Broker guide
AFG Home Loans Lending Policy for Brokers 2026
Placing an AFG Home Loans or Retro loan? Find which lender funds each range, then check its income, security and exception rules before lodging.
- Published
- Updated
AFG Home Loans lending policy depends on the range you choose and the entity behind it. Retro uses AFG Securities’ credit framework, Alpha is provided by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, and former Edge loans have moved to NAB.
Identify the range before assessing income or ordering a valuation. A self-employed borrower’s eligibility for one AFG Home Loans product doesn’t establish eligibility for another.
Ranges, Funders and Policy Source
AFG Home Loans Pty Ltd is part of Australian Finance Group Ltd, the listed AFG group. That ownership sits alongside separate funding and product arrangements. AFG aggregation gives brokers access to a lender panel and broker services, while AFG Home Loans is the branded lending business.
Range and Policy Map
| Range | Provider or manager | Policy source for the file |
|---|---|---|
| Retro | AFG Securities originates and services the loans. Perpetual Corporate Trust is the issuer identified in the Retro target market determination. | AFG Securities’ Retro credit guidelines and product specifications. |
| Alpha | Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited. | Alpha product documents and the bank’s applicable lending criteria. |
| Bright | Brighten. | Bright-specific product and credit documents. |
| Align | Think Tank Group Pty Ltd, trading as Thinktank. | Align documents issued by Thinktank. |
| Options | Pepper Money, which services loans made by Pepper Finance Corporation. | Options documents issued by Pepper Money. |
| Bridge | Bridgit Financial Services Pty Ltd. | Bridge documents issued by Bridgit. |
| Link | AFG Securities. | Link-specific credit guidelines and product specifications. |
| Edge | Former Advantedge range, now migrated to NAB. | NAB’s information for the migrated loan. |
AFG’s home-loan range pages identify the products. The legal disclosures on the Alpha, Bright and Align pages identify their providers. Options and Bridge have their own arrangements too.
Edge needs separate treatment. Advantedge says its business has closed and its home loans have migrated to NAB. Treat an Edge enquiry as an existing-loan or refinancing question, rather than a new Edge application.
A target market determination describes the intended customer group and distribution conditions. Use the Retro determination to identify the issuer and manager, then use the credit guidelines to assess the application.
Borrower and Income File
Assess the borrower against the chosen range’s income and servicing rules. Servicing measures whether verified income can meet the proposed repayments alongside living expenses and existing commitments.
Start the file with the borrower’s legal structure and their role in the business or employment. Record residency, employment tenure, income sources, dependants and credit history. For a company or trust, distinguish the borrowing entity from the people providing guarantees.
Build the evidence pack around the assessment path:
- For an employee, gather current payslips and the evidence needed to establish employment and variable earnings. Separate base pay from overtime, commission and bonuses.
- For a self-employed full-documentation application, gather the personal and business tax material the range requires. Reconcile the income used for servicing with ownership, business debts and any proposed adjustments.
- For alternative documentation, use the selected product’s declaration and accepted verification evidence. Business turnover alone doesn’t establish the borrower’s personal income.
- For every path, record liabilities, credit limits and repayments. Identify which business debts the applicant remains responsible for and the evidence supporting any exclusion.
Retro Lite and Other Alternative-Documentation Paths
Retro Lite is the named low-documentation option in AFG Securities’ broker snapshot. It requires an Australian Business Number (ABN) registered for at least 24 months, with Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration where required. The income pathway combines a customer financial declaration with one accepted form of income verification.
AFG’s Retro and Link policy expansion states a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 90%, including lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), for Retro Lite Doc. LVR compares the loan with the lender’s accepted property value. That ceiling doesn’t establish eligibility for every property or borrower.
Link Lite has a separate low-documentation path. AFG Securities’ snapshot lists a minimum 12-month ABN history and one form of income verification. Its credit and security settings differ from Retro Lite.
AFG Securities’ broker snapshot also identifies a one-year-financials pathway for self-employed borrowers. It directs brokers to the full lending guidelines for conditions. A sole trader or business owner must meet the selected path’s requirements, including evidence of income available for repayments.
Options also accepts alternative income documentation under its product criteria. Don’t transfer Retro Lite’s trading-history or LVR settings to Options, Alpha or Align.
Security Decision
The property must satisfy the chosen range’s security rules as well as its maximum LVR. A loan that passes income assessment can still fail because of the property or proposed use.
Record the address, postcode, property type, land size and intended occupancy before relying on a product ceiling. Identify construction, unusual titles, high-density apartments or rural characteristics early. Match the valuation instructions and permitted loan purpose to that same range.
For Retro, AFG’s broker snapshot directs brokers to the Retro Post Code & Security Guide for acceptable locations. The policy expansion gives Retro Full Doc purchases a maximum 95% LVR including LMI. Apply the product’s property and assessment conditions before treating that figure as available for the file.
Calculate LVR using the proposed lending and the lender’s accepted value. For a hypothetical $720,000 loan against an accepted value of $800,000, LVR is 90%. If the valuation falls to $780,000, the same loan is about 92.3%, before any additional amount that must enter the lender’s calculation.
A lower valuation can move the application beyond the selected product’s limit. Resolve the loan amount or product choice before presenting the file as policy compliant.
Exception Ownership and Record
Send an unsettled policy question to the team responsible for the selected range, with the facts needed for a written answer. For Retro, AFG directs scenario enquiries to scenarios@afghomeloans.com.au or its Home Loans business relationship manager. Its broker snapshot lists linkscenarios@afghomeloans.com.au for Link scenarios.
State the requested departure precisely. For example, identify the trading history and evidence available instead of asking whether the lender can “do self-employed”. Include the proposed loan, security details and the policy condition the borrower doesn’t meet.
Keep the response with the file and record:
- The range, product and policy version considered.
- The entity and person who gave the answer, their role and the date of the response.
- The borrower and security facts submitted for consideration.
- Whether the answer confirms standard policy or permits an exception, plus its conditions and expiry.
A relationship manager’s preliminary view and a credit decision have different purposes. Establish who can approve the departure and retain that approval with its conditions before relying on it for lodgement. If the borrower’s facts or valuation change, put those changes back to the responsible team.
