The share of mortgage and finance brokers operating as sole operators declined in 2025, as growing compliance and business demands continue to reshape the structure of the sector.
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia’s (MFAA) new State of Mortgage & Finance Broking Report 2026 found that sole operators accounted for 43.2 per cent of reported brokers in 2025, down from 47.1 per cent a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the proportion working in multi-broker offices climbed from 52.9 per cent to 56.8 per cent.
The office-structure analysis, based on data supplied by seven participating aggregators, covered 21,613 classified brokers in 2025, compared with 19,822 brokers in the prior year.
MFAA chief executive Anja Pannek said the figures reflected a long-running shift in the sector, but added that the definition of a sole broker business had become more complicated as businesses expanded their support networks.
“It feels like the slowest, most evident trend that we’ve seen in industry for a longer period of time,” Pannek said.
“The one thing I do want to caveat with this is that I think for a long time we’ve thought of solo brokers as a single broker working in their office at home, the reality is, in our industry now, we can have a single broker that could have 20 admins, offshore, or onshore, or para brokers."
Support model shifts
However, the MFAA said that office size alone may no longer be the most effective measure of a brokerage’s capability.
The association outlined that a one-broker business could now operate with dedicated loan-processing, administration, compliance, marketing and client-service support, whether through direct employees or outsourced teams.
Yet conversely, it also noted that a broker without that operational backing may find it increasingly difficult to meet the demands attached to running a mortgage broking business.
Pannek said the shift towards larger or more collaborative operations reflected the increasingly broad set of responsibilities that sit alongside writing loans.
“We have seen a shift between the smallest going out to the largest because the reality is you think about, broking is a competitive market within and of itself,” Pannek said.
“So, you’ve got to have great services, continued client engagement, excellent marketing, supporting your client at various points, being able to help them, managing your referral partners, all of that, trying to do all of that and keep across your compliance at the same time is significant.”
Pannek said the pressure was likely to make the traditional model of part-time broking more difficult to sustain.
“This part-time broking, where you’re sort of in and out, I think that that’s going to become increasingly difficult, as well because you need support around you to be successful,” she said.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t be a single broker, but I think its what support do you have around you and what does your business model look like.”
Consolidation expected to continue
MFAA chief operating officer Evan Thomas said he expected the consolidation trend to persist, particularly as new entrants assess the practical challenge of establishing a business without an established support structure.
“I’d expect to see continued consolidation, absolutely,” Thomas said.
“There are various forces that are driving this. So anyone who’s new to the industry coming in, I think it’s extraordinarily challenging for them to set themselves up as a sole operator.
“If I was considering coming in and having a career as a mortgage and finance broker, I’d be looking to find an established broking business where they’ve got a group of individuals that can show me the way and help me navigate the industry and set myself up for success.”
Thomas said the regulatory environment was also increasing the value of shared resources, with brokers required to manage evolving compliance expectations, accreditation processes and best interests duty obligations.
“The amount of regulatory reform and the compliance obligations that brokers undergo the work that they go through for accreditation, but also the care that they take through best interest duty obligations, etc is really critical,” Thomas said.
“Also increasingly, what you’re seeing is brokers individually coming together and setting up small broking businesses. You’ll start seeing some other broken businesses emerge with a larger scale.”
The licensing data from the report also aligns with that shift, with credit representatives increasing their share of reported brokers from 67.1 per cent in 2024 to 69.2 per cent in 2025.
Meanwhile, the proportion of Australian credit licence holders declined from 32.9 per cent to 30.8 per cent.
The report also recorded a modest generational shift in the broker population.
The share of brokers aged 31–40 rose from 26 per cent to 27.2 per cent, while those aged 41–50 increased from 31.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent.
Representation slightly increased among brokers aged 18–25 and 26–30, while the proportion aged 50 and over fell from 35.1 per cent to 32 per cent.
[Related: Broker clawback costs rise in first industry-level measure]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make The Adviser a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add The Adviser as a preferred news source.
