The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) is urging the federal government to use the 2026–27 budget to tackle structural problems in the home lending system that are holding back borrowers and brokers alike.
In its 2026–27 pre‑budget submission, MFAA calls for a lending environment that “supports both home and business lending, delivers genuine competition, reduces unnecessary friction, and applies regulation in a fair and proportionate way.”
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured) said Australians are still grappling with “ongoing economic uncertainty, including rising inflation, cost-of-living pressures, and housing affordability challenges.” Against that backdrop, she argues the next budget should be about durable fixes, not one‑off relief.
“The 2026-27 budget presents an opportunity to move beyond short-term relief measures and focus on practical reforms that improve outcomes for households and small businesses,” Pannek said.
For brokers, one of the biggest pain points remains refinance and discharge delays. The submission highlights “ongoing friction in discharge and refinancing processes” and proposes several practical changes, including:
MFAA also wants to “strengthen competition in home lending so borrowers can switch and refinance more easily” and to keep embedding the Consumer Data Right (CDR) as core infrastructure in home lending and refinancing, as well as extending CDR into business lending.
With members increasingly concerned about rising regulatory costs and complexity, the submission argues that levies and compliance burdens must be proportionate and risk‑aligned. The association backs the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) as a key safeguard, but warns that settings must reflect actual claims experience.
“Mortgage brokers have very low CSLR claims, and regulatory costs should reflect that,” Pannek said. “Risk-aligned levy settings are essential to protecting consumers without placing unnecessary costs on broker businesses.”
She stressed that none of MFAA’s goals can be met without brokers, who now facilitate 77.3% of new home loans and more than 30% of business loans.
“Brokers translate complex policy and regulations into real outcomes that support competition, choice and access to credit,” Pannek said.
“It’s important that we continue to represent the industry through these submissions. It’s through our advocacy work and sharing the voice of the broker at the highest levels of government that we can achieve positive outcomes that drive our industry forward.”
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