Weekly Credit Crunch 23rd March 2026 🌟

🏦 ANZ

Government 5% Deposit Scheme

Applications are now live and can be submitted through ANZ.

Mortgage Credit Requirements Update

There have been changes to the verification process for rental income from both privately leased and agent-managed properties, effective 23 March.

Rental income from privately leased properties can now be verified using either:

• The latest tax return and corresponding Notice of Assessment (where applicable), or
• The last 3 months of transaction history showing consistent rental credits

Important notes:

• For non-ANZ held securities, ownership must also be verified using reliable third-party documentation such as:
  • current rates notice
  • title search
  • tax return
• For both private and agent-managed rental income, where rental figures are inconsistent, the lowest rental figure must be used for assessment

First Home Buyer Cashback Update

The $3,000 First Home Buyer Cashback offer now excludes loans with:

• ANZ LMI waivers
• the 5% Deposit Scheme

Effective 23 March.

Credit Reporting Provider Name Change

ANZ’s credit reporting provider name will change from Illion to Experian from 1 April 2026.

Upcoming Webinar

🧠 AI & The Future of Mortgage Broking. Thursday, 26 March at 2pm AEDT

 Register Here https://anz.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sk5b0XtP0fUDXw

💛 CommBank Third Party

Rental Appraisal Policy Update

The rental appraisal document process has been expanded to allow alternative supporting documents where the rental appraisal letter is missing some minimum requirements.

Effective from 13 March.

If the rental appraisal letter is missing the unique agent identifier:

• Credit will verify the agent licence number independently and may still accept the letter provided

If the rental appraisal letter is missing three comparable rental properties:

You can provide one of the following:

• Agent-badged Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report
• Separate email from the agent listing the comparable rental properties

Extra helpful update:

• If you do not have access to a Cotality Estimated Rental Amount PDF Report, the Credit team will obtain one

Construction Loans

Eligible customers with construction loans will be able to view their Progress Payment Schedule (PPS) in NetBank from Friday, 27 March.

🔵 AMP

SMSF Policy and Product Webinar

AMP is hosting an SMSF webinar for brokers wanting a deeper understanding of the product offering.

🗓 Tuesday, 7 April 2026
🕑 2:00pm – 2:50pm (AEST)

Topics include:

• What is an SMSF
• Understanding SMSF loan structure
• Lending criteria
• SMSF Offset account
• Scope
• Application flow
• Support
• FAQs

A good one to jump into if SMSF lending is on your radar this month.

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/41499706485928?p=Q3gSz3TUxcahsHOI2v

Meeting ID: 414 997 064 859 28

Passcode: cf9Qr2SC

🟠 ING

Self-Employed Series - Before you submit, sense check:

• Income type and trading history
• Business structure complexity
• LVR alignment before building the file

Using Individual Tax Return (ITR) Income

Where business financials are not the best fit, Individual Tax Return income may be used and assessed under either the 1-year or 2-year policy, depending on the customer’s circumstances.

When using ITR Income Only:

• Max LVR: 95%
• Retained or undistributed profits and add backs are not included
• Multiple layers are allowed, where undistributed profits or add backs are not used
• Company or trust financials are still required to confirm the business is trading profitably

Webinar Series

Join one of the self-employed webinars. There’s no need to pre-register, just join ING at 2pm (EDST) on the date that best suits your schedule:

Thursday 26^th March              - 2pm (EDST)  Meeting Link
Thursday 2^nd April                  - 2pm (EDST)  Meeting Link
Thursday 9^th April                   - 2pm (EDST)  Meeting Link
Thursday 16^th April                 - 2pm (EDST)  Meeting Link

Other Policy Reminders:🚀🚀🚀

1. Parental Leave – Borrowers on parental leave may still have their salary included for serviceability, provided they are returning to work within 2 years and can demonstrate they have sufficient financial resources to support repayments during the leave period.
2. Bridging Visa Holders – For joint applications, only one applicant needs to be an Australian permanent resident or New Zealand citizen, provided both applicants reside in Australia and are married or in a de facto relationship.

 Final Wrap-Up

Plenty happening this week, with lots of movement across rates 📉🏡 It’s a good time to be speaking with clients about rate lock options, particularly where they are considering fixed rates, and making sure the rate lock forms are completed before you lodge.

Also, a quick shoutout to Bendigo Bank for their 3-year fixed rate at 5.88%, paired with a 100% offset account 🙌 It may be a touch higher than some other 3-year fixed options currently in market, but that offset feature is a big bonus  and the free rate lock makes it even more appealing ✅

That’s it from me this week, finance friends 💛 Have a great week ahead, and I’ll see you next week.