Canstar Certified Mortgage Brokers

Brokers have to meet a comprehensive set of criteria to become Canstar Certified Mortgage Brokers, some of the requirements include:

• Be a member of the AFCA as well as the MFAA or FBAA
• Hold a Certificate IV in Finance Mortgage Broking and a Diploma of Finance and Mortgage Broking Management
• At least 3 years experience as a mortgage broker in the past 5 years
• Have settled at least 50 home loans in the last 3 years
• Have at least 25 lenders on their panel of available lenders, including at least 2 of the Big 4 Banks.
• Confirmation that they don’t charge fees directly to consumers.
• A minimum of 5 positive customer references from the last 3 years.
• Certificate of Currency for Professional Indemnity Insurance

Canstar conducts four stages of vetting including:

• References checks and a broker declaration disclosing any breaches or compliance issues
• Review of broker performance standards
• Passing a work-related risk scale to Canstar’s reasonable satisfaction.
• Passing the Canstar Mortgage Broker Certification Test, which involves a mixture of questions about home loan products, credit assistance scenarios and macroeconomic issues.

For more information about Canstar Certified Mortgage Brokers certification, see the full list of criteria here.

To provide a consistent, performant experience for customers, Canstar Certified Mortgage Brokers have to have the necessary experience, industry qualifications and licensing, a panel of at least 25 lenders for borrowers to choose from, and pass a work related risk and integrity assessment to know they align with Canstar’s values.

We recognise the importance of customers’ experiences with their broker, therefore we also take into account customer feedback through testimonials and make sure the brokers passes Canstar’s certification test that assess their knowledge of home loan products, how they go about assisting customers with credit and macroeconomic issues that can impact home lending.

Look for the Canstar Certified Broker logo on their website or email signature.

You can find Canstar Certified Mortgage Brokers via [website link]

A mortgage broker is someone whose job is to help you obtain a home loan or a mortgage from a list of financial institutions that broker works with. There are a variety of home loan lenders on the market, and a mortgage broker acts as an intermediary between you and them, typically consulting with a panel of specific lenders to find a deal that will work for you. In general terms, a mortgage broker might:

• conduct an assessment of your requirements and financial position
• inform you of the home loan options available to you on the market, from the lenders they deal with
• use your information to assess what home loans may be in your best interests
• potentially suggest one or more options or recommendations to consider in your best interests
• assist you in gathering the paperwork you’ll require to apply for the loan
• support you throughout the application and settlement process.

A first step when choosing a good mortgage broker is to make sure they are licensed to give credit advice. Licensed mortgage brokers are bound by certain statutory duties, including a duty to act in the best interests of clients when recommending home loan products. This statutory best interests duty was put in place in 2020 to avoid conflicts of interest, and make sure that mortgage brokers conduct their business with customers in an ethical way.

If you wish to know whether a broker is licensed, you can ask them directly, or you can contact a professional body to make enquiries. The Finance Brokers Association of Australia Limited (FBAA) and the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) both keep lists of brokers, so you can enquire with them to find out if a broker is licensed, or even ask them for help connecting you with one who is. In addition, Moneysmart suggests making sure the broker is licensed to give you home loan advice by checking regulator ASIC’s credit licensee and credit representative registers online.

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), brokers commonly do not charge a fee directly to consumers, and generally do not earn a commission from their employers. This means that the way mortgage brokers most commonly earn money is by receiving commissions from lenders. There are four main types of commissions that are typically earned by brokers:

1. Upfront commissions, which are paid by the lender when a customer takes out a loan.
2. Trail commissions, which are paid by the lender each month while the loan is active.
3. Volume and non-volume bonus commissions, which are paid out by lenders if brokers meet certain criteria.
4. ‘Soft dollar’ or non-monetary benefits, which can include perks like free conference attendances and overseas trips.

ASIC warns that this commission-based structure has the potential to create a conflict of interest between the consumer and the broker, in so far as commissions, bonuses and ‘soft dollar’ benefits can provide an incentive for a broker to favour a certain lender or lenders.

→ Learn more: Mortgage brokers and first home buyers: what help is available?