcards and explainers for brokers to use in client discussions

• interactive estimators so brokers can discuss deposit options and visualise long-term equity growth with LMI

• on-demand video series featuring real-world scenarios on how LMI accelerates home ownership

The result is LMI awareness among homebuyers rose to 66% in 2024, up from 61% the previous year. “The biggest shift we’ve seen is how brokers are talking about LMI – with more confidence, clarity and purpose,” says McAweeney. “It’s positioning LMI as an enabler rather than a cost, giving brokers the tools to show clients what’s possible, and that’s powerful.”

Based in Queensland, Success and Broker has chosen a different tack with a coaching service for mortgage professionals and is proving that under certain conditions, less is more.

Founder Ruan Burger has poured his 20 years of industry experience into creating The Broker Journal, a proprietary tool that allows brokers to transform the way they build habits and generate leads. Its four chapters are structured around weekly activities, helping brokers sustain productive habits that drive consistent lead flow. 

Ryan Devillers, head of growth, says that while brokers are a well-supported profession, many struggle to structure their business. “We want to help them compartmentalise and plan their weeks out, not just with the technical stuff, but the soft skills that are necessary to become a top broker,” he explains.
 

“Broker feedback has been a big mechanism through the whole process of anything that we’ve rolled out”
Ryan DevillersSuccess and Broker

Once a static PDF, the journal is now an interactive online platform thanks to a partnership with neuroscience firm Nudgeon and has an interactivity feature allowing accountability check-ins and tracking broker progress. 

The Broker Journal is also the first of its kind MFAA/FPA-accredited weekly mentoring tool that allows its over 300 users to earn 30 CPD hours upon completion. “Being accredited gives it credibility, and it means that they’ve looked at it and understood its value for the broker community. If you wanted a 52-week boot camp for your first 12 months to become a good broker, this is probably the most comprehensive thing that’s out there,” Devillers says.

Another innovation that stands out is the firm’s Trello Board. It serves as a centralised hub for tracking business performance, financials, staffing, lead flow and conversion rates while generating 90-day variation reports to course-correct performance.

“It is getting brokers to start treating their businesses like real businesses. It’s the broker’s source of truth, where they can track and measure their results,” explains Devillers.

It also integrates quarterly planning and industry benchmarking across 27 companies, giving brokers a clear measure of their performance against industry standards. Success and Broker recorded a 100% demand for system adoption from its coaching clients.

Devillers says, “It gives them clarity where their business is going and what they need to do every month to achieve the objectives they’ve set for the 12 months or three years ahead.”

He believes that broker success rests on clarity of goals and points to one of their clients growing their settlements from $48 million to $104 million within a year of adopting the Trello Board.

“The reality is that a lot of people say they want to do these things,” adds Devillers. “Sometimes it happens, maybe in three years, or they happen by accident. What we’re trying to do is make sure that it doesn’t happen by accident and that we’re sitting down and planning how to get there.”
 

The broader outlook for mortgage broking is optimistic. According to MFAA data, brokers now facilitate 75% of all new residential loans in Australia. And with an $11 trillion property market underpinning the sector, the pace of transformation shows no signs of slowing.

“It’s a good time to be in the industry. I’ve probably said that for a couple of years now,” says the FBAA’s White. “When the pandemic hit, that was a difficult time for the market, but we’ve only ever grown and become stronger. It’s very resilient.”

Fellow industry expert Pannek echoes these sentiments. She says, “The nation’s mortgage industry is in a healthy state, characterised by continued growth and ongoing innovation.”

The future looks bright, especially for those who are at the leading edge with their innovative solutions. White adds, “We need to be looking well in advance and to build for the future, not just for the next couple of years. Everybody needs to embrace technology and not be afraid of it.”

The resounding message from the industry is that leaders such as AB’s 5-Star Mortgage Innovators are intrinsic to driving efficiency.

“Blockchain and secure digital platforms are enhancing transparency and simplifying lending processes. Tools like instant identity verification, digital signatures and seamless documentation are becoming the standard,” says Dino Pacella, founder and CEO of National Finance Brokers Day. “Clients expect a frictionless experience, and those who adapt will thrive.”
 

Best Mortgage Innovations in Australia |
5-Star Mortgage Innovators

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  Brighten
   
  
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  First Mortgage Services
   
  
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  Helia