About us
Who we are and how we work.
What Is an Independent Mortgage Broker?
The word gets used loosely. It has a specific meaning, it is checkable in about two minutes, and a surprising number of well-known broker brands do not meet it.
An independent mortgage broker is one that is not owned by, or financially tied to, a bank or lender. Many of Australia's largest broker networks are wholly or partly owned by the banks whose loans they recommend. Independence means the ownership structure creates no reason to favour any particular lender, so the recommendation rests on your circumstances alone.
Independent Mortgage Broker is a trading name of LNB Finance Pty Ltd, ABN 83 668 176 083. No bank or lender holds any ownership interest in us. We are a Credit Representative operating under Australian Credit Licence 384324, and our accreditations are listed in our Credit Guide.
Why ownership matters more than branding
Several of the household-name broker brands in Australia are owned wholly or in part by major banks, or sit inside groups that also own lenders. The broker in the shopfront may be perfectly good at their job and genuinely trying to help you. The question is what happens structurally above them: whose profit the group ultimately serves, which lenders sit on the panel, and which products are promoted.
None of this is hidden. It is simply not the thing anyone leads with, and most customers never think to ask.
What an independent broker actually does
The mechanics are the same as any broker. What changes is what shapes the answer.
- Understands your position. Income and how it is earned, existing debts, credit history, deposit, and what you are actually trying to do.
- Matches it to lender policy. This is the real work. Lenders differ enormously on casual income, bonuses, self-employment, HECS, rental income and credit history. Knowing which will say yes is worth more than knowing which advertises the lowest rate.
- Compares pricing across the panel. Rate, fees and structure, including lenders with no branches that you would never encounter on your own.
- Structures the loan. Offset, splits, and keeping properties uncrossed so you can sell or refinance one without unwinding everything. This is where poor decisions cost the most and show up years later.
- Prepares and submits the application, then manages it through to settlement.
- Stays available afterwards. Trail commission exists to fund exactly that.
How to check whether a broker is independent
Two minutes of work.
- Ask who owns them. A direct question deserves a direct answer. Hesitation is informative.
- Read the Credit Guide. Every Australian credit licensee must give you one before you apply. It names the licensee, the credit representative number and the lender accreditations.
- Check the licence on ASIC Connect. Australian Credit Licence numbers and credit representative numbers are publicly searchable. Ours are ACL 384324 and Credit Representative 551447.
- Look at the panel size. A panel of six or eight lenders is not comparison, it is a shortlist. Ask how many, and ask whether any are related parties.
What independence does not mean
Being straight about the limits matters as much as the claim.
It does not mean access to every lender in Australia. No broker has that; a few lenders are direct-only, and every broker works from an accredited panel. Anyone claiming access to all of them is overselling.
It does not mean free of incentives. We are paid commission by whichever lender you choose, which is a conflict, and we set out exactly how it works on how mortgage brokers get paid. What independence removes is the structural conflict of ownership: nobody upstairs benefits from you choosing one lender over another.
And it does not automatically mean better. An excellent broker inside a bank-owned network may serve you better than a poor independent one. Independence removes a conflict; it does not substitute for competence.
Best Interests Duty applies either way
Since 2021 all Australian mortgage brokers, independent or not, must act in your best interests. It is a legal obligation enforceable under the licence, and it is a meaningful protection.
Worth repeating, because it is the comparison that surprises people: that duty does not apply to a bank's own lending staff. A branch lender must offer you products suitable for you. A broker must act in your best interests. Those are different standards, and the higher one sits with the broker.
Common questions
Many of the largest and most recognisable networks are owned wholly or partly by banks or by groups that also own lenders. Plenty of genuinely independent brokers exist, but the biggest brands are frequently not among them. Ask, and read the Credit Guide.
No, and nobody can. Every broker works from an accredited panel and some lenders are direct-only. We work with more than 60, which is wide enough that lender policy rather than panel size becomes the constraint.
No. We are paid by the lender on settlement exactly as any broker is, and we charge you nothing. See are mortgage brokers free.
Search Australian Credit Licence 384324 and Credit Representative 551447 on ASIC Connect. Both are public. Our Credit Guide sets out the same details.
No. It is a trading name of LNB Finance Pty Ltd, ABN 83 668 176 083, and no bank or lender holds an ownership interest.
Ask us who owns us
Nobody but us. More than 60 lenders compared, no fee to you, Credit Guide before you apply.
Related
Broker or bank?
Including when going direct is the better call.
Our Credit Guide
Licence details, accreditations and remuneration.