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Cashback Checklist
- Find out the requirements such as loan purpose, minimum loan size and loan-to-value ratio.
- Check if it's for new lending or refinances only.
- Find out how it's paid, and if it's straight cash or some other format.
- Prioritise the basics such as interest rates, fees, and features.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept the cash rate steady at 4.35%, following a series of hikes earlier in the year after reversing its 2025 rate-cutting cycle. Whenever the RBA moves, lenders quickly reshape their mortgage deals, which can leave some borrowers paying more than they need to.
Considering refinancing? Banks are competing hard for new customers, often dangling cashback incentives to sweeten the deal.
At one stage more than 30 banks and lenders offered some form of cashback. For example, Westpac, NAB, and CommBank withdrew theirs as the 2023 financial year drew to a close.
- ANZ, however, is the only major bank still holding out at the time of writing, offering $3,000 to first home buyers, while scrapping $2,000 for refinances from October 2025.
While these perks can be tempting, the real value of a home loan still lies in its interest rate, fees, and flexibility. A flashy bonus is nice, but the long-term cost and features of the loan are what truly determine whether it’s a smart choice.
Below are some banks and lenders that offer cashback deals.
Compare Home Loan Lenders with Cashbacks
| Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Extra Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5.99% p.a. | 6.05% p.a. | $2,995 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $1,225 | 80% | |||||||||||||
5.84% p.a. | 5.91% p.a. | $2,947 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $600 | 98% | |||||||||||||
5.94% p.a. | 5.95% p.a. | $2,978 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 95% | |||||||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 6.05% p.a. | $2,995 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $625 | 60% | |||||||||||||
5.99% p.a. | 6.03% p.a. | $2,995 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.10% p.a. | 6.10% p.a. | $3,030 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.08% p.a. | 6.23% p.a. | $3,024 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $10 | $450 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.14% p.a. | 6.25% p.a. | $3,043 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $10 | $799 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.39% p.a. | 6.39% p.a. | $3,124 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $160 | 60% | Disclosure |
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning
As cashback offers are popularly offered to refinancers, you will have to double check if the offer excludes refinances within the same banking group. For example, Newcastle Permanent and Greater Bank are part of the same group.
List of Lenders with Cashbacks
- ANZ
- Bank of Queensland
- BankVic
- Greater Bank
- IMB
- ME Bank
- Newcastle Permanent
- Reduce Home Loans
- Queensland Country Bank
- Tiimely Home
Crunch the numbers
While cashback can be an enticing offer, you still have to consider a mortgage’s ‘bread and butter’ such as interest rates, fees, and flexibility.
-
Interest rates: You’ll want to make sure you’re getting a competitive interest rate, as you will start to lose the benefit of the cashback in the first place if you are paying overs for an uncompetitive product.
-
Fees: Fees can be reflected in the comparison rate; a high comparison rate relative to the advertised rate usually means high fees. It’s no use getting a cashback only for it to be effectively gobbled up in fees when you start a new loan or refinance.
-
Flexibility: Cashback can go a long way in helping your budget and bottom line in the short term, however, you’ll want to make sure the home loan still retains flexible features such as extra repayments and free redraws. Further, some cashback offers may be attached to fixed-rate products, which are hard and costly to switch away from.
Do the Maths
Lender A offers a $2,000 cashback on a loan with a 6.24% p.a. interest rate. On a new $600,000 mortgage over 30 years, you'd pay $37,240 in interest in the first year due to the amortisation schedule. Take $2,000 away and that's $35,240.
Lender B offers no cashback but a 5.69% p.a. interest rate. In the same scenario, you'd pay $33,938 in interest in the first year. This scenario makes it more important to choose a competitive interest rate.
You also need to look at fees. If you're only going to stick around a year, take advantage of the cashback, then refinance, you might elect to cop monthly fees. However if you face hefty establishment or discharge fees, this might nullify the benefit of refinancing or claiming the cashback in the first place.
Play around with our mortgage calculator to find out how different scenarios compare.
Low-rate home loans without cashback
| Lender | Home Loan | Interest Rate | Comparison Rate* | Monthly Repayment | Repayment type | Rate Type | Offset | Redraw | Ongoing Fees | Upfront Fees | Max LVR | Lump Sum Repayment | Extra Repayments | Split Loan Option | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6.04% p.a. | 6.08% p.a. | $3,011 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $530 | 90% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
5.89% p.a. | 5.80% p.a. | $2,962 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||||
6.09% p.a. | 6.11% p.a. | $3,027 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $250 | 60% | |||||||||||||
5.84% p.a. | 5.85% p.a. | $2,947 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $0 | 80% | |||||||||||||
6.09% p.a. | 6.11% p.a. | $3,027 | Principal & Interest | Variable | $0 | $350 | 60% |
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning
Is it for new lending or refinances only?
If you’re applying for a totally new home loan, you’ll want to double check the offer you’re eyeing-off isn’t for refinances only. Restricting the cashback offer to refinances is a relatively low-risk ploy from a lender to take marketshare from a competitor and get a borrower on its books with a demonstrated history of repaying a home loan.
If you are refinancing a home loan for a cashback offer, keep in mind quite a few lenders preclude the offer if you’re refinancing from the same brand. This includes subsidiaries. For example, if Westpac had a cashback offer, it might exclude refinances from subsidiaries such as St George, Bank of Melbourne, and BankSA.
If you’re refinancing, you’ll also want to take into account the typical costs of refinancing. This varies from lender to lender, but experts say the average is about $1,000, which includes valuation fees and various other admin costs. If you’re determined to make the most of your cashback, consider the costs first and look at a lender that minimises them.
Check the promotional periods and settlement dates
Lenders tend to change the nitty gritty on their cashback offers regularly. This might include short-lived promotional periods and settlement dates. Many lenders like you to apply by X date, and usually settle within 60-90 days of that date.
This means if the cashback is for NEW mortgages and you're buying a house, you will need to get your skates on if you want to take advantage of the cashback offer.
If you're refinancing, that makes it important to get your documentation right. This includes payslips, bank statements, current loan information and more.
Make sure you're eligible
Cashbacks are popularly offered through customer-owned banks which tend to cater towards a certain profession. For example, one might service only emergency workers, and offer a different product line to everyday consumers. In this scenario, if you're a 6'5 guy in finance, blue eyes, you might be ineligible.
In addition, some lenders restrict where they lend. For example, much of Greater Bank's home loans are restricted to those in the ACT, New South Wales or Queensland.
Check the minimum loan size
Many lenders restrict eligibility to minimum loan sizes, ranging anywhere from $150,000 to more than $400,000. Generally speaking the biggest cashback offers go to bigger mortgages, sometimes requiring more than $1 million.
This might be to eliminate those heading towards the end of their mortgage from getting cashback, or those who are potentially in a position to pay it off in huge chunks.
How and when is the cashback paid?
Lenders might be reluctant to transfer you the cashback as cash into your bank account. They might offer to reduce the mortgage by that amount, offer it as gift cards, or some other form of remuneration.
Further, you might be waiting a while to see the cash. Some lenders make you wait 90 days after settlement until you actually see it, while others are a bit more quick on the draw. You will have to consult the terms and conditions or ask your lender directly as to how and when it’s paid.
Image created via Canva
First published in August 2024
