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What does a mortgage broker actually do?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 8 min read

What I do between your first call and settlement

Think of me as a matchmaker for home loans. You tell me where your mind's at, I flip over every stone in your financial world, and then I work out which lenders will actually approve you, what each one will lend, and which option fits what you're trying to do now and in five years. Then I package the application, chase it through approval, keep you across every step to settlement, and keep an eye on the loan for as long as you have it.

For a first home buyer, that work starts with the first step anyone should take: knowing your real number, checked against actual lender policy, so you're not spending six months looking at places you can't buy.

When to talk to a broker (12 months out is not too early)

Whenever you have the thought. If you're 12 months out, or three years out, we can see where you sit today, work out what's in the way, and put a plan together. Debt in the background that's going to shrink what you can borrow? Good, now we know, and we can get it gone before you apply. Casual now and moving to a salary? We run what your borrowing looks like in one, two and three years. The earlier the chat, the more of the plan is still in your hands.

How a lender gets picked: approval first, rate second

Rate matters. Who's actually going to approve you matters more. If there's a dent in your credit or a stack of debt, we might need a lender that's generous on borrowing capacity just to get the yes. So approval comes first, then rate, then fees upfront and ongoing, then what it's like to actually bank with them, then features like offset accounts and how many you get. A lender you've never heard of isn't a risk on its own: every lender in Australia needs a credit licence and follows the same responsible lending laws.

The other thing people trip on: the rate on a bank's website is usually its best loan to value tier, for a specific product. Line up the same tier, product and purpose before you judge, because brokers can often get the same pricing or sharper.

Why the calculator said more

Online calculators are one lender's rough guess fed with whatever you typed in. Every bank reads income differently, shades some of it, counts your card limits and buy now pay later accounts, and takes the higher of your declared spending or its own benchmark. Part of my job is reading your finances the way each bank will, then running them through the banks' own calculators.

How I get paid, and the best interests duty

You don't pay me. I get to charge the bank for the work that I do, not you. When your loan settles, the lender pays an upfront commission that works out to roughly 0.65% of the settled loan amount, net of anything sitting in the offset, then a trail of around 0.15% of the balance each year you stay, which pays for the pricing reviews and keeping your bank honest. The bank pays because it gained a customer it didn't have to spend money attracting.

The catch sits on my side of the table. Close the loan inside 12 months and the bank takes back every dollar of the upfront commission. Between 12 and 18 months it normally takes back half. So a loan you'd want to leave in a year is worth nothing to me. The banks all pay roughly the same, so I don't care which one we go to, and since 2021 brokers have worked under a legal best interests duty: if a lender paid more but cost you more, I couldn't justify recommending it. I'm a credit representative under Connective's Australian credit licence, and the licence details are at the bottom of this page.

Broker or straight to the bank

Honest answer: some online-only lenders don't deal with brokers, and their rates sometimes undercut what I can offer. If the rate is all you care about, go apply with them, and I'll tell you so. What you take on going direct is the guesswork. The bank only offers what it has to sell, you do the paperwork, and you don't know whether you'll be approved, or whether the advertised rate applies to you, until the valuation is back. My job is to take that guesswork out before your file goes anywhere.

Why it is a call, not an email

Because 20 minutes on the phone gets more done than two weeks of back and forth. I'm the one who knows what questions the banks will ask, and the answers that matter usually come out of the second or third question, not the first. I also have to verify you are who you say you are, which generally means a video call. If 20 minutes isn't on the cards, we're probably not a fit, and that's fine.

Related reading

About Bayley What clients say Every how-this-works answer in the library Refinancing with a broker The full guide: Bank or non-bank lender

Straight answers in this guide

Broker or going direct to the bank: which gets me the best deal? Do I pay you? How does a mortgage broker get paid, and what's the catch? You're recommending a bank I've never heard of. Is it safe? What does a mortgage broker actually cost you? Won't a broker just push me to whatever bank pays the most? The bank's website has a lower rate than my broker found. Am I being ripped off? What is the first step to buy your first home? When should I talk to a broker? Is 12 months too early? Aside from the rate, how do you even pick a lender? Can I just do my home loan application by email instead of jumping on a call? Why do online calculators say I can borrow more than the banks will actually lend me?

Got a question this page didn't answer? Send it to me and it goes on the list.