About Ross McFarlane, Licensed Mortgage Broker

My credentials and licensing

Being a mortgage broker in Australia is a licensed, regulated profession, and I take that seriously. I operate as Credit Representative number 526725, authorised under Australian Associated Advisers Pty Ltd, trading as Keylend, which holds Australian Credit Licence 392169. In plain terms, that means I am legally authorised to provide credit assistance and to arrange home loans on your behalf.

I am also a member of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, the MFAA, the industry’s main professional body. Membership means holding to a code of practice, ongoing professional development, and a standard of conduct above the legal minimum. When you work with me, you are working with someone accountable to a licence, a licensee, and an industry body, not an anonymous call centre.

What a mortgage broker really does

A lot of people are not entirely sure what a broker does, so here it is simply. A bank can only ever offer you its own products. I sit across a panel of more than 70 banks and lenders, from the big four to smaller and specialist lenders, and I compare them to find the one most likely to approve you, on terms that suit your situation.

That involves understanding your income, expenses, deposit and goals, working out your realistic borrowing power, matching you to the lender whose policies fit you best, and then managing the application through to settlement so nothing falls over. I do the chasing, the paperwork and the follow-up, and I explain every step so you always know what is happening and why. You get the benefit of the whole market instead of one bank’s shelf.

My Best Interests Duty

This is the part that genuinely sets a broker apart, and most people have never heard of it. Under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, mortgage brokers are bound by a legal Best Interests Duty. I am required by law to act in your best interests and to prioritise your interests when I recommend a loan.

Here is the crucial contrast: the staff member selling you a loan inside a bank branch is not held to that same duty. They are there to sell that bank’s product. I am legally obligated to put you first, full stop. It is the reason I can look you in the eye and tell you when a loan is not right for you, even if it would have paid me.

How I work with you

Every person I help starts with a conversation, not a form. I want to understand where you are now and where you are trying to get to, whether that is your first home, a better rate, an investment property, or simply peace of mind. From there I work out your genuine borrowing power and map out the deposit, costs and grants that apply to your situation.

Once we know the numbers, I compare the panel and recommend the lenders most likely to say yes on the best terms, and I explain the trade-offs so the choice is yours, made with full information. Then I prepare and submit the application, liaise with the lender, and manage everything through to settlement and the keys in your hand. You can run your own numbers first on the borrowing power calculator and repayment calculator, then we refine them together.

Who I help

I work with all kinds of borrowers, but a few situations come up again and again. First home buyers who want someone to demystify grants, deposits and the First Home Guarantee and hold their hand through the process. Homeowners who suspect they are paying too much and want an honest refinance review. Investors building or restructuring a portfolio. And people whose income does not fit a neat box, such as the self-employed, where the right lender choice makes all the difference.

In South Australia specifically, I help buyers navigate options that national brokers often overlook, including HomeStart Finance, the state government lender built for people with smaller deposits.

Why local South Australian knowledge matters

I am based in South Australia, with a presence at Seacliff and Norwood, and I know the local market and the local schemes. That matters more than people expect. First home buyer support, stamp duty concessions and lenders like HomeStart differ from state to state, and a broker who does not work in your state may simply not know the levers available to you.

When you are buying in a specific suburb, understanding the real local median, the deposit it implies and the schemes that apply is the difference between a confident offer and an expensive guess. Being local means I can meet you in person, by video, or come to you, and you are never dealing with an interstate call centre that has never heard of your suburb.

How I am paid

I believe in being completely upfront about money, because trust starts there. For most home loans, my service is free to you. The lender pays me a commission when your loan settles, which means you get lender comparison, application support and guidance without an upfront fee.

Before you proceed with anything, you receive written documents that disclose the recommended loan, the reasons for the recommendation, and any fees or commissions payable. Nothing is hidden. And because of the Best Interests Duty, I cannot let commission steer my recommendation, the loan I put forward has to be the right one for you.

What I believe about good advice

How To Home Loan exists because I got tired of watching good people make expensive decisions simply because nobody explained the options in plain language. The whole site, every guide, calculator and suburb page, is built on the same principle: give people the real information for free, and trust that some of them will want a broker who actually knows what he is talking about to help them act on it.

If that sounds like the kind of help you want, I would genuinely like to hear from you. There is no cost to talk, no obligation, and no pressure. Just a clear conversation about where you are and how to get where you want to be.

Common questions