The Australian Finance Group’s (AFG) 2026 national conference kicked off this week in Melbourne, bringing together more than 900 broking and finance industry professionals at Crown Melbourne for its annual event, this year titled "AFG Next."
"The motivational speaker was great. And it's always good to hear the AFG updates," Janine Wade, the founder and director of Sydney-based brokerage Ikaya, told Australian Broker.
Day one featured a packed agenda, including dozens of sponsors showcasing their businesses in the expo hall, plenty of networking opportunities and a diverse line-up of speakers.
The expo hall at AFG Next.
AFG Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer Them Lamb, who has been with the firm for 17 years, opened the conference talking about longevity and the power of a growth mindset.
Four-time Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus confirmed her pregnancy news only hours after announcing it on Instagram, while also sharing her outlook on life. Among the messages she left the audience with was one of her favourite quotes: "Never negotiate your future. Do your best in the moment."
"I texted that to my mate," Brett Woods, founder and broker of Brisbane-based brokerage Oak + Stone, told Australian Broker. "She focuses on the quote in relation to being an Olympic athlete. But you can take her concepts and apply them to your daily life, apply them to your business."
Australian actor Shane Jacobson acted as master of ceremonies, while Stuart Gregor, co-founder of Four Pillars Gin, shared insights in brand building. The afternoon break-out sessions covered a range of topics. Among them, author and AI business speaker Adam Franklin discussing artificial intelligence, while Haley Bellamy, AFG's state manager for NSW/ACT, led the “Broker Exchange," a structured networking session she described as “speed dating for brokers." Commercial brokers also had their own dedicated afternoon workshops.
In addition, the conference offered a glimpse of what's ahead for the AFG network. AFG Chief Executive Officer David Bailey revealed that AFG's 2027 national conference will be held across the Tasman Sea in Auckland, New Zealand.
"I like that we're going to New Zealand next year," said Robert Perks, founder and broker at Perth-based Fifth Avenue Finance Group. Perks has been an AFG broker for 25 years and attended almost all of the national conferences during that time.
Back on the main stage, Bailey also offered an update on AFG while discussing current market conditions, which he described as "pretty ugly."
But despite his stark assessment of the economy, Bailey returned repeatedly to one message: "the market will return."
"We've got cash rates, unemployment rates and headline CPI [all going up]," the CEO told the crowd. "And all of these are confluencing together to drive an outcome which we're currently probably all experiencing, or the majority of you are experiencing right now, and so are your customers. And I'd probably just sort of highlight that this is where customers are needing people like ourselves and yourselves to help them through what is probably going to be a fairly tricky next 12 months.
"At the same time, we've got this really weird world that we're living in," Bailey continued. "We've got stuff that we've never seen before. You have a war in Iran; we've got a war in Ukraine, which is going on forever. We're seeing elections, changing election patterns. We're seeing France self-implode. All of these things add up to an environment [that] is causing stress on the world, and ultimately [that] then shoots home to us.
"What we've seen over the journey is these things do return; the market will return," Bailey said. "The market will return for AFG. The market will return for all of you people in the room in terms of running your business. It's now that you need to buckle down and make some decisions around how you can survive and how can you invest in the business to make it a bigger and stronger business moving forward."
Australian Broker was on the ground at the conference to see who turned up, what was being discussed and which messages stood out from the first day.
Bailey offered an update on AFG's business, highlighting how changing economic conditions are beginning to influence borrower behaviour. One area showing signs of movement is refinancing, with Bailey expecting it to account for a greater share of broker activity in the coming months.
"We're starting to see the refinances kick in," he said. "We always see that when there's a change in mortgage rates, customers say, 'Am I on the best deal? Is it the best [deal that I have]? Am I getting the best deal?' And that reverse inquiry back to the broker seems to start to lift. So at the moment [refinancing is] about 15% to 16% of flow. We would expect that to start returning to closer to 20% to 25% over the next two to three months. [But] probably not before Christmas."
The CEO added that, despite all the market noise and broader economic uncertainty, there have yet to be any changes to first-time homebuyer activity.
"[Recent] positions were really driven around first home buyers," he said. "Our data says that hasn't moved at all. It's still 12% of our flow. Hasn't moved from 12% for a long, long time. And it kind of makes sense. Customers aren't getting cash flow enough, especially new homeowners. [They are saying], 'Why would I buy now if the house prices are going to fall down?' They're particularly sensitive to falling house prices, particularly the first mortgage."
Bailey discussed the group's three pillars of growth: grow the broker network, provide market-leading technology and develop high-margin products for distribution.
"I think that's a pretty cool purpose," he said.
"And then, underpinning all of that are our values: integrity, accountability, customer-centric and [being a] team player," the executive added.
Bailey pointed out that "FY26 was an amazing year for brokers. Lots of activity, lots of trust, and there's lots of liquidity in the marketplace."
Now, the firm has upped the ante, setting its sights on a $9 billion loan book by FY29.
"And we're going to work our hardest to get there," Bailey said.
Bailey also addressed the continued growth of the mortgage broking channel, highlighting the importance of maintaining strong customer outcomes as brokers take on an increasingly significant role in the home loan market.
According to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), brokers wrote 81.6% of all new home loans in the June 2026 quarter. But Bailey also said the industry needs to keep delivering top-notch service in order to maintain that momentum.
"I've always said [that], that 82% market share is ours to lose. [But] we don't lose it if we provide great customer outcomes," he said.
"We are investing in brokers," the CEO added. "We continue to be standing up for brokers."
Robert Perks
Founder and managing director at Perth-based brokerage Fifth Avenue Finance Group
"AFG doesn't do a bad conference. [And as brokers], we get a bulk amount of professional development, and the ongoing relationships. You get to speak to our colleagues and peers off-book. And we may have issues to sort out that we don't want to do by email formally, and you can hash that out in person at the conference. And I liked David Bailey's address; AFG's overall approach to business. Their values and planning align with my own business."
Brett Woods
Founder and broker at Brisbane-based brokerage Oak + Stone
"I come every year, for the last four, five or six years. As a broker, you've always got to continue to learn and focus on your own professional development. And there's a lot of sessions in here that talk about that. And this year, so far so good. It's a great venue. AFG always picks a great venue."
Lizelle Fillis
Finance broker at Perth-based brokerage Infinite
"I think the speakers were good, especially Ariarne [Titmus]. Bits and pieces of her talking, and getting motivation from that. It's nice having a full conference."
Carol Hoeden
Founder, general manager and broker at Perth-based brokerage Infinite
"I think, in terms of first impressions — because this is my first time at the conference as well — just walking in yesterday to the welcome function, it was like, 'wow. This is huge.' It's a real community feel at AFG. There's a lot of togetherness. It's not like a broker-against-broker sort of thing. It's all a really nice community. That's what I like."
