SYDNEY: Nearly 900 people gathered at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney for the Finance Broker Association of Australia (FBAA) 2026 National Industry Conference (NIC), where all talk turned to artificial intelligence. Discussions centered around AI's growing influence on the way brokers work and the importance of keeping the human element at the forefront.
"Everyone is talking about AI; AI is everywhere," said Leo Gagic, chief executive officer of the FBAA. "AI innovation and how that's changing the landscape of how brokers do their business, in terms of automation, the data is everywhere. And [people are talking about] how we need to think about that moving into the future. Actually, I'm not going to do that. I'm actually going to change it around a little bit. We're still human; it's about us as humans."
His remarks were fitting for the annual event —which this year centred on the theme "Still Human" — bringing together brokers and brokerages, lenders, aggregators and industry partners from around the country, as well as a surprise appearance by FBAA former Managing Director Peter White.
The industry body, which was founded in 1993 with roughly a dozen brokers who met in a church in Queensland, has grown to a national organization that has more than 14,000. Many of those members were present, including members who had been with the FBAA for more than two decades.
Tony Carter — of Brokerage WA and former FBAA chairman of the board, having served for more than eight years between 2017 and 2025 — was awarded the Lifetime Member Award.
"I was asked if I could just write down some of the notes of the highlights, and things of that nature, for [those] 8 years [as chairman]. And so I wrote them and I thought, well, I'd probably [read] that in five to seven minutes. And [the FBAA] said no. You've got to do it in 45 seconds. So that made it a big challenge," Carter told a packed auditorium. "There's been a hell of a lot of really good times. Good times with the people, such as yourselves, sitting here today. And this is what makes the FBAA: the people in this room."
Julian Fayad, founder of Sydney-based asset finance and fintech firm LoanOptions.ai, described the conference as a valuable opportunity to connect and learn.
"This is the largest industry association where they've collated a lot of great speakers from all different areas, whether it's technology, economists, what's going on in the industry, what's happening next, where things are headed, and also just the networking opportunity," Fayad told Australian Broker. "To get this many people in one room, this many exhibitors showcasing technology, I think if you're a broker who cares about their craft, this is definitely one of the places to learn about the new and emerging technology and all the new lending products and providers in the market."
Jake Sanders, head of third party sales at Firstmac, highlighted the benefits of building connections.
"Events like this are important," he said. "They're obviously a good way to network with peers in the industry. So it's great to be involved."
Matthew Nott, founder, principal lender manager and broker at Parramatta-based Avondale Finance, enjoyed the lender expo.
"We get to meet lenders at the lender expo and other brokers as well, and get updates," he said.
He added that the event is: "more about the speakers. Some are better than others, obviously."
Sanders said economic analyst Warren Hogan was among his favorites.
"He was good," Sanders said. "He said a lot of things clearly that people are thinking in his own bullish kind of way."
The speaker line-up included Hogan, who delivered his economic outlook for the year ahead, and Courtney Houssos, NSW Minister for Finance, who provided an update on the state's housing sector. Behavioural profiling specialist Natalie Waters explored how to build trust in an increasingly digital world, while Australian television presenter Todd Sampson spoke about thriving amid rapid change. FBAA CEO Gagic also reflected on his first five months in the C-suite, mapping out what lies ahead for the organisation and the broader broking industry.
"If you think about where we started, it was about a great bunch of humans getting together to build an association to have a strong voice in this industry, to make change, positive change, and to continue to evolve the industry that we're in," Gagic said. "The FBAA wasn't formed by bots."
