Broker guide
BankSA Bridging Loans for Brokers 2026
Check BankSA bridging availability, borrower and security requirements, peak and end debt, sale evidence and the route to a verified lender answer.
- Published
- Updated
BankSA’s bridging loan is the Relocation Loan, which funds an owner-occupied purchase before the existing home sells, for up to 12 months. BankSA’s broker guide says servicing is assessed on the end debt where applicable. Build the file around the total debt before sale and the amount the client will owe afterwards.
BankSA Bridging Availability and Channel
The BankSA Relocation Loan is available for buying before selling. BankSA’s own broker material calls the arrangement Relocation ICAP finance, meaning relocation finance with capitalised interest.
Use BankSA’s broker website to enter BrokerHub for credit policy and application handling. Its service guide classifies relocation loans as specialised applications. For a scenario question, call 1300 137 532 and select option 1, then option 5, or speak to your business development manager (BDM).
Identify the proposed facility as BankSA lending, provided by BankSA, a division of Westpac Banking Corporation. Keep the BankSA product selection and policy response with the file. St.George and Bank of Melbourne share group ownership, but their product conditions cannot establish eligibility for a BankSA application.
For access and support details, use the BankSA broker portal guide. Product confirmation must describe the client’s purchase and sale, rather than ask whether the group generally does bridging.
BankSA Borrower, Security and Sale Fit
BankSA’s published eligibility covers Australian-resident citizens or permanent residents over 18, including new and existing home loan customers. The purpose must be owner occupation, including vacant land for a contractor-built home. Investment purchases, debt consolidation and residential lending through family or company trusts are excluded.
Prepare a funding position for both properties before asking credit to assess the transaction. Record the purchase price and costs, existing mortgage payout, available cash, expected selling costs and realistic sale proceeds. Separate the planned listing date from the expected sale settlement.
Questions for the BankSA Credit Decision
| File detail | Evidence to assemble | Written answer needed for this transaction |
|---|---|---|
| Borrower and income | Employment or business income, household expenses and liabilities | Which income can support the assessed debt, and under which verification pathway? |
| Existing home | Address, ownership, mortgage payout and sale appraisal | Must BankSA refinance the existing mortgage, and what security must it hold? |
| New property | Purchase contract, title details and intended use | Does BankSA accept this property type, location and ownership arrangement? |
| Values and equity | Both property values, contribution and selling costs | What valuations and loan-to-value ratio (LVR) calculation determine the maximum exposure? |
| Sale exit | Marketing plan or signed sale contract, settlement timing and net proceeds | Must the sale be unconditional before purchase funding, and what sale-value allowance applies? |
| Land and build | Building contract, payment stages and completion timetable | How do construction funding and the relocation expiry fit together? |
The loan-to-value ratio compares debt with the lender’s accepted security value. Have BankSA identify the balances and properties used in its calculation. A rate advertised for one LVR band does not establish the maximum permitted LVR for the transaction.
Broader bridging loan eligibility checks help organise a file, but the BankSA decision must cover both properties and the proposed exit.
Peak Debt, End Debt and Repayment Assessment
Peak debt is the highest balance during the purchase and sale overlap. End debt is the amount left after the agreed sale proceeds reduce that balance. BankSA’s Home Loan Product and Policy Options guide expressly places servicing on end debt where applicable.
BankSA capitalises interest and requires no bridging-period repayments. Optional payments reduce debt but cannot be redrawn. Capitalisation adds interest to the balance.
Deferring repayments therefore does not make the loan interest-free, and paying interest voluntarily is a different cash-flow choice.
Fictional Purchase and Sale Example
These entered assumptions illustrate the debt calculation. They are not BankSA rates, approved limits or a lending outcome. Assume the existing mortgage is paid out from the new funding, so it appears only once.
| Funding item | Fictional amount | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Existing mortgage payout | $350,000 | Add to funded debt |
| New purchase | $900,000 | Add to funded debt |
| Purchase and finance costs | $40,000 | Add to funded debt |
| Client cash contribution | $90,000 | Subtract from funding needed |
| Initial combined debt | $1,200,000 | $350,000 + $900,000 + $40,000 less $90,000 |
| Entered capitalised interest budget over six months | $45,000 | Add to the balance |
| Balance immediately before sale | $1,245,000 | Assumed peak debt with no other movements |
| Sale price less selling costs | $825,000 | $850,000 less $25,000 |
| Remaining debt | $420,000 | $1,245,000 less $825,000 |
The $825,000 is available before debt repayment. Deducting the old $350,000 mortgage again would count that liability twice. Different security arrangements require a different payout allocation.
For this example, present $420,000 as the proposed end debt for BankSA’s servicing assessment, alongside the $1,245,000 exposure before sale. Credit must accept the sale assumptions and identify the assessed balance and repayment obligation. An affordable end debt alone does not settle security or maximum-exposure requirements.
BankSA also describes a no-end-debt option: the sale repays the entire relocation balance, including interest and fees. That outcome requires sufficient proceeds. It does not establish a blanket exemption from income or credit assessment.
When debt remains, BankSA describes repayment under a standard home loan. Have the approval identify that product and its repayment terms. The bridging loan requirements guide explains the shared purchase-before-sale mechanism in more detail.
Prepare the Evidence and Linked Settlements
Use BankSA’s minimum required documents checklist for the application evidence, then add the sale and exit documents credit specifies for this relocation file.
- Complete the required consents and identity verification. Remove tax file numbers from supporting documents.
- Supply income evidence for the accepted pathway. For ordinary employed base income, the checklist allows two consecutive non-year-to-date payslips or one year-to-date payslip covering two pay cycles, subject to freshness requirements.
- Document household expenses and liabilities. Reconcile the credit report with declared commitments and supply further evidence where policy requires it.
- Include the signed purchase contract and applicable title material. Follow the checklist’s state-specific contract requirements.
- Assemble rates notices where required, both property details and the valuations BankSA accepts.
- Show the cash contribution, deposit already paid, existing payout and funds needed at purchase settlement.
- Supply the sale appraisal, marketing arrangements and sale contract when available. Include selling costs and the proposed allocation of sale proceeds.
- For land and construction, include the executed building contract, plans and payment schedule required for the accepted structure.
A self-employed income pathway does not itself permit a trust to borrow under the Relocation Loan. Keep income verification separate from borrower eligibility.
Record the lender’s policy wording with the scenario response. Bulma’s Policy Advisor quotes the policy behind its answers, which you can retain in file notes alongside BankSA’s transaction-specific decision.
From Scenario to Final Payout
- Send BankSA the funding position and proposed securities. Ask credit to confirm the structure, assessed end debt and sale conditions in writing.
- Reconcile any conditional decision with the purchase contract. The broker tracks outstanding evidence, and BankSA confirms when its lending conditions are satisfied.
- Before purchase settlement, have the conveyancer reconcile the deposit, client contribution and lender funds. BankSA must confirm the authorised advance and settlement readiness.
- When the old home sells, the conveyancer obtains the required payout and security-release instructions. BankSA’s forms page provides its Property & Security request route for a sale or release.
- After sale settlement, obtain confirmation of proceeds applied and security released. Check that the remaining balance matches the agreed home loan, or that the relocation facility is fully discharged.
An approval with an outstanding valuation or sale condition is not evidence that purchase funds are ready. Resolve the particular condition before relying on the advance.
Costs, a Delayed Sale and an Unavailable Product
Budget for variable interest added to the loan and for the costs of both settlements. BankSA’s loan-account fee schedule identifies establishment, document processing, monthly account and discharge fees. A property valuation charge can also apply.
Add stamp duty and conveyancing, selling-agent costs, existing-lender discharge charges and any fixed-loan break cost to the transaction budget. Ask BankSA which approved costs enter the loan and which the client must pay from cash. Use the offered rate and contract calculation method to replace the fictional interest allowance.
Stress the Same Fictional Sale Exit
Keep the earlier $1,245,000 pre-sale balance and $825,000 net proceeds as the starting case. Suppose a further three months adds an entered $24,000 interest allowance. This is a fictional cost input, not a calculated BankSA quote.
| Outcome | Debt before sale | Proceeds applied | End debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original six-month sale | $1,245,000 | $825,000 | $420,000 |
| Sale proceeds $50,000 lower | $1,245,000 | $775,000 | $470,000 |
| Sale three months later | $1,269,000 | $825,000 | $444,000 |
| Lower proceeds and later sale | $1,269,000 | $775,000 | $494,000 |
The combined change adds $74,000 to the remaining debt. Have BankSA assess that result against the approved end debt and check that $1,269,000 stays within the authorised exposure. Nine months in the example must also fit the actual facility’s expiry, measured from its contractual starting point.
BankSA says extensions are subject to credit criteria. Contact it before expiry with revised proceeds, debt and sale timing. A property still being marketed does not extend the loan automatically.
The bridging loan cost guide covers broader interest and sale-delay calculations.
If BankSA declines the property, borrower or required channel, reassess the transaction before committing to purchase funding. Selling first establishes the available equity, while changed settlement timing can reduce the overlap. Another funding route needs its own verified product availability, security assessment and servicing decision.
Ask the conveyancer to assess any settlement change and have the chosen lender confirm the revised funding in writing. Proceed with the debt, expiry and sale exit that the approval actually supports.
