The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has outlined its push on education, advocacy, and consumer awareness in its 2025–2026 Annual Report, released on 22 October 2026, as brokers’ share of new home lending sits at a record 81.6%.
The MFAA links the broker channel’s rise to borrowing becoming more complex, with borrowers turning to brokers for choice and guidance.
“More Australians are choosing brokers to help them understand their options and navigate important financial decisions,” MFAA chief executive Anja Pannek (pictured) said.
The MFAA’s separate State of Mortgage & Finance Broking Report 2026 shows a shift towards multi-broker offices, where broker numbers rose 17% while sole operators held broadly steady. Within the reported sample, 17% of brokers did not settle a residential loan in 2025.
On education, the MFAA ran 14 national webinars that drew 13,370 registrations, on topics ranging from the Best Interests Duty and the 2026 Federal Budget to the compliance implications of artificial intelligence (AI).
Thirty-five brokers had earned the Mortgage Finance Professional Australia designation, developed with RMIT Online, by June 2026, from 111 applications.
The association, which represents more than 16,500 members, spent the 2026 financial year lobbying government, regulators, and policymakers on issues including housing affordability, tax reform, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, and scam prevention.
“Mortgage and finance brokers see firsthand how policy decisions affect access to finance for households and businesses,” Pannek said.
On the consumer side, the MFAA’s national Find a Broker campaign generated 11.2 million advertising impressions and more than 232,000 broker profile views between March and May 2026.
The MFAA’s first international study, covering five overseas broking markets, found Australia’s industry enters its next phase from a position of strength. The annual report flags rising professional standards, deeper use of AI across financial services, and the need for greater vigilance on scams and fraud.
That vigilance is already under test. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has flagged a review of lender oversight of brokers and referrers, a move the MFAA has welcomed while its fraud working group develops new referrer risk management standards.
“The opportunity ahead is to build on our industry’s strengths while preparing for change,” Pannek said.
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