Refinancing
When does refinancing make sense?
Refinancing is a means to an end. It is worth looking at the whole picture rather than the headline rate alone.
Educational information — not personalised financial advice.
Common reasons people refinance
- Seeking a different interest rate
- Accessing features such as an offset account or redraw
- Consolidating debt
- Accessing equity for renovations or an investment
- Changing loan term or repayment type
- Moving from interest-only to principal and interest, or the reverse
Costs to include
Discharge fees, new loan application or settlement fees, valuation fees, government registration fees, potential LMI on a new loan above 80% LVR, and break costs on a fixed rate.
Loan term matters
Resetting a loan back to 30 years can lower monthly repayments while increasing total interest paid over the life of the loan. Comparing like-for-like terms gives a clearer picture.
Your current borrowing position
Refinancing is a new credit assessment. Income, expenses, debts and property value all get reassessed, and your position may have changed since the original loan.
Next step
Use the Refinance Calculator to compare a current loan against an alternative scenario, including switching costs.
Where this comes from: Written from publicly available Australian lending and government information. Figures change — confirm current details with the relevant lender or government source before relying on them.