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Refinancing
A step-by-step guide to how refinancing works in Australia — from assessing your current loan to settlement with your new lender.
By Jason Given · April 2026 · 5 min read
Before refinancing, Lendology reviews your existing loan — the rate, remaining term, outstanding balance, any break costs if fixed, and any features you use like an offset account. This gives us the baseline to compare against.
It also tells us your current LVR, which determines which lenders you can access and at what rate. If your property has increased in value, your LVR may be significantly lower than when you first took out the loan — opening up better pricing tiers.
Lendology compares your current loan against options across 60+ lenders. We look at rate, fees, features, cashback offers, turnaround times and lender policy. We present the best alternatives with a clear analysis of the net saving — after all switching costs are factored in.
The net saving calculation is: (current monthly repayment - new monthly repayment) x 12, minus switching costs (discharge fee + establishment fee). If switching saves $3,600 per year and costs $1,800 in fees, you break even in 6 months and save $3,600 per year after that.
Once you choose a new lender, Lendology prepares and submits the application. This includes your income documents, bank statements, current loan statements and property details. The new lender assesses the application — typically ordering an independent valuation of your property.
Once the lender is satisfied with the assessment, they issue formal approval and prepare loan documents. Lendology reviews the documents with you and coordinates signing. Most lenders can now handle this digitally.
On the settlement date, your new lender pays out your existing lender in full. Your mortgage is discharged from the old lender and registered with the new lender. Your new loan begins from that day. The entire process — from starting the comparison to settlement — typically takes 4 to 8 weeks.
No — you do not need to tell your current lender you are considering refinancing. The discharge process is handled by Lendology and your new lender at settlement. Some clients choose to ask their current lender for a retention rate first — Lendology can advise on whether this is worth doing.
Your offset account balance will be returned to you when the old loan is discharged. You transfer this to your new offset account with the new lender. There is typically a brief period between discharge and your new offset account being active — Lendology coordinates this to minimise any gap.
Yes, but a break cost applies. Break costs are calculated by the lender based on wholesale rate movements and can be very significant. Lendology calculates the break cost before recommending refinancing during a fixed period — in many cases it is better to wait until the fixed term expires.
Yes — this is called a cash-out refinance. You borrow more than your existing loan balance and receive the difference as cash, which can be used for renovations, investment deposits or other purposes. Your LVR must remain within the lender's limits after the additional borrowing.