Industry associations are calling for fair, broker-accessible distribution for Help to Buy after CBA confirmed it is withholding Help to Buy from brokers at launch.
The mortgage broking industry is urging lenders to open the federal government’s new Help to Buy scheme to brokers, after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) confirmed the product will initially be available only through its proprietary channels.
Help to Buy – the government’s shared equity initiative launching on Friday (5 December) – will be offered at first by just two lenders: CBA and Bank Australia. While Bank Australia has confirmed its loans will be available through the broker channel, CBA has taken a different approach.
When The Adviser sister brand Broker Daily asked whether brokers would be able to write Help to Buy loans, CBA said the scheme would not be offered through the broker channel at launch.
Instead, eligible customers will need to apply directly through a CommBank home lending specialist. However, the bank noted this position may evolve.
Baber Zaka, general manager, third-party banking at CBA, said: “Mortgage brokers play an important role in supporting home ownership in Australia, particularly for first home buyers who are navigating the process for the first time. The Australian Government Help to Buy scheme is in its early stages, with a limited number of placements. While not currently offered through the broker channel at CBA, we continuously review our distribution strategy and that might change in the future.
“Brokers have been instrumental in delivering the expanded Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and CommBank is proud to be a leading lender in that program, working side-by-side with brokers to support more Australians secure their first home. Our focus remains on helping customers to achieve their home ownership objectives and on supporting brokers through investing in innovative technology and comprehensive systems that make working with CBA seamless and industry leading.
“We’re continuing to invest in platforms like CommBroker and integrations such as PEXA Settlement, giving brokers near real-time updates on settlements and soon the ability to self-serve escalations. These innovations are designed to save time and help deliver exceptional outcomes for customers.”
‘Consumers should be able to access through their channel of choice’: MFAA
The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) has raised concerns that the limited distribution model will impede fair access for first home buyers.
CEO Anja Pannek said: “Shared equity is a significant long-term commitment. Borrowers need clear, impartial guidance to understand how the Government’s equity share in their home works, what it means for future borrowing capacity, and how it may impact refinancing or selling.”
She stressed the importance of broker involvement and stated: “This means access to the scheme has to be available through mortgage brokers.
“We have consistently advocated for Help to Buy to be accessible through brokers from day one, and we will continue to press for this. Consumers should be able to access government housing initiatives through their channel of their choice.”
The MFAA CEO also noted that more lenders are expected to join the panel early next year and called this essential for equitable access: “This will be critical for ensuring broader access to the Scheme. We urge all lenders, present and future to allow interested applicants to get access to the scheme through their mortgage brokers.”
The MFAA said it would continue working with Housing Australia, Housing Minister Clare O’Neil, participating lenders, and the government to ensure the distribution structure supports informed consumer decisions and fair access.
‘Killing the goose that laid the golden egg’: FBAA
Similarly, managing director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), Peter White AM, said the move by CBA risked “killing the goose that laid the golden egg”.
“The Help to Buy scheme is the game changer many aspiring home owners have been waiting for, but CBA has slammed the door shut on thousands of buyers who rely on brokers to secure finance,” White said.
“Major banks are simply there to sell a product and, unlike brokers, they’re not obliged to act in the best interests of clients and this gives them enormous power over a scheme that’s meant to be all about boosting home ownership levels.
“If the nation’s biggest bank has an effective of veto over participants in the Help to Buy scheme, how does this support the federal government’s goal of creating a new generation of home owners?”
The FBAA MD said it was unclear whether CBA notified the federal government that – as a participating lender – it intended to restrict access to Help to Buy loans through its direct proprietary channels.
“By putting itself forward as a participating lender and then excluding applications from anyone other than direct clients of CBA, it would seem Australia’s biggest bank has taken a national scheme underwritten by taxpayers and turned it into a proprietary marketing tool,” he said.
“The fixation from major banks on excluding brokers from the home loan process comes with a huge downside for borrowers, many of whom won’t be eligible for products they offer.
“Brokers can help borrowers access a far wider range of products than those offered by the banks, products best suited to their own unique individual circumstances.
“There should be a level playing field under the Help to Buy scheme that caters for all borrowers, rather than shoring up the power of major banks to exert further market dominance.”
CBA’s stance on Help to Buy mirrors its broader strategic shift toward proprietary lending. In its latest financial update, the major bank reported that 68 per cent of new mortgages in the September quarter were written through its own channels – part of a longer-term trend driven by digital-only pricing and expanded in-branch lending capacity.
The trend has heightened concerns among brokers about potential channel conflict and lender bias as major banks place greater emphasis on in-house mortgage distribution.
As well as the Help to Buy channel issue, broker associations have also been questioning the impact of new prudential rules that will limit higher debt-to-income ratio lending from next year.
On Thursday (27 November), the prudential regulator announced it would be bringing in a new speed limit for mortgages where debt is above, or equal to, six times income.
The limits for the banks will take effect for both owner-occupier and investor loans from 1 February 2026, as part of a pre-emptive move to contain “a build-up of housing-related vulnerabilities in the financial system”.
The move comes following an uptick in higher debt-to-income (DTI) lending, particularly for investor lending.
[Related: Help to Buy start date revealed]
